Returning to running after a break

There are many reasons, intentional or not, to interrupt your training: after an annual break, an injury, unexpected events, or a lack of motivation, for example. "What matters, in the end, is that we found our way back to training." But be careful! The return is always a delicate moment. Between overflowing motivation and the desire not to waste time, the comeback is a period where mistakes are often made.

Here is our guide to getting back on track and staying unstoppable during the season ahead.

To identify what needs to be done, you must first take the time to look to the past. The reasons that prompted you to quit will lead to different recovery goals.

For instance, if you were injured or ill, the comeback should be particularly gradual. Most certainly, with walking/running alternation even for the best runners. In parallel, being injured implies concrete actions to avoid relapse. This prophylactic work that you should have already started, don't forget to continue it during your recovery period. Just because you no longer feel pain during your initial jogs doesn’t mean the battle is won.

Let’s take another case, you just completed your annual break. The goal is generally to recover mentally. People often think the break is meant to recover from physical fatigue. But at the end of an intensive and dense season, the exhaustion to watch out for is rather nervous. In this case, the resumption will follow a normal progression. However, ensure that the desire and motivation are significantly present again.

To adjust the progressivity with which you must resume and estimate the loss of physical condition you should expect, you need to know what you did during your break.

Here on Campus, we talk about a break starting from 2 weeks. It's from this duration that the body begins to truly lose its benchmarks and requires a return adapted to the activity.

However, between 2 and 4 weeks, your return will not be the same. The same applies to a break of 1 month and 3 months. The longer the break, the more progressive the resumption should be.

When discussing progression, we talk about both volume and intensity. The idea is to be able to return to your usual volume and intensity in a given time. The duration will depend on the answers you've given earlier.

Now that you know your needs, here are some generic cases that you can adapt to your needs. These are just examples. We share them to give you a concrete idea of what your resumption might look like.

1) You can count on 2-3 weeks to gradually return to your usual volume. The idea is to resume at 35/50% of your usual volume.

2) After about 2 weeks, you can gradually reintroduce intensity. Before that, only base endurance. For intensity, we recommend starting with simple straight lines, then very light fartlek. After 2 to 4 weeks (following the initial 2 weeks), you can begin more specific and intense development of a physical quality.

We reach a resumption of 1.5/2x the break duration. It may seem long, but your season is just beginning. The time you take now will be regained later with fewer injuries and less chance of stagnation.

1) You can count on 3-5 weeks to gradually return to your usual volume. The idea is to resume at 20/25% of your usual volume.

2) After about 4 weeks, you can gradually reintroduce intensity. Before that, only base endurance, or even walk/run as needed. For intensity, we recommend starting with simple straight lines, then very light fartleks. After 2 to 4 weeks (following the initial 4 weeks), you can begin more specific and intense development of a physical quality.

In this case of resumption after a long period of inactivity, counting at least 2x the break duration is a good base for planning your progression. If you stop for more than a month, do not increase durations proportionately (after a year of complete stop, you will certainly not need 2 years of resumption).

During this period, monitoring your speed is less recommended. Your level has temporarily decreased, it’s normal. Looking too much at your speed could either demoralize you or push you to run at your old speeds. You can keep an eye on it, but temporarily, the cardio will be more useful to you. The same goes for intensities. The advantage of straight lines and fartlek is that they do not require precise calibration. You can therefore adapt them to your resumption and your current level.

We hope this guide will be useful for your resumptions. If you have any doubts, the resumption plans on CAMPUS will allow you to have a resumption perfectly calibrated to your needs. Come read a Campus participant's experience with our resumption plan 🙂