Question for Long Distance Runners

Jessie43082

Hello All & Happy New Year!

I am training for a marathon this May and my mileage is starting to creep up. I did a 9.5 mile run on Friday in which I felt amazing and was not too sore the next day. The next day, I tried to go for a shorter run and my pace was off and I just couldn't seem to get going. So my question is, do you typically allow a rest day after a longer run day? Thanks for any help and advice.

MarineCodie

I do typically rest after my long runs.

Also, around the "10 miles is my longest run" time period of my training my body was tired. I had been very consistent and could tell I was improving but my body was just tired. My legs felt heavy and I wasn't very fast.

My best advice is to fight through it. Keep up with your training plan and eventually they fatigue will pass.

How many days a week are you running? I was doing 4.

So, I would do Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, long run Saturday.

Further into my training (when my long runs were 16+) I would do a short 3-4 miles on Sunday to keep my soreness at bay.

Also, I would sometimes cycle or use the elliptical the day after long runs. Low impact was heaven!