Running questions/help

liquidjem
liquidjem Posts: 138 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I feel a little silly for having to post, but I am trying to see if someone can help.

I have been running since June(ish) and have been slowly improving. There is a 5K race coming up in October and I was thinking about signing up, however, I have lost a little faith and am hoping someone can help restore it.

Earlier this week, maybe it was last week, I could run over 3 miles. It took about 45 minutes, give or take a few. Last night, I ran for 35 min and put in over 2 miles, but not close to 3. Tonight I ran for 46 min and barely broke 2. I have been able to get over 3 miles in a few times, but I am trying to understand why I have been crapping out lately...I can't sign up for a race if I can't go the distance. (or at least I wouldn't want to anyway...)

Do I need a rest day to let my body recover? I run pretty much every day, maybe skip once a week. Do I need to rest more than one day, or should I not run every day? Could it just be the weather? It has been really humid out. I don't know what other factors may be contributors, but could another one be not having enough water on those days? There have been a couple that I didn't drink as much as would have liked to.

If anyone has ideas on how to improve I am all ears. I dunno, I was pretty pissed this evening...

Replies

  • lblert
    lblert Posts: 55
    Most beginning 5K programs only have you running 3 days a week with a day of rest in between each day. I'm working on a half marathon program, which has me going four days a week with a day off before and after my long run on Sunday. I know that when I transitioned to running 4-5 days a week with some consecutive days, my legs felt more tired than usual. I added in walking breaks to let them recover a little faster and that's helped a lot.
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    If you're running most or all days you're probably over-training. Both the C25K plan I followed and the 5K-to-10K program I'm doing now have me running 3 times a week.

    Hydrating is also really important - I definitely notice a drop in performance when it's hot or humid and I haven't had enough water before my run.

    Finally there's nothing saying you have to run the entire 5K. Sign up anyway. Even if you end up walking part of it, it's still totally worth it. I've done 11 5Ks over the past 3 years and just ran my first full one in August.

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