Posted: January 23, 2005

Science of Sport: "Ask Owen" Weekly Feature

Ask Owen Q and A Index

Visitors are invited to submit training questions for exercise physiologist Owen Anderson, Ph. D. to answer in a weekly column.

Owen currently writes a weekly column for the Runner's Web.

Questions can be emailed to: Ask Owen.

Each week, Owen will pick the most interesting question(s) and publish his answer(s) on the Runner's Web.

Question::

Dr. Anderson
I have been running off and on for a year. I was getting serious and had gotten up to five miles in the summer and I had to have jaw surgery. That kept me from running for 4 weeks, then I had dental surgery which kept me out another three weeks. I am finding it harder to get back what I was up to. If I can make 2 or 2 1/2 miles now it is quite an accomplishment. What should I do? I have been back at it for a couple of months....
Please help!!

MH

Answer:

Hi MH,

Thank you very much for your question; it was good to hear from you. Don't worry - I am confident that your running capacity will return. You have had a very rough time with your surgeries, and it takes awhile to bounce back - but you will do it!

To be on the safe side, work with your primary-care physician, just to make sure there is not a fundamental physical problem which is preventing you from running for longer periods. Continue with your running, doing the best you can, and make sure that you are taking at least one rest day each week, during which you carry out no exercise at all.

On those days when you have run two or two-and-one-half miles and can run no further, simply rest for five or 10 minutes or so, and then hop on a bike for 15 to 60 minutes of easy exercise. These added bike exertions will improve your leg strength and your cardiovascular fitness, eventually making your running easier to sustain.

For the first month or so, you can make the bike components of your training very easy, but after that you would be wise to gradually pick up the intensity of your biking, completing (for example) some four-minute work intervals at what feels like a 5-K running pace (with three-minute, easy-pedal recoveries) and also some one-minute intervals at close to your maximal biking intensity (two-minute recoveries). If you would like, you can alternate your running and bike workouts on separate days. You will find that as your biking fitness improves, so will your running ability, and you will easily make it back up to five miles of running per workout.

Very kindest regards,

Owen Anderson, Ph. D.

www.RRNews.com

About Owen Anderson
Owen Anderson, Ph.D., is the editor and founder of Running Research News and the author of the books Lactate Lift-Off (http://www.rrnews.com/products.htm) and Great Workouts for Popular Races (http://www.rrnews.com). An exercise physiologist and training expert, Anderson coaches and offers training camps for runners. He's based in Lansing, Michigan. To learn more about Owen and his work, please visit www.rrnews.com

Running Research News is a monthly newsletter which keeps sports-active people up-to-date on the latest information about training, sports nutrition, and sports medicine. RRN publishes practical, timely new material which improves workouts, prevents injuries, and heightens overall fitness.