What's it take to "maintain" running distance?

[Occ]

So last September decided to do a half marathon for the first time. At the same time I also started playing soccer in a "co-ed" league with a bad team in the position of midfield (this is significant from a fitness standpoint). The half was at the end of November and I finished a bit over 1:45, which was safely under the goal I had set (sub 2 hours, no breaks or walking).

Despite having done soccer, cross-country running, and x-country skiing seasonally in high school, I felt I was in the best "running" shape (and presumably cardio shape as well) of my life. Great endurance, an explosive sprint, and fast recovery times. I could spend an entire soccer game running sprinting the entire length of the field, attempting to play multiple positions, and whenever I got tired I could simply "take a breather" by slowing down to a jog. After the drive home I would feel pretty much all recovered, and roll into work without feeling the need to complain of how sore/tired I was. This was a ridiculous improvement from September, where I could barely run a mile, and was sore for a week after my first soccer game.

Despite how awesome and empowering this level of fitness was, after running almost every day for 4 months, I simply got sick of it. My last soccer game for the season was a week before the half, and once I finished the half I stopped running as well. It didn't help that the weather turned quite nasty around this time.

So, here I am now, looking back 6 months ago, and wondering, how far have I declined? Obviously, I'm also wondering what would have been necessary to stay at that level. Just keep doing a 10 mile run once a week? Do cardio 30 minutes a day? Any training I've done before has always had the goal of increasing in distance/time run, not simply maintaining.

 

[Howard]

Try Crossfit? Switching to overall fitness rather than just endurance could be a welcome change.

 

[StageLeft]

You have declined a lot although after 6 months I don't think you've erased it all; when you start back again you could get to where you were without it taking as long as it did the first time, but the first week or two in particular you will really feel like you're dragging your ass.

1:45 half is quite fit so I'd say to keep that within ball park you could definitely, absolutely keep that running just three times/week. Say 10 miles once/week at a reasonable pace and then another couple of 6 mile runs, one at race pace or faster, ideally. That would keep you within spitting distance of where you were. This is an estimate based on not knowing how many miles you used to be running, though. I define spitting distance as to bring you back from that spitting distance to a 1:45 wouldn't take long (2-3 weeks).

But now where you are to get your 10 mile run not too off from pace of your half and another couple of 6s one close or at race pace of the half marathon, that's going to take some weeks to do.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You don't have to only run. You can cross-train and maintain your aerobic capacities. That's what most professional marathoners do. Your options are endless - basketball, swimming, biking, kayaking, rowing, CrossFit, circuit training, etc, etc.

 

[Occ]

Thanks for the comments. During training, I was doing somewhere between 20-30 miles a week. Start the week off easy, with 2-4 mile runs, mid week hit 6-8 miles, end of week hit 10-12 miles. Minimally ran 3 days a week, several times ran 5 or more. So 3 running days a week racking up around 20 miles sounds about right. I realize it will take some time to build back up. Did a quick run last night, and my legs wanted to go my old race pace, but my lungs were uncooperative after maybe a half mile. Ah well. Back to the grind.

Mixing up runs with other aerobic activities is probably a good idea as well. I'm thinking biking is good, and am also toying with the idea of picking up a jump rope, though I don't have anywhere good to do it at the moment.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Thanks for the comments. During training, I was doing somewhere between 20-30 miles a week. Start the week off easy, with 2-4 mile runs, mid week hit 6-8 miles, end of week hit 10-12 miles. Minimally ran 3 days a week, several times ran 5 or more. So 3 running days a week racking up around 20 miles sounds about right. I realize it will take some time to build back up. Did a quick run last night, and my legs wanted to go my old race pace, but my lungs were uncooperative after maybe a half mile. Ah well. Back to the grind.

Mixing up runs with other aerobic activities is probably a good idea as well. I'm thinking biking is good, and am also toying with the idea of picking up a jump rope, though I don't have anywhere good to do it at the moment.

Did you vary the intensity at all on the runs? Typically, the short runs are tempo runs, which are pretty difficult. For me, intensity is everything in keeping me interested. Sometimes, I want to kick my ass so I'll run short and hard. Other days, I just want to go for a relaxing jog. When I don't want to do either, I can hop on my bike or mix up my own little circuit with stuff like pushups, pullups, jump squats, and much more. If not even that can get me out of the door, I'll just head to the gym and pick up a basketball game. There's a ton of really interesting things you can do to challenge yourself. You just have to mix it up I'd say that running 3x a week probably isn't right for you. Maybe running 2x a week is, but I'd try something different for one session each week. It's interesting, fun, and it lets you branch out.

 

[PricklyPete]

Well I'm down on an injury right now...but running 5-6 miles 3-5 times a week is all I need to keep maintenance for half marathons...every once in a while I'll throw in a 8 or 10 miler on the weekends). So I just train from that base when I want to run a marathon. Generally speaking I would say my mileage a week is ~25 unless I'm marathoning. I also mix a lot o biking in...but more for pleasure than explicitly for exercise. Weeks where I bike a lot...I generally cut back on running. I mtn bike for reference.

 

[rgwalt]

I agree with those who have recommended to try to mix it up. Start up running again, and use it as base exercise, then mix in some other stuff to keep yourself entertained. You did a 1/2 marathon? Train for a full. Tired of running 5 days a week? Train for a triathalon.

I got back into working out last November. When I was in school I spent a year lifting and swimming. Got into running, and then got sick of doing all of it and quit. Put 100 pounds on (seriously), and decided I needed to lose it again. The challenge is part of the fun. I picked up swimming as it is my real passion and I got back all of my former glory and more within a couple of months. I pushed myself, trained, and swam a 10K in the pool over memorial weekend. Today I went out and swam 4K in a lake. First time doing open water and it was awesome, though it kicked my ass.

Try something new and different along with your running. It might be just the variation you need to get back into it. I am working on getting into cycling and running so I can do a Tri!