I haven’t always been a fair-weather runner.
Thirty years ago, you could find me running intervals outside through intense blizzards and frigid conditions because I refused to miss any training due to inclement weather. In the peak of my winter-running era 20 years ago, I ran a half-marathon across a frozen Lake Winnipeg. It was an incredible experience that tested my physical and mental fortitude, but I’m not sure I’ll ever revisit that challenge.
Times have changed, and these days I still love to run, but I pause the winter running for a few reasons.
I live in the bush, and the only place to run is the highway. It really isn’t safe to run there as the snow piles up and the road gets narrow. Icy embankments and big trucks whipping by make it very risky. I have sometimes hit Black Sturgeon Lake for a run on a sled trail, but I have to deal with ice and very uneven surfaces there.
To avoid injury, I have resigned myself to seasonal running, and I maintain my cardiovascular health in the winter by skiing and using an air bike, a ski erg and a rowing machine.
Now that spring is here and the ice is melting off the roads, I have resumed my running workouts. Despite the fact that I trained regularly all winter with weights and cardio equipment, I need to manage running volume or I will regret it. I have made the too-much-too-fast mistake in the past, and it resulted in injuries, with some lasting far too long. And many of my clients and friends have made similar errors.
The best plan is to ease into running at an appropriate pace, then build volume over time. That way you can keep running until next winter and feel awesome while you do it. It sucks to lose valuable training time to excessive soreness or injury!
Everyone will need to approach their spring running reintroduction a little differently. Your ramp-up will depend on your exercise history over the previous six months, as well as your ability to recover from training.
Read on to see my plan as I return to running this spring.
Warm-Up
In my 40s, I spend more time warming up than ever before. In the past, I would skip warm-up and just hit the road to save time. This was a mistake because it prevented me from having a truly great running experience, and it definitely contributed to some dings and dents I acquired.
Now, I start with a very easy, slow run, just to get warm and bring up my core temperature. This can be a timed effort—five or 10 minutes—or a set distance. I’ll often run 800 m to 1 km.
Once that is completed, I work in some dynamic stretches and movements. This work preps important muscles such as the hamstrings and calves and primes your joints and tendons as well.
A sample dynamic warm-up looks like this: 3 sets of 10 walking lunges with a twist, 10 air squats and 10 broad jumps. From there, 3 sets of 20 high knees into 20 butt kickers into 20 bounding skips. If you need to take some extra time with your Achilles and your ankles, add in some small sets of walking on your toes and walking on your heels. You can always throw in some high kicks with arm circles, side-to-side lunges, toe touches and other movements that help you increase range of motion.
Don’t skip your warm-up! You can do an abbreviated version if time is tight, but make sure you set yourself up for success by doing something before you start your workout.
Gradually Increase Volume And Intensity
Interval running is a great way to manage your volume and intensity when you first get back into it. It also might feel more manageable mentally. “Run 5 km” can feel daunting if you’ve been inactive over winter.
But this is much more manageable:
- Run 1,000 m at an easy pace for warm-up
- Then: 4 sets of 400-m repeats at a moderate pace, with a 400-m walk in between each run
- Then cool down with an easy 800-m run
The other benefit of running intervals is that you can focus on good running mechanics—and everyone needs to brush up after a winter without running. Slogging out 5 km in a shuffle isn’t going to help you set PRs later in summer, but running 400 m with a focus on efficiency will!
For my first run back after the winter hiatus, I did the workout listed above. I accumulated 5 km total and let my body adjust to running again. I kept the effort moderate, but I was still sore the next day.
I ran just once in the first week. For Week 2, I repeated the same workout, and I increased my speed on the intervals and added one extra set. This took my total distance up to about 6 km. I was less sore the day after and felt a lot better.
For Week 3, I will add a second running day. It will be four 1-km efforts with a 4-minute rest between sets.
Keep Cross Training
Even though I am adding running back to the menu, I am going to keep lifting heavy weights. Depending on your goals, you might just reduce the volume of strength work you do during your running season, but don’t abandon it completely.
All runners can benefit from strength training. Improving your strength will help mitigate risk of injury and keep you running longer and even faster. Runners are susceptible to overuse injuries, so strengthening the core, back and legs is important.
Squats, deadlifts and lunges are all great exercises for runners, and there are many ways you can adapt these movements to suit your specific needs.
Something to note: Strength training becomes increasingly important for runners as they age. Running is great aerobic exercise, but it doesn’t build lean muscle mass. In fact, long-distance runners can experience muscle wasting. This loss is concerning when it’s combined with the natural decline of lean muscle as we age.
Resistance training can help maintain and even build muscle well into your 70s, and if you have muscle, you can do more activities you love—such as running!
Get Out There!
Your return to running should be filled with endorphins, joy and eventually some PRs!
Make sure you take care of yourself as you ease back into your favorite summer workout activity.
My mantra for restarting this year was this:
“Start slow now so you can go fast later.”
So far, it’s working great!
