HELP! How long does it take to get back to top shape after 2 years off?

I had a similar experience. As has been the case with many of the previous posters, I was a bit slower than you in college (14:31/30:08). Also, I stopped running at the start of my senior year. I went from 155lbs to 195lbs and would attribute most of that weight gain to massive amounts of drinking. It took me about 6 weeks to get back to the point where normal training runs were enjoyable. At that point any workouts were still depressing because I was so far away from being the athlete that I was in college. It took a solid 12 weeks of steady running with some fartlek and tempo days mixed in to feel confident in workouts again. It took even longer to become competitive in races. I would suggest running some "off" distance races before returning to the track to attack your college PR's. I started my return to racing by training for a few trail races and ultimately a half marathon. I ran a "PR" every race because I had never done the distance before. A year later I returned to the track and have been able to PR in my traditional events. I have to train differently now because of my job (I run 90mpw in singles after work with a 18-22 mile long run on the weekend as opposed to 110-120 with doubles 4 times per week.) As others have said, getting back to your race weight, or close to it will be a big factor in how quickly you return to form. I have still only managed to get back to 165lbs but it sure feels a lot better than running at 195. Good luck with your comeback. I hope you are running PRs again soon.

It's difficult mentally for you I'm sure because I'm guessing you remember being able to run 6:00 pace and have it feel easy. If you adjust your day to day expectations and let yourself feel good about any progress from where you are NOW you'll start to build momentum. Adjust your diet too and you'll start to feel better faster. I've been through this. Was 165 lbs in college (I'm 6'2") and then when I stopped running I ballooned up to 200. After a couple years I started running again and I'm down to 180 now, feeling pretty good on easy days. You are talented, I think you'll be surprised how fast your body adjusts. Just be patient with yourself and manage your short term expectations.

Two examples

1) Peter Maher - was fast, got fat, got fast again and qualified for 1988 and 1992 Olympics - see

2) Steve Way - fat, then got fast - see

Run consistently and injury-free and you should see improvement.

Losing the extra weight will be a side effect of improving.

Forgot to include the URLs.

Peter Maher -

http://www.mahersportstherapy.com/born-again-runner-irish-runner-feature-article/

Steve Way -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2706250/Steve-Way-gone-16st-fat-bloke-marathon-runner-Commonwealth-Games.html

There is a small chance that you cam get back to decent shape within 2 years and possibly be in pr shape in 3 years if you find a good club to train with, go to a running heavy diet and lifestyle and work hard.

John Trautman is another good success story in this regard.

You can totally get there, especially if you're in your 20s.

Take a year+ to ease your way back into shape and drop some weight.

I'm 30 and am back to my college fitness (15:00 5k and 24:50 8k) after a two year hiatus.

Just stay consistent and run for time not for distance/pace. Your talent never goes away--you'll get it back. Do it!

Ive gone through this as well, I ran 14:42 and 30:36 my jr. year when I was 20 then took 2.5 years almost completely off. Im back to running now at age 24 and im in the best shape of my life (sub 24 8k xc). What really, really, really helps is to find a good training group that can push you along on those dark days when it seems like its never going to get better. It will though. Keep working at it.

Until you get down to 150ish lbs, it's probably gonna be really tough. But as the pounds come off you will feel more pop in your stride. I weighed 155ish and after a year off i was up to 190. I was still semi-active, but i felt sluggish until i got down to 170. It was a lot easier from there to bump up mileage and start doing workouts.

PotentialComeback wrote:

I was a fairly decent runner in college (29:51/14:05/8:02/4:07) but I lost interest in the sport and did not run for 2 years. I started going to the gym, eating garbage, and drinking heavily several times a week. I was 125-130 lbs when I ran these times and I'm 170-175 now. I have been running 5 times a week for the past 2 weeks but I still feel like I am struggling on my runs while going 7:40-8 min mile pace? Am I done? How long would it normally take to get back to peak fitness after such a long hiatus? Is it even possible for this to happen?

All input (even sarcastic and condescending) is appreciated.

PS. Im not a troll

The first response is cold, but true. Due to age and your weight you can get back to a good fitness level, but we never get back to the level we were in college. The rare situation is if the person was not at their potential in college, then yes, they can, with dedication and hard work become even more fit than they were in college.

Here is the most probable:

You focus on two items; losing weight and building a base.

With focus on diet and choices like these new smoothie franchises, you can start to lose some weight.

Your base will be long term. I'm talking 8-10 months of starting at 4 days per week and building to 6 or 7.

You know the drill for getting back to a somewhat "fit level. Do some hill repeats, intervals, tempos, plyo, bounding, core work.

This will require a long term goal and patience.

Good luck

What a silly response. You certainly won't get fitter than you were in college if you work up to training 6 "maybe 7" days a week. It has to be every day of the week and it would be best if you doubled on 6 of them now. If you want to be fitter than you were in college, you have to go in with that goal. And you've got to start training like this asap, as soon as your legs can stand it, no matter how slow you have to go at first.

PotentialComeback wrote:

I was a fairly decent runner in college (29:51/14:05/8:02/4:07) but I lost interest in the sport and did not run for 2 years. I started going to the gym, eating garbage, and drinking heavily several times a week. I was 125-130 lbs when I ran these times and I'm 170-175 now. I have been running 5 times a week for the past 2 weeks but I still feel like I am struggling on my runs while going 7:40-8 min mile pace? Am I done? How long would it normally take to get back to peak fitness after such a long hiatus? Is it even possible for this to happen?

All input (even sarcastic and condescending) is appreciated.

