If you have to stop running regularly for some reason

[Anonymous]

an injury, or something going on in life that prevents your regular running, how long of a break leads to pretty much having to start all over again?

[Anonymous]

I don't belong to a gym, so lift at home and run outside.

As you might guess, I don't run nearly as much in December through February. So far I've no problem picking it back up when everything thaws out in March, so three months isn't a problem. I have to be extra careful with diet those months, but I hope that the annual break will be good for my joints as I age.

[Anonymous]

It depends on so many things. Why you had to stop, how long you were running before the break, were you able to keep up your fitness in other ways during the break, how old you are. I’ve had lots of breaks and it’s never been as bad as starting from zero, but I’m in my 30s and honestly as I’ve gotten older every break has gotten harder to come back from.

[Anonymous]

It really depends. How long have you been running prior. How serious are you? Is there an alternative that you can do in the mean time? And the list goes on.

I'm a life long runner and every morning (rain, wind, cold, sun) I'm out for my run like clock-work. Because I've done it for decades, it's such a habit for me that missing it feels too weird and I'm "off" the rest of the day.

The few times I've had to skip over the years (post partum, pneumonia, flu, heavy snow fall/ice) I'm quickly able to bounce back and I do other physical things at home/find ways to increase my step count/ watch my junkfood.

[Anonymous]

+1 on “it depends”, but I also want to interject that if you’ve been a runner, getting BACK ago it is a lot easier than starting from complete scratch. Just like riding a bike, your body WILL remember. If you’ve kept up your cardiovascular fitness, let’s say through cycling or something else, you’ll slide back very little.

[Anonymous]

I've been running for almost 20 years so even when I've taken breaks here and there I've not had to start all the way from scratch.

Yes its tough in the beginning but I always bounce back within a couple weeks.

The longest I took off from running is when I was pregnant. I tried but it wasn't comfortable. I did yoga and spinning instead. But when finally was cleared to exercise again after having a C, it definitely felt like starting over. I could barely break a 10 min mile. But even then I was still able to bounce back within a month or so. Just have to be consistent and not get discouraged by the challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends. How long have you been running prior. How serious are you? Is there an alternative that you can do in the mean time? And the list goes on.

I'm a life long runner and every morning (rain, wind, cold, sun) I'm out for my run like clock-work. Because I've done it for decades, it's such a habit for me that missing it feels too weird and I'm "off" the rest of the day.

The few times I've had to skip over the years (post partum, pneumonia, flu, heavy snow fall/ice) I'm quickly able to bounce back and I do other physical things at home/find ways to increase my step count/ watch my junkfood.

How old are you? Any tips? I used to be able to run daily but I can't anymore. I'm in my late 40's and have been running since I was 15. I also ran daily for decades but for the past few years every time I go beyond 3 or 4 runs a week I get injured (plantar fasciitis, piriformis syndrome...now I'm dealing with a possible 3rd metatarsal contusion or stress fracture). I do other exercise such as walking, using an aerobic step and weightlifting on my off days but nothing feels as good as a run when I'm not dealing with an injury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 on “it depends”, but I also want to interject that if you’ve been a runner, getting BACK ago it is a lot easier than starting from complete scratch. Just like riding a bike, your body WILL remember. If you’ve kept up your cardiovascular fitness, let’s say through cycling or something else, you’ll slide back very little.

This is really true. I went about 4 years of not running b/c of injuries. Started up again and could really just go.

[Anonymous]

I came back to running after completely stopping during 2 pregnancies. In fact I completely stopped working out at all. Started back with walks almost as soon as I could after giving birth, and walk/running after getting the clear from my doctor.

A few things that helped me: forgot entirely about distance and just focused on increasing running time, then after awhile, started to look back at how far/fast I was going. I also signed up for a 5k to keep a goal in my line of sight. I just focused on being able to run 3 miles without walking and then after that, I increased distance and speed. Everything also got easier as the running helped me lose some of the baby weight (the rest came off through diet).

Funny part about starting up running post- baby with some extra weight, fellow runners would yell encouragement to me. I found it funny, I only got that when I ran carrying the baby weight