Restarting Running (The Smart Way)

yeah so those for those who maybe haven't tuned in for a little bit brian is in the midst of doing this and i've i saw his his run today and you know things are feeling a bit harder than you they used to so you are i think just under a month post appendectomy so you were off for almost a full month and now are living this yourself.

Getting back into running, you know, you missed some crucial heat training all of August.

So you missed out on some gains.

So I want to hear a little bit about what you're thinking getting back into it and kind of what your first thoughts were on those first couple runs back.

Yeah, it's critical to reflect on this kind of thing because it just puts it into perspective of why it's so important to be consistent.

I think, so I had two weeks off running entirely, and then I had one week where I could sort of do a little bit of jogging, but really it was about three and a half weeks before I could actually go out and like run with some speed, run with some intensity, and I still haven't gotten back on the bike.

So what I notice the most is like the top end has just gone missing.

Like I don't have that top end.

And even the lower like zone two efforts feel way more difficult.

And it's to the point where I'm trying my best to manage my pace expectations.

And we can get into that a little bit.

Um, so that's from like the cardiovascular standpoint is like VO2 max clearly has declined.

I don't think that happens necessarily in the first week, but if you're often not doing any intensity, it definitely takes its toll over a number of weeks.

And if you're, you know, starting to bleed into months, it's going to have quite the toll on, on your VO2 max.

Then the other piece is kind of just the strength and the ability to push the legs into fatigue and come and bounce back the next day despite the fatigue.

That's one of the things that a great training block has is runs once you're already fatigued because, you know, you're going to be very tired at the end of your race that you're training for no matter what that distance is.

And I'm feeling that a lot now.

It's really difficult to do back-to-back days and and have a good day on the second because my body's just not used to running and not used to the impact like it used to be.

That being said, the bottom line is I didn't lose everything.

I didn't, in hindsight, lose that much, but it is important just to be realistic about the adjustment that needed to be made between where I was coming, which was like I was almost at peak fitness, to where I am today, which feels like a big step backwards for me.