Longer rest periods

[Runnellrun]

Hello fellow runners

I am in to week 5 of my half marathon training but have been finding it difficult to get through the runs.

Week 4 consisted of 3 miles, 5 miles and 6 miles

Week 5 was meant to be 3 miles, 6 miles hills and 7 miles

I have failed on first 2 runs of the week with calves and legs feel heavy and ankles hurting. I gave myself 2 days off for the 6 mile run but only managed two

Should I be taking longer rest periods as I’m a fairly new runner? I cross train/ bike/ do weights on my rest days

Thank you

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Hi Nellbelax, how new of a runner are you? Speaking from my limited experience from just over 2 years of running, I did tons of consolidation firstly over 5k, then 10k before attempting building up to HM, and I achieved the distance pretty much one year ago. Also, when doing intervals or hills, I kept the runs shorter - no more than 5k - and my legs thanked me for it.

Sorry if I’m teaching you how to suck eggs, but if your calves and legs are still feeling heavy each time, even after 2 rest days, maybe you could dial back a little?

Good luck on your HM journey! 😀

[Runnellrun 10 Miles]

Oh and I should probably explain that the hills run isn’t constant hills. It’s just a normal run with hills incorporated.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Am I right in thinking you only recently hit 10k? If that's the case then cheekychipmunks is right in that a period of consolidation at that distance may be what you need. Some people can keep increasing distance with no worries, but for others we need to consolidate before we can move on. I definitely fall into the latter camp! I completed Ju-ju's magic 10k plan twice before contemplating moving on. Even now, after over three years of running, once I get into the second half of my HM plan (where distances start to build) I always take two rest days between runs. My legs and feet need the extra recovery time!!!

Only you can figure out what will work for you. It may just be a bad week, or maybe you didn't hydrate or fuel well enough; you may be coming down with something or maybe haven't had enough sleep ... the reasons for tired legs are many! Or it may simply be wise to stick to shorter distances for a while longer before increasing beyond 10k - maybe take the pressure off yourself and aim for a spring HM instead if you have nothing booked.

[Runnellrun 10 Miles in reply to linda9389]

I’ve been doing over 10k on the treadmill since last year. I completed C25K outside but then took a job in Cardiff so was living in a hotel for a lot of last year so switched to treadmill.

But then decided to do Juju’s plan outside this year as I was back in London.

I’m hoping it’s just because I had a terrible nights sleep and tired legs.

I’ve taken all these days off and will try again from Monday. Fingers crosses all is okay!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Runnellrun]

Ahh, so you've been running 10k a good while, that's good. Is it possible your shoes might need to be replaced? - just another thought!

As Tasha99 says, remember to take the majority of your runs at a slow pace, especially the long ones. You have no PBs to beat over Half Marathon distance, so make the most of that 😀

Hopefully the rest was just what you needed. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Tasha99 Marathon]

You should be slowing down. I messed up marathon training and ruined my legs before the race as I did too much too fast. It wasn’t fast at all but it wasn’t show enough to ensure my legs weren’t impacted much and therefore quickly recovered. Slow down. And forget and hills and speed sessions.