The Comeback

Welcome to GO FOR A RUN, the newsletter that keeps coming back.

Last week, I had COVID… for the first time.

It sucked.

As I lay in bed for days, barely able to move, the thought of running made me even more sick to my stomach.

But I survived, and as soon as I started to feel better, I began to think about my return to training.

After a week of isolation in my bedroom, I was itching to get outside and hit the trails.

I wanted to bust out of the gates at full speed.

But that would be a big mistake.

I had only missed a week of training, so I shouldn’t have lost much fitness.

My mind felt like I could run through a brick wall after all that lying around.

The problem is that when we return to running after a break because of illness or injury, we want to jump right back to where we used to be.

Now, you might be able to get away with that for a run or two, but most times, fatigue or pain will catch up with you and force you to scale back your training.

Your body is still worn down, even if your mind is ready to go.

You feel fine walking around, but running is a different story.

What’s better is to return slowly.

Spend some time walking.

Monitor your heart rate and breathing.

There’s no rush. Take your time.

Give yourself time to slowly build back so you’re ready to train at the level you’d like to.

It can take a few weeks or more.

But trust me, if you want to train consistently without setbacks, take it slow.

Patience pays off.

Jeremy “mostly walking right now” Singh