
The jump from pain-free walking to full training is where most reinjuries happen, and it is almost always because the steps in between got skipped. Running is not one activity. Straight-line jogging, straight-line sprinting, cutting and change of direction each load the body differently, and each one needs its own week before the next is added.
Our graduated return-to-running plan is six weeks for a moderate soft tissue injury, longer after surgery, and it does not move to the next stage on how someone feels that day. It moves on hitting the distance and pace set for that week without a reaction the next morning. Slower than most people want. Considerably faster than doing it twice.
