Getting back on my horse

Yesterday marked my first day back in training in many weeks. Having spent the last couple of months in physical therapy / recovery mode I am not willing to lose any more time to injury. My plan for the next 18 weeks is to be smart and slowly build up my strength and speed over a longer period of time. I have 18 weeks. I normally can get into fantastic shape in 10-12 weeks, so I am going to take advantage of the extra 6 weeks or so and focus on building a stronger base before launching into my exhausting schedule of intense training. My first major change in my training is going to be how I approach the long run. For the first phase (4-6 weeks) My long run of 10 - 12 miles is going to be more of a march. I tend to push too hard on my long runs. For this first phase in my training I will not be using the finish faster, or the middle mile tempo run that I have historically been doing on my long run. The long run for the next 6 weeks will be a simple easy 2-3 minutes slower than race pace run focused on just putting in some steady easy mileage. I am also going to slow down my mile repeats for the first 4 weeks to a pace that is just below half marathon pace / maybe 10k pace. The goal is to get my body re adjusted to my training schedule and slowly crank up the pace as my strength returns. I plan on using a tempo run of 6 miles, short sprints and hill repeats to round out my training. When the time comes I am going to push myself deeper into the interval and speed work, focusing on developing my 5k speed. My first race is in 10 weeks, and I plan on being sharp, fit, and fast by May. First things first, slow and easy.