Switched Running Schedules and Feeling Lethargic - HELP!
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butreally12
Posts: 67 Member
Hey guys! Sorry, this is going to get really long...
Brief background - I began running a little over a year and a half ago. I finished the C25K program (which I LOVED) and then went on to work on distance and speed. I completed my first half marathon in March (WOO!) with a time of about 2:01. My fastest 5K time was 24:15, and my most recent time was 26:15. I would say I'm generally in the 25 minute range.
I've been looking into different training programs/apps to figure out what to do next. I don't have a goal race in mind; I just generally want to keep my running fitness up throughout the summer. I finally settled on the Run Coach website. I love that it is personalized to your fitness level, schedule, and goals. It seems like a great plan, but...
I've really been struggling to meet the goal distances/paces for the past two weeks! I can't figure out what's going wrong. I've felt sluggish, lethargic, and overall just generally frustrated with how my running is going. I'm wondering if it's normal to feel this way starting a new program, or if it's that the program is too hard for me... the paces sound about right, yet I'm really struggling to do each run!
During the school year, my schedule generally looked like:
Run 3-5 miles (occasionally 6) @ about 9:30 pace; three times a week - easy runs. SOMETIMES speedwork.
Run 1 long run of 9-12 miles @ about 10:00 pace, once a week
Strength training/cross training in there, as well as a rest day!
I would average about 25 miles a week. 4 days running.
Run Coach suggests:
Run 6 miles @ 9:54 twice a week (OR once a week with another workout of 4-6 speedwork/tempo/threshold miles) - easy runs.
Run 7 miles @ 9:54 once a week
Run 1 long run of 8 miles @ 9:54
Strength/cross training/rest etc.
This puts me at about 25-28 miles a week. 4 days running.
it doesn't make sense to me that before the program, I was able to do 4 miles at a 9:30 pace EASILY, but now that I'm trying to run 6 miles at a slower pace, I'm having a really tough time. I'm DEAD at the end of each of the 6 mile runs, and they're supposed to be "easy" maintenance runs. NOT EASY!! Could I also have lost that much fitness that quickly from my half marathon? I was able to keep up a 9:30 or so for all 13 miles!!! The weekly mileage doesn't look like it has changed drastically; just the distribution. Instead of the shorter weekly runs and one long run that I was doing, they have all of my runs at about the same distance. During the school year I did do all of my runs after school - now I'm doing them first thing in the morning because it's so hot. Could that be making a difference?
I know you guys don't know me, but I'm hoping that someone will take a look at both schedules and have suggestions as to what I should do. Should I suck it up and keep running the six miles, hoping to see improvement? Should I slow the pace down on those runs? Should I cut some crosstraining? Add more crosstraining? I'm thinking a lot of it is mental right now, but I can't seem to get out of this funk.
If you read all this, THANK YOU!! I hope I made sense and wasn't too rambling. I don't want to lost my love of running by obsessing over paces, but I still want to maintain enough fitness to stay "competitive" at my small local 5Ks!
Brief background - I began running a little over a year and a half ago. I finished the C25K program (which I LOVED) and then went on to work on distance and speed. I completed my first half marathon in March (WOO!) with a time of about 2:01. My fastest 5K time was 24:15, and my most recent time was 26:15. I would say I'm generally in the 25 minute range.
I've been looking into different training programs/apps to figure out what to do next. I don't have a goal race in mind; I just generally want to keep my running fitness up throughout the summer. I finally settled on the Run Coach website. I love that it is personalized to your fitness level, schedule, and goals. It seems like a great plan, but...
I've really been struggling to meet the goal distances/paces for the past two weeks! I can't figure out what's going wrong. I've felt sluggish, lethargic, and overall just generally frustrated with how my running is going. I'm wondering if it's normal to feel this way starting a new program, or if it's that the program is too hard for me... the paces sound about right, yet I'm really struggling to do each run!
During the school year, my schedule generally looked like:
Run 3-5 miles (occasionally 6) @ about 9:30 pace; three times a week - easy runs. SOMETIMES speedwork.
Run 1 long run of 9-12 miles @ about 10:00 pace, once a week
Strength training/cross training in there, as well as a rest day!
I would average about 25 miles a week. 4 days running.
Run Coach suggests:
Run 6 miles @ 9:54 twice a week (OR once a week with another workout of 4-6 speedwork/tempo/threshold miles) - easy runs.
Run 7 miles @ 9:54 once a week
Run 1 long run of 8 miles @ 9:54
Strength/cross training/rest etc.
This puts me at about 25-28 miles a week. 4 days running.
it doesn't make sense to me that before the program, I was able to do 4 miles at a 9:30 pace EASILY, but now that I'm trying to run 6 miles at a slower pace, I'm having a really tough time. I'm DEAD at the end of each of the 6 mile runs, and they're supposed to be "easy" maintenance runs. NOT EASY!! Could I also have lost that much fitness that quickly from my half marathon? I was able to keep up a 9:30 or so for all 13 miles!!! The weekly mileage doesn't look like it has changed drastically; just the distribution. Instead of the shorter weekly runs and one long run that I was doing, they have all of my runs at about the same distance. During the school year I did do all of my runs after school - now I'm doing them first thing in the morning because it's so hot. Could that be making a difference?
I know you guys don't know me, but I'm hoping that someone will take a look at both schedules and have suggestions as to what I should do. Should I suck it up and keep running the six miles, hoping to see improvement? Should I slow the pace down on those runs? Should I cut some crosstraining? Add more crosstraining? I'm thinking a lot of it is mental right now, but I can't seem to get out of this funk.
If you read all this, THANK YOU!! I hope I made sense and wasn't too rambling. I don't want to lost my love of running by obsessing over paces, but I still want to maintain enough fitness to stay "competitive" at my small local 5Ks!
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Replies
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I think you're right about changing from short and 1 long to mostly longer. Switching from afternoon to morning will definitely help with the heat, but if you're not a morning person, that could be part of the struggle too.
It might be worth trying to go back to your old lengths and gradually up the mileage. Adding 2 miles may not seem like much, but a sudden jump like that multiple times per week sure would wipe me out.
Congratulations on your Half Marathon!!! That's a GREAT time!! :flowerforyou:0 -
I bet it's the change in time of day and the heat. Make sure you have a good-sized dinner with complex carbs the night before a run.
I did also find that when I switched to longer runs (even keeping the weekly mileage the same), my body felt more beat-up for a while.0 -
Thank you guys for the responses!! ekat120, did your body eventually adjust?0
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