Sample return to run program
Please keep in mind that I am NOT your doctor (or a doctor at all for that matter!) and have no idea what your particular injury was, so take this run plan with a grain of salt. I’m only sharing it because so many people have asked me what I do when I’m cleared to run after an injury and I wanted to create some guidelines to give people an idea of what a return to run COULD look like. Nothing here is set in stone and I have some advice on how you can tweet the below plan based on your pain levels etc. You should absolutely consult with your doctor and/or PT about what kind of return to run plan might be appropriate for you.
General rules:
Do less than you think you can so that you leave feeling like you’re holding yourself back a bit (or a lot)
It’s usually okay to have some pain, but keep it very minimal (1 or 2 out of 10) and look out for growing pain that gets worse as you go.
If you’re sore the next day, you might have done too much. Take a rest day and if it feels good the day after that then you’re good to try and test it again.
Walk/jogs are a great way to give yourself a chance to check in with your body often and see how it’s doing and where your pain is at and catch your breath.
If your pain dictates that you need to take 2 cross training days between run days, listen to that! Just push everything down a day if that’s what you need to continue with minimal pain.
Day 1:
6-10x 1 min jog, 1 min walk (6-10min total running)
Day 2:
Cross train or day off (no running)
Day 3:
4-8x 2min jog, 1 min walk (8-16 min total running)
Day 4:
Cross train or day off
Day 5:
4-8x 3 min jog, 1 min walk (12-24 min total running)
Day 6:
Cross train or day off
Day 7:
3-4 x 5min jog, 1 min walk (15-20 min total running)
Day 8:
Cross train or day off
Day 9:
3 x 8 min jog, 1 min walk (24 min total running)
Day 10:
Cross train or day off
Day 11:
2x 10 min jog 1 min walk (20min total running)
Day 12:
Cross train or day off
Day 13:
3x 10 min jog, 1 min walk (30 min total running)
Day 14:
Cross train or day off
Final thoughts
After the first 2 weeks, keep building with either more reps or longer reps, but not both at once. So if you add more reps then keep them the same length as your last run. If you increase the time of your reps, do equal or less reps than the last run.
When you’re ready, add in some strides at quicker tempo but take down total time if you increase quality/pace.
In full transparency, my return to run has NOT been smooth after this summer’s foot injury. I had 2 stress reactions in my metatarsals and they are taking longer than I hoped to heal and be pain-free so my return to run has been even more gradual than the above plan, taking more rest days in between jog/walk days.
Listen to your body and honor it. Meet your body where it is, not where you want it to be weeks and months from now.