I’m trying to get back to triathlon/running aften 3-4 years with almost no running at all. And after a couple of failed attempts because of injury - I realised I need help! I think my legs are made of glass, coming from a swimming background. 4 years ago I was competing ón a fairly high national level in triathlon, and all the drills from then is now still making to able to hammer 1k sub 3, and 5 k around 18. With almost no running at all. But as I said - injury is always around the corner! I really need help with a plan to get back into the running thing - injury free. I’m only doing sprints, so if I top it at 25-30 MPW, that would still be great for me.
Have you considered the Barry P plan? I’ve been following it injury free for 7 months now. Worth looking into if you haven’t already; just search “Barry P plan” here.
For the actual running the Barry P plan is good. I might suggest you also go see a physio who knows about sports and have an assessment done of your weaknesses. I had this done this year and it has really made a huge difference in my performance. They gave me a set of simple exercises to do a few times a week which really help.
If you want to minimize the injury risk, then check your pride at the door, and be ready to build very gradually, starting with daily runs that might seem embarrassingly short. Don’t be impatient. I’ve been following the 3-2-1 plan for a couple of years now. I’m not injury free, but I’m doing much better than I was before, and most of the injuries can be traced to situations where I got carried away and added volume or intensity too sharply. Very happy with the results overall.
Barry P saved my running. Forget the speed work until you have enough base built up. I used to be able to hammer out a similarly fast 5 k, until I hit forty, and then all that did was keep me recurrently injured. It took a while to get used to the frequency of the runs, and how short they were, but you will get faster the more you run. And consider a pair of Hokas, especially if you’re over 40.
My cardiovascular efficiency doesn’t seem to degrade as much as my muscular. So, it is often that I come back too quickly and feel good at first, but start to feel the injuries coming on after a week or two.
Just slow down (like 8:00 - 9:00/mile), keep the distances light (3 miles per run) and take rest days in between as needed, then work towards a goal of 4-5 dys of running per week. The. Increase intensity and mileage as your body allows. You’ll be good to go in 3 months or so.
For the actual running the Barry P plan is good. I might suggest you also go see a physio who knows about sports and have an assessment done of your weaknesses. I had this done this year and it has really made a huge difference in my performance. They gave me a set of simple exercises to do a few times a week which really help.
This for me was the missing part. I have some exercises I can do in the evening to address my tight hips, weak glutes and tight calves. By doing so I have been able to run decent mileage, but I’m still slow. Hitting the track always feels like I’m playing with fire, so I’m going to just stick to more tempo running for a while so I can stay healthy.
You can’t look back. You are what you are today and have to build on that, if you are a 20 minute 5k runner, then that’s where you start. Looking back just leads us to get hurt and never be happy with the slower times we run as the years go by.
you may have to totally dedicate your self to a functional strength program while at the same time increasing mileage at a very slow rate with lots of recovery. spend 20-30 minutes 3-4x a week working on muscle imbalances. if you dont have time to be injured then spend time getting stronger.
See a physio. The reason your calves may hurt is because your glutes are not firing, putting additional strain on muscles not meant to bear it. Or test yourself: can you do a proper squat? If no, then you may have found your culprit.
Once you’ve built back up to 30 min SAFELY and INJURY free, then I’d start to think about someone or anothers “program”. Personally I do well on steady mileage on stready slow build six days a week but usually only 5 days consecutive, but don’t be afraid to pull down a run workout! Think “one missed workout may save me weeks or months of no running”, since you’ve been there I suspect you know this mantra.
