Lost fitness

Hi cowgirl,

persevere with it.  I'm doing the VLM, I hadn't run seriously for a couple of years so lost all fitness and put on quite a bit of weight.  I did a bit before Christmas but then over indulged and so had to start again in January.  My first runs of the year were hard, breathlessness at the very hint of an incline being the main problem but that was a lack of rythmn and a lack of fitness - in just 2 weeks I've got to the point where I can run 5 miles quite comfortably. 

Your fitness will come back really quickly, I went out on Monday  this week dreading the whole breathless, no rythmn, no real enjoyment that I've had since I started running again but it felt great - it felt effortless and the further I ran the easier it got - I was tempted to run further but left it at the 5 miles I'd planned.  Since then I've done a 4 mile speed session and another 5 mile run and really can't wait to get out again tomorrow (today is a rest day )

Big test at the weekend as I'm scheduled to run 7 miles on Saturday but I'm pretty confident it will be enjoyable although no doubt a bit tougher as I go over 5 miles...

I'd say set yourself a schedule for the week and however hard it feels do the miles - quite quickly it will get easier.

Good luck!

NBFS

Don't worry, flu can take it's toll for a few weeks after its come to an end.

I wouldn't overtrain trying to regain full fitness till you are fully recovered. But you won't have lost much of the fitness you had in November, you just can't match those performances because you are a little run down.

Once you are recovered, you'll probably be back to November shape within three weeks.

Hi cowgirl,

Completing 2 marathons and getting a PB must of taken some training! Well done

Now in my opinion your body just needs more time to recover, because not just have you been training hard but you have had a bug, therefore your body may even need double the time to recover!  

Don't worry, Your fitness is still there but to bring it back could take a week or it could take a month depending on how quik your body can recover. So listen to your body it may need more rest or it may want to start getting back into it. The key is Just by starting off very slow and building back your mileage and pace gradually. You need to do light runs and stregnth training and Lay off the big hills to begin with. In my case chrismas and winter always get me, but thats just down to lack of motivation and the wheather sure doesn't help :/

If you want it back, it will come back and way before the VLM  

good luck with all your training!

I have had time off due to ITBS and worried about my fitness, 1st run was a killer on the lungs, 2nd was a bit better and 3rd....well its like I have never had time off =)