First of all my 5k pace is now so far off what it was a couple of months ago. Is this a normal results of marathon training? Like I’m nowhere near. I’d got sub 28. Now I struggle to do 32 minutes. My legs are heaving and my breathing isn’t good. I have put a stone on over the last few months 🐽 and I’m sure this is a contributor but it can’t be the biggest cause. On Tuesday I did 18 miles. Before that I had 4 days rest. After I had 3 days rest. I’m now thinking I need to cycle to keep the legs going in between as they maybe seizing up - not much cycling but a bit could help. So for my midweek runs, should I struggle through 2 lots of 5-7 miles or just cut right back to a couple of k and hope I recover eventually? I’ll keep up with my long runs - next week is a step back week of a HM, then I’ve got 21 (😱) and then 23 (😱) then taper for 4 weeks due to other races. I’m concerned my legs won’t work on race day.
Other people who are training are getting PBs. I’ve had to come off Strava due to the pressure.
I’ve even started taking loads of supplements and vitamins! Beta alanine, creatine, protein shakes, magnesium, b6, iron and rhodiola. Horse chestnut could be my next bet!
I had a sports massage last Saturday which was good but then the long run took me back to square one.
Written by
Tasha99
Marathon
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This really sounds like overtraining to me Tasha. It’s those long runs that really take their toll on you if you are not resting properly between them. Google it. We are all different and those running plans are generic at best. Think about giving yourself a break from those longer runs perhaps? I would rethink using creatine. isn’t that for body builders? It has a ton of side effects. I really hope you feel better soon and get your mojo back.
Oooh it does say it can slow you down! I might quit it then 👍🏽 Yes I think I’ve overdone (131 miles in August) it but only following a plan. I don’t think I’ve got time to quit my long runs as I’ve only got 2 left after a half next week (which shouldn’t be a problem now) but I’ll just do very short runs midweek instead of the plan. Luckily I’ve got a month taper.
That’s not you Tasha.I remember just over 12-18 months you just completed your C25k and rocketed to 10k in a very short time and with a very respectable pace for that length of time in your running journey.
Take the pressure of yourself this is enjoyment.Of course enjoyment through achievement also for some.
You are a busy person,family, your job,running club,and more.
Hi Tasha I am just a 76 trotting novice,
Best stuff I have touched on recently, are Pete Magill,James Lawerence and Ben Greenfield.
Gosh others also, but less about running and more about finding who I am and am I enough.
Drop the latter ,the former three I find the simple jewels and myth dispelling leading edge experience and achievement just a gift and so inspirational and simply put but with profound messages and advice.
In your busy life take a little time to watch some of their motivational interviews and talks and master classes indeed.
Even if nothing suitable for you still an enjoyable watch.
I am no medic neither but I would not even consider taking all these vitamins.Your body is just so capable of getting what it needs from even a less than ideal diet.Way above my pay grade.
I take some medication and I am now following and planning to dump statins with the information from Dr Malcolm Kendrick.Just another star that is dispelling myths in our NHS and NICE guidelines while continuing to be a practising GP.
Digression Tasha again.
We are all uniquely different with different needs, just sincerely trying to give you some leads.No drama,every good wish in finding a tweak that will see you rid of heavy legs and back enjoying yourself, relaxed and calm and comfortable in your own skin.
You’re probably right about the vitamins - they’ll do nothing. I was just getting desperate 🤣 I’ll cut back mid week and hope I get time to reset mid week. Thanks Tbae for your suggestions 👍🏽
Maybe see your GP? A stone in a month sounds like an awful lot unless you have an explanation like having been on an all inclusive holiday or a cruise, which I don’t think you have 😂 Thyroid?
A stone or 6.35kg really is a lot in one month. As fat that equals 7700 calories per 1 kg, so about 50,000 calories in total. Hydration might play a big part but even so 1 stone of weight gain is very high without an obvious cause for a 1700 excess calories per day per day over the course of a month. That's equivalent to eating 10 Cadbury's creme eggs every single day for a month over and above your normal diet. Something does not add up. The only scenario thay might make sense is if a drastically reduced training schedule coincided with a big increase in calorie intake (the perfect storm scenario). Odd.
Ah yes. Speed reading fail. Weight rebound - That's one of the downsides of running though (in my limited experience) I've taken full advantage of the extra calorie expenditure of running to ramp-up my grub intake. When I ease off the mileage for whatever reason the diet doesn't follow suit as quickly as it should. ;-(
I don't really have any answers for you either. But it does sound like you are bowing under the pressure of so any expectations of yourself. If you are training for distance, I think it's normal that speed over short distances will decrease - that's not to say it will be the same once the toll the long runs take is over, just that you can't expect both at the same time. Reading your post it feels like you need to stop for a moment. Take a deep, deep breath and let yourself relax both mentally and physically. Remember you are doing an amazing thing already, right now. Your overall mileage, your long run distances, your discipline in following your plan are all huge achievements. Don't lose sight of that. Be nice to yourself!
I’m finding a similar thing Tasha, but on a lesser scale. Speed has never been my forte, but for a while my 5k times were improving gradually. Now they’ve stagnated. It doesn’t bother me, but the replies to your post have made me understand why - I’m running much longer distances training for my first HM distance (not a race) later this month, and something’s got to give. Makes sense to me. 🏃♀️
I’m sure your speed will return - as others have said, we can’t expect our bodies to perform on every level at the same time! 🏃♀️👍
Hi Tasha I found I lost my speed when I was half marathon training so I would imagine that full marathon training would have an even greater impact!
