Today's run sucked! What am I doing wrong?

dward2011

My suggestion is to keep a log/journal for your run days. Quickly jot down what you've eaten/drank and the time. Maybe note if you are feeling tired or had a tough workout the day before. Then do your run, and record how you felt during the run. I did that in the beginning to find the trend for me. Now I know what I need to do to enjoy each and every run, and I can predict a bad day so I don't feel terrible if my prediction is true.

edit to add:

My idea of a bad day is a lack of energy and doing a short distance, which isn't that bad really. I always enjoy the run, but on my "bad" day the enjoyment is short lived because I run out of steam.

Di3012

I'm on week 3 of the Couch-to-5k. After a brutal first day, it's been going pretty well since. However, today sucked.

I did the 5 minute warm-up walk then jogged for 90 seconds, no problems whatsoever. I then did the 90 seconds walking and headed into the 3 minutes jogging. Felt okay after that too, a bit more tired but not feeling horrible. After the 3 minutes walking I went back into the 90 seconds jogging and hit a wall. My legs felt so weak, like they were going to give out underneath me. I had to stop after 60 seconds. I decided to give myself a little more time walking after that, so I walked for a minute and a half and set into jogging again. Hit the wall again and could only go for 30.

The problem isn't that I'm out of breath (though I am breathing pretty hard). My legs just feel so weak. When I was nearly back home I felt like I was going to collapse, not from exhaustion but from weakness. The other problem is that my legs are the strongest and most muscular part of my body. So what am I doing wrong? Should I eat more carbs (ate 146 out of my allotted 296 yesterday)? Am I not drinking enough water (drank a huge glass before the run and my entire water bottle during)?

You are doing nothing wrong, it was just a bad training day.

What really counts is how you handle that bad day, are you going to persevere or are you going to get disheartened.

Your training sessions will go through cycles like this throughout your life, you can never, ever expect to have great sessions every single time.

Just put this particular session down to a bad day, why that bad day occurred is anybody's guess, from you being slightly under the weather to the heat or the cold (depending on the temperatures where you are) to what you ate (or did not eat), to how much sleep you got (or did not get)..... hell, the list is virtually endless.

Now do you see just how many possibilities can interrupt your previous great sessions.

Just continue, it is all part of your training.

ttesta20

Do you use any sort of tracking app for your runs, other than C25K? I use MapMyRun, which is a gps program that keeps track of distance, average speed, current speed, time, etc. and plots it all on a map. It was SO helpful for me when I first started because I could simply take a look at my phone to check my pace and adjust my run accordingly. A lot of runners, even experienced ones, sometimes struggle with pacing, so a real-time program that keeps track of it can be a huge help. It also keeps track of all your workouts and sends a weekly summary, so you can see your improvement over time. And as a bonus, it's a free download in the app store for iPhones and Droids! Keep your chin up and try not to get too discouraged by one bad day. You got out there and got moving, and that is what's important!

cubizzle

a lot of people have already said this, but I feel it bears repeating. All runners have bad days. It doesn't matter how many miles you log you will never put bad days behind you. The more conditioned your legs, heart, and lungs become you will most definitely have fewer. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. It sounds super cheesy, but when it comes to running it's all you can really do if you want to be successful.

PandaCustard

Do you use any sort of tracking app for your runs, other than C25K?

I don't, only because I don't have an iPhone or an Android. I plotted the route on Google maps, so I'm currently doing 2 miles for each running day this week, and each run takes 25-35 minutes depending on how slow or fast I'm going that day. I guess that's not terrible... before I started I could barely walk/jog a mile!

momof2winsplus

How much are you eating? You may not have enough fuel for your body.

PandaCustard

How much are you eating? You may not have enough fuel for your body.

It depends on the day. High-end about 1700 to 1800, low end about 1300-1400. Since I've started I've had two eating days that weren't good in my book... one was 2100 and the other was 800 (really tried to eat more, I just couldn't!! ><) It usually just depends on how hungry I am each day. I notice I eat more on my strength-training days than my cardio days.

DonniesGirl69

Could be anything and people react differently to different methods/tricks/situations. Is it hotter today than normal? My legs feel like cement sometimes when it's hot/humid.....so like right now, it's been around 105 in the evenings when I normally run, so I've switched to running in the early AM.

I also like to have a GU pack or a tablespoon of peanut butter about 15-20 minutes before I run as the carbs give me a little "kick" of energy. After a long run (more than 45 minutes) I have 8 oz of low fat chocolate milk as a recovery drink...this helps (for me, anyway) replace the glycogen I burned during my run and makes the next days run that much easier.

mlb929

How much are you eating? You may not have enough fuel for your body.

I would somewhat disagree that this is your problem when you are just beginning running and not on workouts that are intense for over an hour. Just my opinion.

I think running in general you have good days and bad days. You may have not ate well for the week, may have drank alcohol three days ago, not slept well, stress at home or work, weather may have just been bad, you can guess and guess and simply may just not have been a good day. It could be diet, hormonal, stress, attitude, so many factors could come into play.

What I find, is my worse runs are followed by some of my best. It takes the lows to appreciate the highs. I worked hard when I first started running to race a 12K about 2 months after I started running. It went well. Three days later, I set out for a run, and fell... my first and only ever fall. I was bloody, bruised, hurting... I went seeking answers... what "I" found out, was that really with me, it was my body was more fatigued than I'd given it credit for being. I had let my form down, not had a lot of body awareness, mentally didn't focus. I learned a valuable lesson, that if I start out on a run, and just am not "getting it" - I will return and head out a different day. I brain train my running and follow my body's lead. It's made me a better, safer, my aware runner.

