Bad training session - advice needed

itsalltrue

Hi all,

i'm training for the marathon in October and i was going ok with my training, the weekend before last i went out and ran 13.6 miles and was feeling ok. I ran the 5 mile race in the park on saturady and went out yesterday to run and i only lasted 3 miles.

Not sure if it was the race or if i've hit a block intari8ning, i'm a bit worried i won't get the mileage up in time.

Any advice would be greatly received

Thanks

shels4ever

itsalltrue wrote: »

Hi all,

i'm training for the marathon in October and i was going ok with my training, the weekend before last i went out and ran 13.6 miles and was feeling ok. I ran the 5 mile race in the park on saturady and went out yesterday to run and i only lasted 3 miles.

Not sure if it was the race or if i've hit a block intari8ning, i'm a bit worried i won't get the mileage up in time.

Any advice would be greatly received

Thanks

Relax and don't worry about it, if you races on Sat then ran on sunday you should be tired. Everyone has a bad day and most people take it really easy for a couple of day after a race.

RayCun

shels4ever wrote: »

if you races on Sat then ran on sunday you should be tired.

+1
You wouldn't expect to be able to run 13 miles on Saturday and again on Sunday. Racing 5 miles is at least as tough as an LSR.

mcdonrob

+1 on the above.

Also try and eat something within 30 min of a race / hard session - this helps recovery.

shotgunmcos

Hey I bet if you look at that run in the context of your training as a whole it will hardly look like a blimp. We all have bad days. I'm generally Mr Consistency (95% of the time :rolleyes:) with my training but last week I binned a session half way through because I had no energy, no motivation and felt as though I was doing a chore. It happens. It still took my better half to convince me to let it go though...

I'd suggest heading out for a run without the watch and just do whatever your body feels like. You will discover the joy of running for you again as the body responds and a the world will be a brighter place**

**assuming you are well hydrated, rested and have no niggles etc of course...

P.S also, it was a training run not a race and those 2 session last weekend would knock the stuffing out of most of us

Have you tried any recovery drinks?

itsalltrue

thanks for the advice, its my first marathon and I have never ran over 14 miles, have don 3 half's, 2 this year (Connemara and Kildare) and my training has always gone well so just a bit worried.

I'm going to change my diet as I only have cereal and fruit before a long run so I might start having some pasta aswell.

RoyMcC

+1 to all the above views. Put it behind you. Running progress isn't linear and you will hit bad days for no discernable reason. Bad days make good days even better.

average_runner

You raced the day before so your ok!

Could be worst, I went out yesterday and after a easy 9 km of 16k run i cramp up terrible. Had to walk a full hour home.
Put it behind and forget about, something just wasnt right at that day!

Warm Panda Cola

I think everyone has a bad day where your body just refuses to co-operate and after all the running you did, then it's no wonder!! I bet when you give yourself a rest day or so, and go out again maybe tomorrow or Wednesday, yesterday will be a distant memory! And remember, don't stress about it, because that will only make it worse in your head for you and you'll spend your run worrying & running is all about forgetting your problems (in my opinion anyways!)

ger664

Do sweat it, this will happen a lot so dont be a slave to your training schedule as far as recovery runs go. If the body does not want to do them then dont and take a rest instead.

The key is getting to the start of the marathon with a good mileage base and been fresh and injury free.

It could also be that your are pacing your runs wrong. Your long runs should be run at a slow pace and your recovery runs at an even slower pace, and your tempo/speed/hill work at a fast pace. A lot of people (myself included) make the mistake of running their LSR and recovery runs too fast and speed/tempo/hill runs too slow.

itsalltrue

played 5 a side yesterday and ran 5 miles today and was feeling fine. hope to do a long run at the weekend and hopefully put last sunday behind me

2nd Row Donkey

itsalltrue wrote: »

played 5 a side yesterday and ran 5 miles today and was feeling fine. hope to do a long run at the weekend and hopefully put last sunday behind me

"it's true, it's true.. its allll true".

itsalltrue

I'm after having another slighty bad run.

Went out on saturday to run 21 miles and had to stop at 16.75. I had no more energy to go. In the previous weeks i ran, 19.75, 18.25, 10 mile race,16.75 and 16 miles.

I changed my pre race meal and am putting it down to that but my runs keep getting slower. When i stopped on saturday i was 15 minutes slower than normal.

With only a few weeks left till the DCM i am starting to get a bit worried. Will be running the half on saturday but hope to take another try at the 21miles the following week.

Anyone any advice?

RayCun

Are you taking any gels?

menoscemo

itsalltrue wrote: »

I'm after having another slighty bad run.

Went out on saturday to run 21 miles and had to stop at 16.75. I had no more energy to go. In the previous weeks i ran, 19.75, 18.25, 10 mile race,16.75 and 16 miles.

I changed my pre race meal and am putting it down to that but my runs keep getting slower. When i stopped on saturday i was 15 minutes slower than normal.

With only a few weeks left till the DCM i am starting to get a bit worried. Will be running the half on saturday but hope to take another try at the 21miles the following week.

Anyone any advice?

This is all pretty normal. Be in no doubt that you are improving, just with all the mileage you are doing you are very tired, your legs are fatigued and it all seems much harder. This is the whole point of a training Programme. That is why you have a 'taper' period before a big race. You will decrease the training mileage for a few weeks before the marathon insuring you go into it very fresh and the improvements of all the months of training will show up on the day.

Also don't worry about your speed on LSR's. the whole point of them is to get you used to time on your feet, so the longer they take you the better. I am doing LSR's 1.5 minutes slower than I Intend to run on the big day

I'd say most of us on DCM training programmes are a bit wrecked at the moment (I know i certainly am!). We are all at our peak mileage at the moment.

If you want to run a really good HM on saturday, the best advice would be to rest up for a few days before hand.

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

Are you taking any gels?

Oh yeah, and as Ray says make sure to practise your race day nutrition in your LSR's. You wil need to take calories on board during the race. I went out with a few bars on my LSR on sunday and the run went much better than usual. I am putting it down to getting some solids in as well as a few gels (and plenty of water of course).

itsalltrue

i think i need to increase my calorie intake before running, when i'm out i have 2 jaffa cakes every 30 minutes with some water, i can't stomach gels so i felt it was best to leave them

macinalli

Do you do your LSR's in the morning? If so, then I noticed that you haven't mentioned the word porridge yet! Most people here will tell you it's essential for the long miles.

The other point is fuel - I'm not sure just how good jaffa cakes are. Were you planning on bringing some around with you on race day? I know you don't like gels but it's probably worth trying a few different types. I personally only use the isotonic ones (SIS are my brand) and fine them much easier to stomach than the others. And if you are to try gels, you need to start now - you don't want any surprises on race day with these things.....

iceage

When did you actually start your training for the DCM itsalltrue? Are you maybe just putting yourself under too much pressure.

itsalltrue

i started tarining last year but go injured and had to pull out. I have been training away all year and have completed the Great Ireland run, connemara half, kildare half, the kilomarathon and the frank duffy 10 mile as well as other 5 to 10 k races throughout the year. But its only in the last 6 to 7 weeks that i have been going over the 14 mile marker.

Just reading about what other people eat before they run and i think i'm not eating close to the amount i should. I will try to increase my intake to see if it helps

plodder

Do you mean immediately before you run, or in the previous 12-24 hours? Because eating a pile of food just before you run might not be all that helpful.

I'd say if you are going to do a 21 mile run, you'd want to eat plenty of carbohydrate rich food the day before, and topped up in a small meal 2-3 hours before you run. Hydration is the other thing. You want to be drinking plenty of water in the days before the long run so the water levels are well topped up.