PS. Im not a troll

2 years off means 2 years to get back into top shape. Be patient. Hopefully you enjoyed your time off so enjoy your comeback.

I'm currently in a similar position due to an injury that has kept me from seriously running/training for close to two years. I'm still not pain free and am running a similar pace on training runs and the running feels tough. But, I have done a couple small races and find I'm much faster when actually competing. So you might consider signing up for an occasional 5k. You won't be anywhere close to former speed, but the competition will motivate you to push yourself and the realization you still can run semi fast, or at least faster than in training will be encouraging. As others have said, once the weight starts to come off, you will definitely get faster.

I may be a good case study for you. I ran in university and took 12 years off after I graduated. I went from 155 to 190 in weight and didn't run at all. After my father passed I resolved to compete again. I did Lydiard style base work for 3 months, during which time my endurance improved and more importantly I lost weight. After 3 months I started doing more intense workouts. 3 more months later I was running low 15s for my 5ks on the road. Go ahead another 6 months and I was running 68/69 for my half marathons and 1440s for 5ks.

It's possible to comeback relatively quickly, especially if you are still young (I was 34, and it was pretty quick). In fact, an elite marathoner told me my 12 years off, might have kept my legs "fresh".

I have 2 kids now and have had to stop training seriously, but really enjoyed my 3 years back in the game. Go after it and be patient and you will have a great time with it.

I'm trying to get back into running shape after 13 years away from serious training - 4:22 mile in HS.

I'm looking to work towards a sub 3:00 marathon so have started getting back out there. Like yourself, I gained weight and was used to drinking lots etc but I always kept one foot in running usually doing about 12 miles / week for the past 3 years at least.

Anyway, I'm up to ~ 40 miles / week within 1 month of being 'seriously' back and doing intervals for the first time in a decade. Most importantly, I'm enjoying it and the improvement is coming pretty quickly as my training times prove. Lots and lots of work ahead but the point is that unless you have had a serious accident or illness, you won't lose your raw talent.

Focus on losing the weight, accept that for now at least you're a plodder, be patient and remember the feeling of being able to run fast and most importantly look forward to enjoying it all again - don't beat yourself up!

Dude, you're only what, 24? Sprinters have a short shelf life, but if you trained like you did in college and kept it up for years you could still PR.

I run with a guy who ran 1:51 sophomore year in college, only to slack off and gain 60 pounds over the next 17 years. Then he started dieting and building a base, then moved onto speedwork after a year or so. Four years later he ran 1:56 at age 41.

If he can come within 5 seconds of his age 20 PR in the 800, you can PR in the 5k in your mid-late 20s, no problem. Especially because no matter how much you train your fast twitch muscles degrade with age more than the aerobic system.

As others have said, find a group - there are fantastic amateur clubs in the larger US and EU cities. Adopt very long-term goals and take your time. There's less pressure now so just have fun and don't risk injury.

Hi....former 31:00 10k (road) guy.I had to take over two years off due to an injury and some personal problems.When I started up again I could barely runs 10 minutes without feeling like I was going to die. The hardest thing was that my body felt like it forget how to run. My feet felt uncoordinated and I had put on about 20 pounds in those two years, which I think made the biggest difference.I felt like a noob all over again...I had shin splints which I hadn't had for years.Anyway, after about 8 to 9 months of steady training I ran a 36:00 10k and then recently I ran 16:25 5k. I felt like an elephant out there but I'm happy so far.

PotentialComeback wrote:

I was a fairly decent runner in college (29:51/14:05/8:02/4:07) but I lost interest in the sport and did not run for 2 years. I started going to the gym, eating garbage, and drinking heavily several times a week. I was 125-130 lbs when I ran these times and I'm 170-175 now. I have been running 5 times a week for the past 2 weeks but I still feel like I am struggling on my runs while going 7:40-8 min mile pace? Am I done? How long would it normally take to get back to peak fitness after such a long hiatus? Is it even possible for this to happen?

All input (even sarcastic and condescending) is appreciated.

PS. Im not a troll

6 months, if you spend at least 2 hours per day every day either running, cross-training, or strength training. Cut out the junk food, focus your diet on fish, chicken, rice, potatoes, milk, fruits, and salads. Also, take all of the legal supplements you can (Vitamin E, Beta Alanine, BCAA, Magnesium, Iron, protein powder, electrolytes, beet root, zinc, creatine, caffeine...)

PotentialComeback wrote:

I think maybe I'm more curious as to when running will feel comfortable and fun again. Right now it feels like I am constantly in oxygen debt. I just wanted to see if anyone went through the same situation. Right now, I have little victories on my runs (running 1 mile with out stopping, running 2 miles without stopping, etc.) but I would want to see how long it took people that might had the same experience to breakthrough and really get back to solid, enjoyable training.

You're going 7:40-8:00 min pace. That's your problem. Of course you're sucking wind at those speeds. Just weight alone takes you from a 14:00 guy to a 19:00 guy. Then factor in the fact you haven't run, and it's very likely at this current moment you're in better than 21:00 shape.

I know 7:45 used to be ridiculously slow for a guy like you, but right now it's probably more like threshold or worse, depending on just how detrained you are.

Start running 9:00-10:00 pace and get the diet figured out. You'll get some chunks of your fitness back really quick.

So in response to the OP how long will it take to feel comfortable again? As soon as you start running easy for your current fitness.

How long will it take to feel fun again? Depends on comfortable you are with being at a different fitness level. If you can have fun going 8:30 pace, I doubt it will take more than a few weeks. If you need to get back to where sub 7 is a nice easy run, probably 3-6 months depending on how well you do losing weight.