The title of this piece is about what to do if you missed planned runs. This is something runners encounter during training. They get sick or injured, and they miss runs, and now they wonder what to do. My advice.....don't make up missed runs.
If you missed two of your runs for the week, that doesn't mean you run seven days straight to make up for it. It also doesn't mean you "ramp up" your running by running more on your runs. I'm not a believer in making up runs. The risk of injury increases, because you are trying to jam lost miles into your run. If you missed last week's 10 miler, and you are scheduled to do 13 this week, I say split the difference, and try to adhere to a slow, gradual increase in miles. Is injuring yourself worth it if you can't be healthy to run the race? No.
I once worked with a guy who was really sick for three weeks, and to make up his training, he planned to run 10 miles every day. Really. In his mind, he would make up lost miles, and be back to where he needed to be. He was trying to qualify for Boston.
He didn't like what I told him. I advised he not do that, I suggested he go back to where he left off, and take it from there. He didn't listen to me...totally. No, he didn't run 10 miles every day, but he went on an insane schedule of running every day, running hard, and running more than he had previously. He didn't qualify for Boston. In fact, he had one of his slowest races - he was fatigued from training.
The point of training is to do a couple of things. First it's to build stamina for longer distances. Second, it's designed to prevent fatigue and injury. Why train against the goal?
So if you miss some runs - don't panic, and just remember to have faith in your training plan, and work around it to support what you are doing, not work against it.
Charlie
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