I don't do a lot of carb kicking before I run, mainly because I think our bodies get used to and train to what we know about them. I read a great article on whether cyclists really needed to fuel, and the summary of the article was IF you train you body to want it - you will need it, but if you train w/o them, your body will work more efficiently. I generally don't fuel until mile 10 of a 20 mile run and may have some caffeine just to get me out the door with a cup of coffee, it helps me get my body going a little "faster" for response to my running.

cubizzle

How much are you eating? You may not have enough fuel for your body.

I would somewhat disagree that this is your problem when you are just beginning running and not on workouts that are intense for over an hour. Just my opinion.

I will second that opinion.

cubizzle

How much are you eating? You may not have enough fuel for your body.

I generally don't fuel until mile 10 of a 20 mile run and may have some caffeine just to get me out the door with a cup of coffee, it helps me get my body going a little "faster" for response to my running.

Another example of varying methods. I usually fuel before big runs. I eat half of a GU chomps bag before I start. If I'm going to be running for more than an hour and a half I'll have the other half around the halfway point of the run. If the run is more around an hour I'll just save it for next time.

PandaCustard

How much are you eating? You may not have enough fuel for your body.

I would somewhat disagree that this is your problem when you are just beginning running and not on workouts that are intense for over an hour. Just my opinion.

I will second that opinion.

I agree. I feel like I get ample fuel.

BrianSharpe

Any runner who ever tells you that they've never had a run that sucked is on a par with the scuba diver who says they've never peed in their wetsuit (another reason I never rent, but I digress)

When you're first starting out your body is going through a lot of adaptation and you're still at the level where you're building a foundation for endurance. The description of the problem does sound like you're trying to go too fast - slow down and chalk this one up to experience.

On a slightly different note, are you staying well hydrated throughout the day? Anything you drink immediately before a run (and during a run) will have very little effect on being well hydrated. While mild dehydration is hardly life threatening (notwithstanding what the sports drink makers would have you believe) it does have an impact on performance and perceived effort (which also partly explain the weakness/tiredness you felt in your legs).

Keep at it & good luck with your training.

barbcouperus

I'm on week 3 of the Couch-to-5k. After a brutal first day, it's been going pretty well since. However, today sucked.

I did the 5 minute warm-up walk then jogged for 90 seconds, no problems whatsoever. I then did the 90 seconds walking and headed into the 3 minutes jogging. Felt okay after that too, a bit more tired but not feeling horrible. After the 3 minutes walking I went back into the 90 seconds jogging and hit a wall. My legs felt so weak, like they were going to give out underneath me. I had to stop after 60 seconds. I decided to give myself a little more time walking after that, so I walked for a minute and a half and set into jogging again. Hit the wall again and could only go for 30.

The problem isn't that I'm out of breath (though I am breathing pretty hard). My legs just feel so weak. When I was nearly back home I felt like I was going to collapse, not from exhaustion but from weakness. The other problem is that my legs are the strongest and most muscular part of my body. So what am I doing wrong? Should I eat more carbs (ate 146 out of my allotted 296 yesterday)? Am I not drinking enough water (drank a huge glass before the run and my entire water bottle during)?

are you eating anything before you run? I've found the best thing to eat before cardio is a banana and a bit of natural peanut butter....the carbs fuel the run and the protein helps sustain you. It sounds like you might be getting some lactic acid build up too and the extra potassium from the banana should help. Also, yes, slow down if you're going fast. If you can possibly jog slower, then you're going too fast. build the endurance first, speed will come.

artbkward

I see that you're in WV which means you're probably part of this extreme heat sweeping the country and that could easily be part of it. It's much harder to run at your same pace when it's hot, your body works harder to keep you cool at 90+ degrees than it does if it's cooler. I've always heard 60 degrees is the average optimal temp for running and I, personally, wouldn't disagree.

rrrbecca11

Don't get frustrated. You have to build up endurance and that takes time. I had this happen a lot during c25k. Just mark it as a success, enjoy your rest day, and keep a positive attitude for your next run. Not every run is a good run. Some of them are just miserable and I question my sanity!

Yes!! This!! :flowerforyou: :bigsmile: :sad: :drinker:

PandaCustard

I usually eat half a banana or a slice of wheat toast with a little bit of peanut butter before the run. Some days I get up earlier to avoid the heat and I just can't eat anything before a run or I feel really ill. This may be part of the problem.

And yes, artbkward, the heat is *terrible* right now. Luckily I got up early enough to avoid the worst of it, but 3/4 through my run it got unbearably hot. It also doesn't help that, since I am in West Virginia, every route is very hilly. The hills don't make for good endurance and distance training but it is a great workout. Sometimes I wish I could find one flat track of land in this state though, haha.

99cherrypie99

Welcome to the world of running. Some runs suck for no reason. Some runs are AWESOME for no reason - it's those days that I desperately want to know what I did to make the run so great!

At your level, personally, I wouldn't eat before running. You don't need it on short runs and on an empty stomach it forces the body to burn fat instead of the food you just ate. I mostly run right before lunch - 5 hours after breakfast. But drink a lot throughout the day so you are hydrated.

Most off - keep on keeping on!

dward2011

Any runner who ever tells you that they've never had a run that sucked is on a par with the scuba diver who says they've never peed in their wetsuit (another reason I never rent, but I digress)

^ HA!

j_courter

did i notice that you worked your legs hard the day before??? it sounds like your legs were just dead. that happens. i've run about 20 miles in the last 4 days, but my 5 mile run last night was horrible. my legs felt like lead.... i just needed a rest day. (taking it today) you have to give your body time to recover.

best wishes on your c25k training! i started with it nearly a year ago and i'm a happy running fool now! :-)