You’ve recently missed a run and you’re wondering what it’s going to do for your training, right? If you only miss a run here and there – maybe 1-2 runs a month, then you’re good. Consider that off day a blessing in disguise. You’ll be more rested and ready for when you need to put in the hard work.
But if your skipped run turns into four, then you’ll need to reassess what’s going on. Are you putting too much on your calendar? Are you not giving running a chance? Whatever your reason for missing a few runs, you don’t have to worry.
A few missed runs don’t make you any less of a runner. It just makes you human.
It doesn’t really matter the reason you missed your run or workout. Sometimes it just happens, and that’s really okay! One of the things I hear a lot from my runners is how they’ll “make up” their run when they missed it. And I think that’s very admirable of them, however, I think it’s important that if you are going to make up a run that you don’t put hard efforts close to each other. You’ll want to make sure you give yourself enough recovery so that you don’t get injured.
Missed because of Life
If you missed a run or two because that thing called “life” got in the way, don’t stress. It happens to everyone. If you missed less than a week, you can pretty much pick up where you left off. Keep in mind, you might be sore or feel lethargic, but that’s nothing that a few days back won’t fix. The pace on the runs should be easier than normal and I would strongly suggest not doing a hard workout or a long run as your first two runs back.
Missed because of Injury
If you missed because of an injury, I would determine the type of injury, the cause of the injury, and how long you missed.
Did you miss less than 5 days and now you have no more pain? Jump back into training at about 50% of your normal run distances, avoiding any longer runs or anything that might aggravate your injury. This includes any speed work. I would stick to short runs – 3-5 miles until you feel you are completely 100% back to normal. Even then, I would wait a week before adding more distance to your run or add any faster running in your plan.
If you missed more than 5 days or more and/or still have the pain? I’d look into seeing a specialist and possibly switching to cross-training until the injury heals. You don’t want a really minor injury turning into something that forces you to take a considerable amount of time off to heal and recover.
Before you return to running, be sure to get cleared by some kind of doctor who specializes in running or distance runners.
Does missing a day of running ruin your training? Depends on how and why you missed it!
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