Long story short: Broke my neck 15 weeks ago in a bike accident and today I have finally been cleared to resume my life w/o the neck brace and to begin running again.
While I was on the shelf, the only exercise I could do is walking (and I did a LOT of that). Typically walk an hour a day. Last two weeks I have able to ride the trainer. Had no issues getting through Breaking Bad episodes (40-45min or so) on a moderate resistance level. I wasn’t able to lift more than a gallon of milk so my upper body has gone to poo and my pants scream for mercy now
Back story is I am runner that does triathlons. 39 years old. BQ last year. Typically 2-3 marathons a year. HIM/IM training etc. Was in peak HIM week at time of the injury.
I am ready to get back on the marathon circuit but where do I start? All the “come back from injury” programs I can find seem to be coming back from a running injury. Not the case here. And the couch to whatever plans are a joke.
Anyone have real world experience with this, specifically a plan? Right now my thinking is easy 3-4 miles run five days a week for a few weeks and then ease into a easy-ish half marathon plan for a bit to build some base then hop into marathon plan after that. My google Phd says I have probably lost 25% VO2 max and add 5 minutes to my 5k so I have no grand delusions of running anything other than “easy” for a while.
I don’t think there should be a big difference in the way you treat your comeback to running. I would say a neck problem is a running injury, too. Either way you have not run in awhile and your body is not going to be accustomed to running. I’ve found the McMillan approach to coming back from injury to be successful. It’s a slow and gradual build of running with walk breaks. It may seem easy, but it’s smart and conservative. Keep it aerobic and easy for the first few weeks. You will be sore! Good luck.
I don’t think there should be a big difference in the way you treat your comeback to running. I would say a neck problem is a running injury, too. Either way you have not run in awhile and your body is not going to be accustomed to running. **I’ve found the McMillan approach to coming back from injury to be successful. **It’s a slow and gradual build of running with walk breaks. It may seem easy, but it’s smart and conservative. Keep it aerobic and easy for the first few weeks. You will be sore! Good luck.
Do you have a link for something other than a paid plan for that?
Hoping to find a more aggressive plan though. Ran 3.5m today and while the lungs were burning, my legs and neck feel good. I would never be able to commit that many weeks to run/walking.
I need the “I went on vacation for three months and need to get back on the horse asap plan”.