I'm sitting here procrastinating about a 15 mile run I was going to do this morning - I really can't be arsed 🤣 - so huge kudos to you for having the motivation to do everything you have achieved so far x
As Marie says I’ve found my pace has dropped for shorter paces as I’m running them in HM pace mentality. But I’m not running races/park runs whilst on my HM plan. I’ve taken this weekend off running even though my plan says to run today as just feels my body needs an extra rest day.
As for FM training - well can’t even imagine! I’m not experienced enough and still finding me feet with pre/during/post fuelling!! Xx
My longest run is 10k (so far) so feel free to take all this with a pinch of salt, but from following athletics on the TV (😂), the Marathon runners never take part in 5k events and vice versa (even though I'm sure they can run the distances). I'm guessing that training for one isn't compatible with training for the other. It makes logical sense to me that your 5k times aren't improving and even slowing down....(again, no expertise here lol)
Vitamine-wise, I swear by magnesium B6 combination when I'm run down or overly stressed but not all magnesium tablets are equal, do check with your pharmacy on the best ones for your situation. Some have 0 effect on me and some make me believe I can fly and leap tall buildings in a single bound lol. Another source of magnesium and salts is bottled water, it's worth reading the labels and seeing what salts and minerals are in there.
The distances you are running are mind boggling to me. If I could run those distances I would be amazed and proud, and if I could get a 32 minute 5k I would be dancing on the table. It might be worth trying to take a step back and being proud of yourself. You are amazing.
Dont over train. Back off for a bit and see if you recover.
With regards to marathon training. Are you aware of the types of twitch fibres? Many plans or routines use interval runs to help build fast twitch fibres which will help with shorter faster runs (5k included) while your longer runs build slow twitch fibres. Your 5k times could be affected by this as one of the factors.
But to be honest sounds like your over doing it a little 😜
Also just done a little reading up. Creatine causes water retention in your body and generally is not eally recommended for running. This is not the only article that is saying this.
Hi Tasha, I have lost 5k pace as I have been marathon training, and also re-gained 1/2 stone having lost 2 since I started c25k almost 2 years ago. However, some of the weight will be additional glycogen stores which is the aim of the long slow endurance runs, but some of it is summer over indulgence on holiday etc. I have not been doing as much speed work e.g I have tagged parkrun on the end of my long runs so I am doing the last 5k with others as this helps takes away the tiredness a bit. I have done no interval training either, so I am a slower at 5km as a result. I am not worried, as in the long term after the marathon I can change focus to speed rather than endurance, and think that in the long term the long runs will have improved speed, once I restart interval and hill training. Just relax and focus on your marathon, and stop worrying what others are doing in terms of pbs etc. Good luck!
I’m way slower now as well. I do so much low heart rate slow running that I don’t seem able to pick up speed even with intervals. And my weight has crept up too.
Thank you everyone! I need to get a grip and stop stressing! Low mileage mid week for me and a half on Saturday so that’s not too bad. I agree that in the long run my 5k time should improve once I’ve finished marathon training. Thank you!
With marathon plans it's important to know that they are NOT customised. What works for me may not work for you. I found one that did work for me and even that one was constantly tweaked.
I slowed down nearly a minute per km during marathon training. If you keep your regular tempo you are likely to crash'n'burn during the race. Also, marathon is NOT about timing, it's about getting through 42k in one piece. You'll understand why when it happens.
You sound very stressed. This is not about stress, this is about getting rid of stress. Life is stress, running is a healer. If l were so stressed about marathon running, l simply wouldn't run. I don't care about stats, Strava (you won't find me there), other runners' results, races that people run, l don't care about anything that can potentially ruin one of the genuine joys of my life. Think what you can change to bring that joy back to your running.
This sounds like panic combined with tiredness which is all very natural! I wobbled hugely about my training a few weeks back and the fear was overwhelming but something clicked once I started remembering why I run. I'm slower now.... my pace is 1 minute more on average for my Marathon than when I ran my half, but we are running double the distance!
I take magnesium citate, B6, and vitamins D. I try to drink plenty of water but with school holidays and a family to juggle on top of time for runs I guess we take a backseat!
It is so hard not to compare and panic. Myself and Flick are following a different type of training and I felt I needed to test it to see it works. I think I got stuck in the fear of the distance until I ran into the fear two weeks back. It is going to be brutal at times and most of my training has been overcoming my mental barrier of times and how huge an achievement it will be! But achieve we will.
So many people have told me not to worry about times! It's an odd one as I do want to just finish but I also had an aim! Lol. I have accepted now that I won't hit that time and that I need to just slow down enough to finish on the day.
Irish John reminded me to think of it as an experience that not everyone has and within all of the pure panic and training that hit home. We will be able to say we ran a Marathon, no matter what time we did it!
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Weight rebound - That's one of the downsides of running though (in my limited experience) I've taken full advantage of the extra calorie expenditure of running to ramp-up my grub intake. When I ease off the mileage for whatever reason the diet doesn't follow suit as quickly as it should. ;-( 
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