Runners...I have a question

It could be a lot of things. Fatigue, the weather, your pace? Is it warmer than it has been? Are you trying to run faster? I would suggest taking a day off, doing some yoga or some light stretching then go out and and run at a nice, easy, comfortable pace. You know you have done it before, so surely you can do it again. Just remember to keep that easy pace.

Hard to say without knowing more. A day or two of rest is never a bad idea, especially in the run-up to a race. You wouldn't need as much of a taper as you would for a marathon or some such, but there's absolutely no harm in taking a couple of days to see if that's the issue. A rule of thumb is that any given workout takes about 10-14 days to have an effect on your fitness, so whatever you've got in the bank is what you've got.

And congrats to you for signing up for your first race. The atmosphere at a race is unlike anything you've likely encountered during training. You may find it addictive, which would only be so bad a thing. Soak it in, enjoy the adrenaline rush of waiting at the start line, and have a good time ... regardless of your time.

I would get that way when I was attempting to run everyday.

Now my run schedule is Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. 4 mile run out/4 mile walk back.

Having Saturday, Monday and Wednesday off has improved my endurance greatly.

I've never run more than ten minutes before walking for a minute, and since I have started a rehabilitation program for my knees, I've scaled back to five minutes running to one minute walking.

Are you running out of breath, panting? Then it's a matter of your cardiovascular system catching up. Take longer, slower runs until it catches up (in a week or two).

Are your muscles burning? You can power through a little longer.

Are your joints twanging, pain worse than 5 out of 1-5? Dial it back and walk.

I do longer distances (up to 14 mi so far), but don't race.

I have days where even short distances are really difficult. Not from pain, though. Simple fatigue shouldn't hurt, it should feel like your legs are heavy and sluggish (and maybe the rest of you, too). Pain that isn't typical muscle soreness (I lift, so soreness is common) means I don't run until the pain goes away. Better to rest now for a short time than after an injury for a long time.

For your other question, the last thing I would want is an energy boost at the start. I'd go out too fast and be seriously dragging my *kitten* 1-2 miles from the end. What I want is a pick-me-up shortly after my run so I can go about my day like normal. I find a double shot latte does the job nicely

Well done for finishing the programme. Maybe you have just had a bad week or strung together a couple of bad sessions. It does sound like a mental barrier. I used to run 10 miles a day (in 60mins) for about two years. Some days it would be much harder than others and no other factors had changed (similar foods the day before and on the same day etc) but for some reason after 9 miles I could either feel like I could keep going forever or I was about to die before I made it to ten.

Also, some days just tend to be easier than others. Keep at it and happy running!

str8bowbabe wrote: »

One more question - for those who do longer distances - is there anything that you use for an energy boost the day of the race or anything special after?

Caffeine and vitamin B complex. If you want to feel like you have jet fuel running through you then grab a 5 hour energy and chase it with just a bit of gatorade about 45 minutes pre-race. It's debatable about how healthy it is but I also drop two Tylenol as well (I believe the latest is advil is a no no bc of liver issues during strenuous activity).

I usually do this with a 5 or 10k race but hold off for a smaller dose of caffeine than the 5 hour energy bc 200mg will start to impact your hydration for longer events.

Also, you will be faster if you dynamically warm-up with some easy mileage on race day. Think half a mile or a bit longer really easy then start short stents into a faster pace. Your legs will then be loose and that first mile won't hurt so bad during the actual race.