Was wondering if there are any athletes out there that can relate to what I am going through. Six years ago, I was one of the top sprint triathletes in my age-group in the Southeast. I had some health problems that knocked me out of competing in running and triathlons for about 3 years. I have competed in swimming recently and was able to obtain a top ten ranking (nationally) in my age-group. Eight weeks ago, I started running again on a regular basis and am struggling. How long does it take to get your running back if you’ve been out for three years? I’m up to running 20 miles a week now in addition to doing 2-3 swims of 2,000 to 3,000 yards per workout. I’m also throwing in one bike session a week.
How long should I train and how much mileage should I be doing before I can expect to do a respectable 5k?
It’s good to hear you’re healthy again and getting back in shape. I can’t give you any exact times frames, but just take it slow. It can’t really hurt you to ramp up mileage and intensity too slowly, but it can definitely hurt you to do it too quickly.
On the bright side, you’re swimming just as much as me (but faster) and running more than me, and I thought I was doing well.
If I were you, I’d add in more time on the bike, since it beats you up less than running does.
It also depends on where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
I don’t think anybody can give you detailed answer without more details about your fitness level. 5K race isn’t about only about number of miles, but also about quality training (hills, tempos, intervals, etc.) that your body should handle. I believe, it shouldn’t take too long to do a respectable (for your age group) 5K if you was ‘on top’ just few years ago and currently don’t have health problems. I would highly recommend to buy “Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own Best Coach” by Brad Hudson, read it and use your own brains. Just make some adjustment for triathlon training. E.g, I usually substitute easy runs with biking. I wish I could buy this book few years ago. I had a pretty bad back injury last May and could barely walk for 1 month. Brad’s book helped me get back on track, be on top of my age group in triathlon races and set my PR in NYC marathon last year.
Thanks for the idea about the book. Sounds like one I will be getting.
I’m in pretty good shape as I’ve been competing in masters swim meets pretty regularly in the past year and obtained a ranking in the top ten nationally in my age-group. My biking has been no problem, but the run is slow in coming back. My goal has been to work on the running to get it back to a decent level first before I start throwing in the bike.
Part of the problem I suspect is that my build does not lend itself very well to running anyway. It has always been the weak leg on the tri for me. I’m female and between 5’9" and 5’10" and weigh 140 to 145. This may be a good build for a female triathlete in general, but not for running. If I go under 140, I lose my power on the bike and the swim. I ran track and cross country in high school and ran my best times at 128. My swimming, however, suffered terribly.
I’ll take a look at the book and keep plodding away!!
Sure, our bodies have changed since high school, but I don’t think you have to go under 140 to run faster. I’m 6’2" an I was 155 in college when running middle distances. I was making somewhere 70-100 miles a week those days. Now I’m 30 years older and 15 lbs heavier. However, I believe, my overall fitness level is better than 30 years ago thanks to triathlon cross-training and more efficient training. My running volume is way smaller compare to my college days - 25-40 miles a week. However, all these running miles are quality training (e.g., tempo runs, lots of hills, intervals) and I’m still improving my running time. I’m pretty sure that running hard uphills will help you avoid injuries and make you bike splits better. Anyway, it’s better to have a reasonable balance between all 3 sports, look good and feel good…
Remember that running is a “weight bearing exercise” that requires significant adaptations in the body. It takes time to get your muscle and bone structure adapted to the punishment of running even if your cardo system is in top shape. Just take it easy and let your body adapt. I think adding some light weight lifting would also be helpful.
You are so right about that! I remember 9 years ago when I first got back into running and starting doing triathlons. After a month of just running 17 miles a week (although at a faster pace than I should have been doing), I went to a masters swim meet and was dead. Swam horrible times. Three years later, I was running 25 to 30 miles a week and taking just a few days off from running, swam my best masters times - in the sprints of all things! It does seem to take the body a bit of time to adjust to weight-bearing exercise. Fortunately, I’ve been doing a good bit of work in the weight room. Since I started running, however, I’ve stopped doing leg work. I figured my legs would get so broken down if I did both. My legs look more like a sprinter’s legs than a distance runner’s legs, so I probably need to be careful not to get “heavy legs.”
I just did my first 5k sunday after a 3 year layoff from everything. Started with swimming in June of 2008, added some cycling in August and started running again about 4 months ago. Had to wait a while to get my weight down but ended up getting pretty close to my previous pr of 18:40 after working up to about 30 miles/week of running.
So, for me, 4 months of running. YMMV, literally:)
Hills up to 1/3 mile as hard as I can. E.g., 10 x 0.3 mile with total climb 1600 ft or 10 x 0.1 mile with total climb 450 ft. I usually run drills and short intervals on track after 10 x 0.1 mile hills. Longer hills (>.5 mile) I usually run at 1/2 marathon HR level. E.g., last weekend I ran 5 x 1.55 miles with total climb 3060 ft. I usually run at easy pace between hills when I’m training out of racing season and increase speed (shorter recovery) during the racing season.
I am in the same boat as you. I was once a runner, about 15 years ago. I had not done any form of exercise in the last 6 years and decided to try and train for a triathlon this year.
In coming back to running a decent 5k I am going to disagree about having to do quality workouts in order to run a decent 5k. It can be done on base type miles. Can you ultimately run quicker with “quality” running? Most definitely. Starting out, and actually for quite a while after you just need to build a consistent base as cliche as that sounds. I started this year by running 20 min 3x a week. My mileage is still pretty dismal (I have logged 197mi for the entire year as of this morning) All my running has been slow get out there and run. I have not done any hills, tempo/Steady State, or any interval stuff. I have run everything between 6:45 and 7 min pace with nothing quicker.
I am 38 going on 39 so I am no spring chicken and need to deal with slower recovery etc etc. This past weekend (after having to miss 2 weeks of all activity due to a bike injury) I ran the 1st leg of a duathlon (4km) at 5:33 pace. I got off the bike and ran the 2nd leg (2km) at 5:41 pace. So basically I was able to run about 2min/mile quicker over about 5k than the pace I train at and I don’t think 197mile for the year is a base.
Long story short. Get out and run as often as possible, building sensibly of course. Have patience and build consistancy and you can come back pretty quick without having to push the envelope by adding "quality"type running. You can add that later when moving from running decent times in your AG to placing in your AG.
Good Luck.
