I'm currently training for a marathon which is 7 weeks away.....?

First thing to think about is that there are other marathons, and the one you have entered is likely to be run next year. If you are injured and haven't been able to run for a few weeks (injured in the sense of being unable to run - a doctor induced injury in your case), and you think that you might not complete the course you can let the organiser know - 9 times out of 10 they weill let you defer your entry to the next event they are running. Running injured can cause other injuries and the last thing you want is to finish the marathon in an ambulance.

Having said that warning, if you can regain your fitness in 7 weeks then why not go for it?

Most marathon training plans are for 16 weeks from a novice to a marathoner - if you have done some training before the operation then you will have some fitness. you begin to loose this after 2 weeks inactivity so you have 4 weeks fitness to regain.

I will assume that you are gong to try to get fit again for the marathon but bear in mind that that you might not get fit enough. Perhaps 10 days before decide if you are fit enough or not, and defer the race until next year if needed (keep running though and go for another end of April marathon).

So how to get fit. It would be a mistake to go out with a vengeance this week and run and run and run. Spend a week getting moving again, try a 6 mile or 10km run ever other day for a week - start slow but then work on getting back to your old speed, the next week try a couple of long slow runs - 10 or 12 miles slow followed by a days rest after each, and a couple of easy runs that week (6 miles). Just basically to get you moving again.

Then have a look at your training schedule and see where you should be - then try to figure out half way between where you are and where you should be and make that the 3rd week of running.

It might be tough but the principle is to get moving again in the next 2 weeks then try to get back to running fitness. However if you push it too hard since that can cause other problems.

You have the right attitude though, knowing you can't run for a time with a long lay off and to complete the marathon with a smile on your face. Go for it and good luck

I would be careful not to get over zealous now as you will end up over doing it and possibly causing an injury. Try to get back on track with the schedule but for the first few runs you may need to just get into running to get fit again and may not be able to run as much as you could before so build yourself back up and also listen to your body so that you dont injure yourself.

Once you can get back on to the level of the schedule you should feel confident that you can finish as you had planned. Even if you dont you could still do it but may need to walk a little along the way. No big deal.