How quickly can I ramp-up long run, post injury?

i was a runner beforehand too jjohn but i am not a coach nor do i profess to know wtf i am talking about, BUT i would build not based on any advice but conservatively based on your body with ample rest between runs. there is no book on you so you need to get real in touch with what your body can manage and worse comes to worse, walk and run on race day.

Thanks. I feel I don't have any schedule contingency left so, I can't make a mistake and injure myself by building too fast.  If I do, I'm probably out of the race.  I used to be a pretty good marathon runner (2:39) but that was over twenty years ago when I trained very hard.  Now, 3:20 is what I would expect and more like 4:20 in an IM.

The problem is that I am not limited by cardiovascular.  I can still easily run fast but because of a lack of training I can really easily hurt myself doing so and not know it until it is too late.  I train at 7:00 - 7:40 per mile so it is hard to imagine 10+.  Should I just build with very slow long runs, once I am freed up to start running again?  I will look into the water running thing too.

take it for what its worth jjohn. i would be very conservative building back up. you have to listen to your body carefully. you have 14 weeks as of tomorrow.

say you start with 3-6 at long run pace (SLD) then keep adding 10% when you felt you could handle it, youd probably be well near your goal by taper time. another idea would be to listen to a coach or a book like bernhart who has the 13 week builds for IM. again, though, from my limited experience, ive never even done a HIM yet, I would suggest that you listen to your body and not abuse yourself and risk injury- but thats based on my goals to finish in one piece and not kona qualify.

my problem too is i dont practice what i know to be the best way togo about this. im pushing too hard every workout and my body aint happy....

but i do have an online coach Shanks from enduranceconcepts.com

 I have just gone through a similar experience while training for IM Lou at the end of the month. I missed about two months of running in the middle of training do to a tendonitis injury in my foot.  When I started back running 2-3 miles, I should have been at 12 -14 mile long runs, and my question was "how fast can I ramp up (having limited number of weeks) without re-injuring. I had a pretty good running base, nowhere near what you have, but have run a marathon, HIM etc.
 I decided, the two re-injury risks for me were speedwork, and long runs. I opted to do no speedwork, and do all my runs, especially long ones at a slow pace (about 1 1/2 to2 min miles slower than my normal long run pace) I figured this will probably be my IM pace anyway. My weekly long runs went: 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 17, 20.  I did have some pain after some runs, but as long as it went away quickly, I kept on. As my doctor said "your body will tell you if you're overdoing so listen to it closely"
 That's my story, I don't know what parts if any apply to you, but I hope it helps.  My "at a glance assesment" is that you won't need to get anywhere near a 20 miler with your background.

Jake

Thanks all.  I think I will start with my long run at 3-4 miles and at least a minute per mile slower than normal.  I'll ramp up a mile a week until about 10 miles than 2 a week with a rest week in there somewhere.  Even when I was a hardcore marathon guy I avoided runs over 18 miles.  I think that 16 is a safe maximum.  I think I will try to run all my long runs 1 - 1.5 min/mile slower than normal just to be on the safe side.  I know it sounds weird but I have a hard time not pushing harder. Without really focussing, I naturally drift to faster paces. Of course, I will monitor pain levels and recovery rates.  Thanks again.