What is your favorite first workout back after a long period of no hard training either due to injury or planned time off? Assume you have been doing nothing but jogging the previous few weeks.
What is your favorite first workout back after a long period of no hard training either due to injury or planned time off? Assume you have been doing nothing but jogging the previous few weeks.
I used to like doing mile repeats at a fixed interval. For me at the time, a 6:00 mile was tempoish or a little faster, so I would do repeat miles starting every 7:00. Could run it easier and get less rest, or run faster and get a bit more rest.
1 min on 1 min off until it starts to feel difficult to speed up. Been doing this for years. Not enough time at faster pace, or a bad split to be discouraging. Usually I don't hit the split on my watch, just check average time and make sure it's faster at the end than the start. It's about getting some fitness back - no need to think too much.
Broken tempo
8-10 second hills for around 25 minutes.
Sprint up, walk down
3 mile tempo at a pace that is around 40 seconds/mile slower than typical.
When I want to get back onto the track, I go really easy with 4x400. I don't have a planned pace, but they typically end up at something that would align closely with what would be goal 5k pace.
6 x 3 min, 90 sec rest as a VO2 max type workout and 3 x 10 min, 2 min jog as a threshold type workout. I use these to figure out where I am in terms of fitness and usually do them a few times until I can properly progress the pace through the workout and then move on to more challenging or specific workouts. Oh and hills, always hills.
16×200
10 x 150, 250 jog. Start at 800 pace, work down a little faster.
5-4-3-2-1 or 1-2-3-4-5 fartlek
2 x 10 minute tempo, couple of slow minutes recovery between.
Enough pace to see your fitness level and improve it, but none of that start/stop of intervals that can stress legs injury-wise.
and 10 minutes is easy to handle mental.
3 mile tempo at 5k + 20 per mile
It’s not super difficult but it typically ends up being around your 10k pace since you’re unfit. I struggled for 2 weeks before doing this - I was running 17 minute 5k tempos as a sub 15 runner - but this jump started my fitness and got me back into “training mode”. I was in low 14:0x shape by the end of the summer, confirmed by a low 8:0x time trial, and was then running HM effort tempos at 15:00 for the 5k. Basically, you need something to shock the system
I like 15x30” on , 90” off for turnover/speed, done on the road
For long stuff it’s either a pretty short tempo (10-15 mins) or a progression run.
I also like a 2 mile / 10 min tempo (around 10:10) followed by 4x300 mile
Hill reps and "Minutes" either one (usually both during the week) is where I start.
Hill reps
100m Strides @ 5k/1500 effort
200m reps @ mile effort
6x3 min @ 5k effort with 3 min jog rest
8 X 200m
Has to be hard wrote:
3 mile tempo at 5k + 20 per mile
It’s not super difficult but it typically ends up being around your 10k pace since you’re unfit. I struggled for 2 weeks before doing this - I was running 17 minute 5k tempos as a sub 15 runner - but this jump started my fitness and got me back into “training mode”. I was in low 14:0x shape by the end of the summer, confirmed by a low 8:0x time trial, and was then running HM effort tempos at 15:00 for the 5k. Basically, you need something to shock the system
Glad to hear it worked well for you, but don't think shocking the system is good advice at all especially if someone is coming back from injury.
Agree with people who have said some kind of fartlek where you can just run to time and effort as opposed to being tied to a pace where you don't really know your fitness or could easily lose confidence. Feel like you need an easier type effort where you can check the box and get a "win" for the first workout back.
10x400 very easy pace with about 30 second break
Out and back run with negative split.
20 minutes faster than you feel like going, but just. No time, just go.