Even the most avid runners can sometimes drop out of their training routine due to injury, personal circumstances, work, or simply fatigue. Some successfully return to running at the first opportunity, while others cut running out of their lives. If you’re leaning towards the first scenario, our come-back running tips will help you do it right.
1. Rebuild Your Habit
On average, habit quitting takes 66 days. So if you are restarting running after a break of about two months, you need time to make it a part of your routine again.
The main rule is not to put pressure on yourself and allow running to return to your life gradually. However, there are some tricks that can speed up the process a bit:
- Reward yourself after every run by watching Netflix, taking an aromatic bath, drinking a cup of your favorite coffee, or doing whatever makes you happy. Research shows that these short-term rewards improve motivation and accelerate habit formation.
- Make a running schedule. It’s important not just to tell yourself, “I’ll return to run next week,” but to choose specific days and mark them on your calendar. Doing this makes the action subconsciously non-negotiable, increasing the likelihood that we’ll set aside time for it.
- Try getting back into running with morning jogs. Studies show that people who train in the morning better adhere to a regular regimen. However…
- Choose a running time that is convenient for you. It may differ from your running times from before the break. If running interferes with your current activities, you are more likely to give it up.
2. Run in a Group
The best way to get back into running is to train with one or more other athletes. There are several reasons for this.
First, being responsible to another person encourages you to stick to a running training program.
Second, being around people in good physical shape is a proven way to train harder.
Finally, the competitive spirit will bear fruit. Training with someone who is a better runner than you are now can increase your intensity and improve your running time by as much as 200%!
3. Don’t Wait All At Once
You should not expect your first run after a few months off to be easy or match your performance before the break. A study in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine says just a couple of weeks off is enough to reduce muscle mass and strength. So if you immediately start training at the same intensity, you increase the risk of injury. In addition, if you demand pre-break performance from yourself and find that this is not possible, it can significantly undermine your motivation. So give yourself time to build back up the intensity slowly.
4. Start Small
The best thing you can do when getting started running after a break is to set small goals for yourself. For example, start with a 5K training plan, even if you ran half marathons before. Small goals are easily achievable, so you can set them more often and see yourself getting better at running regularly.
Also, don’t try to increase your mileage too quickly. Research shows that this often results in re-injury, especially for those who just started running after injury.
Increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week. As for workout duration, The American College of Sports Medicine recommends starting with 20-60 minutes of moderate aerobic activity. Moderate, in this case, means that your heart rate and respiration may be increased, but you can still talk and are not short of breath.
5. Monitor Your Progress
It is important to record your progress so you do not feel like you are stuck in place in your workouts. You can share your progress with friends or running partners, keep a diary, or use social fitness-tracking apps. These social networks help athletes to run further and faster due to the desire to achieve and surpass the results of other users. In addition, you record each workout in your app profile, so you can clearly see your progress. Just as importantly, your progress is seen by others, which adds strength and confidence.
6. Be Sure to Rest
When you’re preoccupied with how to get back into running, it can feel like training without rest will make up for your break. But overtraining can lead to poor performance, frequent illness, sleep disturbances, and chronic fatigue. As a result, you can burn out and lose the incentive to move on. Therefore, set aside days for rest each week.
7. Do Cross Workout
Don’t focus on just running when you get back into your running routine. Instead, make time for cross-training activities like weight training, swimming, yoga, pilates, or just walking on your off days. This is a proven way to increase your strength and endurance without overloading your joints and risking injury.
8. Register for the Race
When you feel confident in your running training program, choose a race to participate in, for example, a 5K race. It will add to your motivation and diligence since you understand what you are training for.
If you’re running just for fun and not medals, consider any other goal that inspires you. For example, run along a scenic off-road track or conquer a popular running route in a neighboring city. The main thing is to face new and unknown horizons.
The fact that you’ve already thought about how to start running again shows that the break hasn’t taken away your passion and motivation to run. Thanks to our tips, you will not lose that passion and motivation on the way to restoring your performance.
Remember, time, diligence, and consistency will definitely pay off!
