i have just had 3 weeks out of running, and i have just restarted again. i found it very hard to do my first run back, and i had to stop about half way into it, i think this was partially due to not eating the correct type of food beforehand. i went cycling for 50 minutes the following day, and then when i ran again today i found that i had to stop very early on, my muscles started aching a lot at the begining of the run, and i decided to stop rather than risk further injury. i have taken time out of my running programme before and this has not happened, should i just keep going untril i get back into it? should i drop the cycling until i have got back into running again?
should i be eating carbohydrates a few hours before running, like cereal, etc?
slightly off the topic, but would doing weighted lunges and squats to increase leg strength improve my running?
thanks.

I think anything getting your body used to exercising again will be beneficial - it's unlikely you've simply lost the running ability you previously had - give it a bit of time and i'm sure it'll be okay again, don't fret if it doesn't happen immediately - as sometimes it can be a psychological barrier holding you back.

I think if you were noticeably underfueled for a run you'd feel/know it, but of course it always works well to ensure you're eating properly to keep those muscles stocked up with glycogen

As for lunges and squats etc... yes any strength exercises for the legs will help to build them stronger - typically most useful for demanding hilly runs and also increasing your pace, though I believe your running endurance will come purely from well, running longer distances!

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Echo, how far did you run on your first one back?

I know the place you're in well, having been side lined due to illness for 5 weeks.

You have to be very cute about coming back from injury or illness, don't expect anything from the first week or two is my suggestion.

Just go out, don't run hard, don't be afraid to walk if it is really hard and definately don't get down be comparing yourself against what you were doing 3 weeks ago.

If you've been ill then your strength will be down on what it was before, but there's nothing much to worry about, it tends to come back fast after illness.

On my first run back I managed 45 minutes and probably about 9min/mile pace. I had to stop a lot and was really rough. But I built up, 2 days running 1 day off for the first week then 3 on 1 off and 4 on 1 off. Now I'm back to my normal 6 days of running a week.

It took 2 weeks and 4 days or me to get back to 95% fitness. But I didn't over do it, I was doing 2 sessions a day (maximum) and even the swims I was struggling. It's only the last few days that I've been able to put back in 4 and 5 hour training days.

Hope you get something from that,

Al

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interesting to read this thread again... having recently come back from 2 weeks of total rest I've been getting increasingly frustrated with not being able to manage anywhere near what I could before. Hopefully though it'll come back fairly soon and won't take me months to get back to where I was!

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4 weeks for me with no running or very little, I was surprised that I managed 5 on my first outing without feeling completely knackered. I did sweat loads more than usual.

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Premiership by the end of the 2009 :D

Were you very mobile during that time? I'm just trying to justify to myself why I'm going so slow at the moment... my 2 weeks off were pretty sedentary... the peak of my exercise was probably walking up the stairs to be once i'd got some lunch... lol.

I preferred the old avatar pic btw

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I guess so, still played cricket and strangely enough squash was Ok as well. It was literally the motion of running in a straight line was killing my knee.

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Premiership by the end of the 2009 :D

I suppose it's just such a repetitive motion, other sports (like squash) have so much variation in the movements and direction in which you're travelling that it's less likely to be irritated in the same way.

It's good that you were able to keep some level of activity up though... my cardio system seems to have just packed up and left!

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If I take two weeks off...can't remember when that last was though...I feel as if I have to start over!

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I need a break!

Well I had another club run tonight... bloody hard work, but it felt a little easier than tuesday night... Still, if it was easy then i'd never improve! lol

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