2 years off - Can I get back to where I once was in the 800?

Yes it's possible to return to form or even improve. Bill Rodgers spent some of his young life not running and chain smoking cigarettes. He went on to become one of America's greatest marathoners when he got back into running.

Probably not.

I appreciate it Boston Billy. I am not a chain smoker, so it looks like I have that going for me, ha.

of course it is possible. It is going to depend a lot of your personality, facilities available to you, and how stressful/time consuming is your job.

If you have a personality/desire that allows you to put in a lot of work by yourself, you have access to a track for workouts, and your job leaves you with some extra energy and time during daylight (or the track has lights on), you can absolutely get back to running fast within 2 years. You'll probably have some injuries your first year back as you try to workout as the same level you used to, but then your second year will probably be much better.

I took 5 years off and this is my second season back. I'm pretty much back where I was at this point now.

I took several years off and came back at 25 and set a PB after just one week of running and I was a smoker at the time.

Physical maturity can make you faster even if you are not actually in full training.

AnswerSeeker wrote:

LetsRun Community - I have taken two years "off" of running, meaning that I have kept in shape but have been relatively low-key with it. After graduating from college, my job/life situation did not allow me to keep training at the same level as back in college. Now 24 yrs. old, I have the itch to get back into it.

I was a 1:48 guy upon graduation. If I trained similarly as I did in college (I know...it takes commitment), can I get back to being a 1:48 guy? Maybe 1:47 and qualify for USAs? Just interested if it is possible after the long-ish layoff.

Thanks for your help!

I would guess you are done. As you know, it is super intense to train at that level. If you did not have the will to do it after graduation, you won't have it now (especially that you are now way slower).

Further, unless you are working very few hours, super unlikely you will have the time and energy to train at that level again.

I predict a few months of inconsistent training with a smattering of great workouts, and eventually life will get in the way again and you will lose interest.

Good luck though.

SMJO wrote:

I took several years off and came back at 25 and set a PB after just one week of running and I was a smoker at the time.

Physical maturity can make you faster even if you are not actually in full training.

lol

Whta a stupid thread

I appreciate the responses. Just curious if it is physically possible. I understand the doubters as there is a lot more that goes into training than just the physical aspect. But, from a purely physical perspective, the answers are helpful.

It's very possible! If you're committed, get a good coach, etc. You're 24! It might take a while to get back to that level and even surpass it, but you don't physically peak until you are 28.

...because taking two years off really affected Brandon Johnson! You only need to train once a day 6 days a week to run 1:48, so it should be possible while working full time. But only do it if you really have that fire in the belly, otherwise you're just wasting your time.

reggff wrote:

SMJO wrote:

I took several years off and came back at 25 and set a PB after just one week of running and I was a smoker at the time.

Physical maturity can make you faster even if you are not actually in full training.

lol

I was laughing too. All that hard work early on and it seemed to make no difference.

Of course I wouldn't have been likely to make that breakthrough if I had done nothing early on.

Needless to say I didn't get that much better after I started training properly again.

Good point about Brandon Johnson. And he is running much faster than I would dream of running.