If a person doesn't run a 5k for 1 week, will his 5k time and running speed suffer and decrease?

Question

If a person doesn't run a 5k for 1 week, will his 5k time and running speed suffer and decrease?

Answer 1

2 + weeks before you see any real affects from not running or working out. A week off may hurt your time a little but for me personally I like to take 3 days off  with only a 30 minute run on that middle day before I do a 5k.

Answer 2

No, generally your speed will no suffer, nor decrease. (Unless you had some upper respiratory virus that you suffered from).  Rest days actually helps your muscles to repair and restore.

Answer 3

normally one week is not going to cost you much conditioning. It takes about 2 weeks or longer depending on your age and the level of conditioning before you show real loss of ability.

Answer 4

Perhaps slightly. You may become winded a little easier, but the effect will be minimal. My college coach, who coached athletes in the Olympics several times, always told us your conditioning will start to backslide after three days of no training. If you don't run for a week, at least do something to keep your muscles active like taking a short walk or do some weight training. Don't just sit idle.

Answer 5

No, it takes about 4 weeks before muslce starts to waste, you will attualy find your time improve because your giving your body a rest.