Thoughts on Training for the Experienced Runner
Being out of the sport for 3 years has had its downsides ( namely the elliptical ). On the other hand, it's also been a chance to learn a bit about what my body has held onto over a period of 3 years of not running, and what it lost. 1. Aerobic strength has been least affected . A month or so into my return, I was able to run 10 miles at a strong pace, close to the paces I ran at my top fitness. Of course I couldn't do it day after day, but it was surprising to me how easy it's been to get back to running 70+ minutes. 2. Muscle strength/resiliency has been most effected . While the aerobic engine is still strong, my tendons and muscles -- the chassis to the aerobic engine -- have been slower to adapt to the demands of training. 3. Sustained "hard effort" running is coming back steadily, but slowly . My ability to run faster paces and intervals, from marathon pace to 5k pace is increasing week to week. It's fun to feel like I'm on the improvement curv