Forums >Racing>What to do if legs are dead 5 weeks out from a marathon?
Hi!
I'm just looking to get some advice on what I should do if my legs have been DEAD for the last few weeks, but I have a marathon planned for 5 weeks from now? Recently it seems as though my legs have been unable to recover, and every run I've just felt sluggish and slow. Earlier in training I was able to steadily hold a 7:10/mi goal pace workout, but now I can hardly keep up 7:45/mi pace for 3000m in a workout, and even shortened runs have left me with tight and heavy muscles. Frequent rolling and stretching, the addition of a daily electrolyte supplement and trying to improve nutrition post-workout has helped a little, but not much. I've figured that the most likely problem is not enough sleep combined with a lot of stress that comes with being a full time student. I will be trying to work on my sleep habits over the next few weeks, but I'm just not sure what to do in the meantime. This phase of training is key, and I really don't want to completely stop running and risk losing the fitness that I've been building up, but I'm also not sure if running is really doing a whole lot of good since they really are just tired all the time. If you guys have ever experienced this or have some advise on how to fix it please let me know, anything helps!
Awesome
Sounds about right to me.
Pay attention to the final symptom on this taper madness list: http://blog.runnerslounge.com/2008/09/symptoms-and-tr.html
runktrun
Unless you suspect your are injured or sick, do not stop running for any extended period of time just yet. Continue with your plan, maybe cut back a bit on recovery days or even take a day off between hard efforts, but stick to your key workouts. If you're still not recovering, try more recovery time between reps in speed sessions, or slow down your rep pace to your goal marathon pace. Marathon training is primarily about accumulating and adapting to fatigue, so don't significantly cut back yet or you will peak too soon. Add notes to your training log about how you feel so you can see if things are improving or not with minor changes.
Not running for my health, but in spite of it.
an amazing likeness
Run long. Slow and long. It works, really. This was something one of the famous coaches promotes, and it seems to help me when I can't shake leg fatigue.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
good advice from Kilkee and MT. but dead is not good if its hurting your quality days. is your goal pace (and training paces) realistic to your general level of conditioning or maybe you are overreaching? make sure your easy days are easy enough, and consider taking a day off if you dont already to see if the snap is back the day after.
one other thought, if you log your runs here consider opening it so others can offer more specific advice.