2 years no running

There have been many Mormon runners who have had good running careers after coming back from their missions. Paul Cummings, Ed Eyestone, etc.

A great deal of it depends on how fit you are before you take the time off, how good your DNA is, and most of all whether or not you'll be able to cram in even some minimal running.

It's amazing how fit you can be with just 30:00 of running a day three or four days a week. If you alternate between 30:00 easy, 30:00 threshold, 30:00 fartlek, and 30:00 hill intervals, (or just choose three out of those four during any given week given your constraints) you can retain a ton of fitness. Shoot, you might even improve your shorter speed. The only thing that will de-train is your long-distance endurance because obviously you won't have time to build up to a long run.

I had a long time off after a non-running related injury and had to come back extremely slowly. I had just finished my Sr track season and was in about 14:40 shape at the time. Not a direct parallel to your situation, but here's my experience.

1 year no activity, then started off jogging (limping) 1 mile at a time.

At 18-months I had gradually increased to 15mpw running + 30mpw biking, and ran a 17:15 5k.

At 2 years I was able to hit 50mpw without much pain. That's when I resumed training with some purpose.

At 3 years I ran a 15:00 5k on 90% of previous training. Without a new career and injuries I'm confident I could have regained my previous form over that year.

Do as much activity as you can, and don't gain too much weight. You'll be fine.

The goal is to minimize your losses in the 2 years.

In the MTC you have soccer fields you can run around during the exercise period.

In the field you get 30 min/day for exercise. Use it. You might get lucky and get a companion or two who will jog with you. Otherwise do whatever you can -- pushups, situps, jump rope, anything to be active.

Play sports on your P day.

You will be fat and out of shape when you get back. Just try to minimize it.

Just curious, where are you headed?

The previous poster has it right. Make use of the opportunities that come your way. (Also, you might be able to fit in a little more running on your weekly preparation day, but a lot of the time you'll likely end up having to play basketball with everyone else.) Also, keep an eye out for local tracks you can use - you might have a companion who doesn't run, but is willing to sit around and watch as you do repeats. Depending on where you are, you might get a chance to do a lot of biking or walking, which is better than nothing.

A mission isn't great for competitive running, but it is a great environment for daily consistency. If you can figure out a routine of core work, drills, plyos, or whatever that can be done within an apartment, you can work on it every day for 2 years. Post-mission, the fitness can come back pretty quickly. Give it 12 months, more or less.

You'll have to retrain your muscoskeletal system when you return to running after 2 years. You'll also have to build back your red blood cells, which are only as good as your peak training 3 months ago. The muscoskeletal system stuff you can keep somewhat intact if you keep running several times per week and do strides. Red blood cells and all that will require a few months of progressively more training once the 2 years are up.

Don't be a mormon.

Run every day for 30 minutes.

I would think/hope that your partner will understand why it's important. They could bike with you, or do cross fit at the track.

I wouldn't think the church would mind so long as you have your priorities in line. If you plan on doing this 7x per week but only average 5x per week, you won't lose much.

I'd wager if you could run 20 miles/week plus walking, you would go from a 1500 5k runner to a 1545 5k runner over this time, IF YOU DON'T GAIN WEIGHT. That one is huge.

so you have to be with your companion throughout that 30min exercise, but you don't have to both do the same exercise correct? So if your companion doesn't want to run, you could still go to a field or a track and run laps while they do something else in the general area.

Get in as much running as you can. Like previous posters have stated, even 20-30min per day can help you maintain a decent fitness. If you can, work in some light workouts that'll give you a better aerobic stimulus than just 30min easy every day. 5-10min jog warm up followed by a 20-25min progression run or tempo would do wonders for you. Hill training is another great option to vary the stimulus. You can do a pretty hard set of hill reps in 10-20min, they're great for the legs and the lungs.

returned missionary wrote:

The goal is to minimize your losses in the 2 years.

In the MTC you have soccer fields you can run around during the exercise period.

In the field you get 30 min/day for exercise. Use it. You might get lucky and get a companion or two who will jog with you. Otherwise do whatever you can -- pushups, situps, jump rope, anything to be active.

Play sports on your P day.

You will be fat and out of shape when you get back. Just try to minimize it.

Just curious, where are you headed?

Bingo.

First, don't expect much from your companions. I had 2 of 13 that were willing to "jog" with me a couple days per week.

And, in my experience, the 30 min exercise rule DOES NOT mean that your companion will be willing to simply allow you to run around a field/track while he/she does something else. It means your companion will have an additional 30 min to lay around and/or sleep, and you will need to find the motivation (proselyting all day is much more exhausting than you would imagine) and a means of exercising alone within or near your apartment.

A few companions were willing to sit/sleep in a chair on the porch while I ran laps around the yard (yes, it was horrifically boring), but I was usually stuck inside or on the porch. You will need to let go of running and embrace other forms of exercise: sit ups, push ups, jump rope, etc. My brother even maintained a decent level of fitness by inventing various exercises lifting a large rock on the front porch.

Oh, and pray for a walking/biking area. Using your legs for transportation will certainly help.

Also curious...what mission?

I was injured on and off for 3 years. I missed 20 months completely, where I wasn't doing any physical activity. I had a heart condition, several ankle sprains, a bad bike crash with a hairline Fx and a calf tear. Three months was the longest bout of training I got in during those three years before I'd get injured. I wasn't at my potential when this all started, but I've hurt my body every way you can, I'm already setting PRs a year later. Mid 15s, talent doesn't go away, and base come back quickly.

Enjoy the running you get for your next two years, let it come when it does, be thankful for the miles you get and be okay with them being slower and not that intense, you wouldn't be going on a mission if you didn't already know you'd be making sacrifices. But they aren't sacrifices if you believe strongly in the good you can do on your trip, good luck on your last buildup and your mission, and know that running will definitely be there for you when you get back!

The members will try to feed you the world's least nutritious diet. Take the protein and veggies, but leave the casserole and potatoes and sugary sweet desserts. Politely decline, or take a small bite.

Thanks for the insights guys, keep em coming if there's more. And I don't know where I'm going yet, haven't started the papers to be honest. I should get my call in early spring, and leave after spring semester of college. Also, one thing I failed to mention is that I may run a Marathon in May. This means lots of aerobic development in the spring, will that be good for when I come back, being an aerobic monster?