Wheels fell off......

Ok folks got a bit of a mystery for you, quick run down goes like this.....

Been running for a long time, over the last 4 years its been rough with various injury however i have recently come into a good spell and have been through two 7 week block of training. The 7 weeks consist of 6 weeks of mileage adaption and 1 week at the end of half mileage as a recovery before moving onto the next block. Now ive just finished the 2nd block, well i had 2 runs left of that block before my rest week and the wheels completly fell off. I wasnt too concerned at first as coming into the rest week i knew it was about time a eased off but now even going through my rest week i'm still struggling. With getting caught in the rain a few times i though i may have picked up a cold/chill but was straight onto the drugs to make sure it didnt get a proper hold of me but tbh i dont feel ill or tired and my diet is as healthy as ever..... i say this because normally i go right of my food when ill and can normlly tell when i'm better when my appetite picks up.

Its certainly never happened before so what the hell has happened? Anybody else got this/been through something similar?

HELP!!!

Hi Rob

How many runs have you been struggling for? 

You are probably going to get feedback saying it could be overtraining - but before we leap to that over used conclusion what was your mileage progression during adaptation and what were you increasing intensity as well?

Initial thoughts are twofold:

-  Far too early to worry, colds often affect your running somewhat anonymously.

-  In an ideal world you'd back off the mileage every 4 weeks, but perhaps not by as much as 50%.  But that's personal, so what you're doing could be spot on for yourself.  What made you choose 6 weeks on / one easy?

Hi Moraghan,

Ive been struggling..... more accuratly ive just been feeling like the legs have nothing in them, no spring in my step kinda thing. I dont want to say heavy legs because it really doesnt feel like that. This has been for my last 5 runs, all of which have been short n sweet, easy kinda stuff. It came on really quick, with no warnings just went to go out on my normally easy run and there was nothing there,lol. 

1st block went from 35mile 1st week and built to 48 on the 6th then i kept the frequency but halfed the mileage for my 7th week(recovery)

2nd block went from 48-60 and it was actually my 2nd to last run in the 6th week where it went pear shaped.... so much so that i cut my last run in that 6th week down.....both in mileage and speed as i dint think pushing on would be beneficial is if was coming down with/coming off the back of a cold.

 I choose 6 weeks instead 4 just because i thought i'd struggle.......getting what i needed(mileage increase wise) into a 4 week shed. Maybe thats an issue but it didnt feel like it at the time, i was feeling pretty good about how training was going. I dont feel over trained, saying that i guess you wouldnt feel it till its happened,lol. Its got me puzzled and a little concerned.

Honestly doesn't sound like overtraining and you've been fairly meticulous.  If I were you I'd take a couple of days off (the hardest workouts of all) as obviously something is trying to tell you something!

Maybe your next block consolidate your mileage gains for a few weeks and a little intensity every now and then instead.

Yep having a proper think about it what you say is the only real way forward, a few days rest it is

I really dont want to or should i say i hadnt planned on easing up on the mileage adaption but again i think youve hit the nail on the head, i better consolidate the mileage for my next block and monitor my return to full fitness(fingers crossed). If nothing else i guess it'll serve as a guage should it happen again in the future.

Thanks for your help.

Are you running too fast and so burning (relatively) too much of your glycogen stores rather than your fat reserves? If so then perhaps you've now reached the mileage where you are eating into your glycogen stores at a faster rate that you can replace them through eating.

Hi. I can't really answer your Q. very well. I am having a bad week myself. Last week was great, I really pushed the pace on my mid week run. This week I struggled from the outset. Some of it has to do with the weather, I'm really struggling with the wind and the wet / slippery conditions underfoot aren't helping.
If it wasn't for the fact that I'm cycling into the wind on the way to work and with the wind on the way home then I'd think I have a real problem.
Yesterday I went swimming and swam my full 3k in under my usual time, pluss doing all my pool exercises, so I know that the "wheels haven't fallen off" even though I'm really struggling with the running. I just can't cope with the effects of the strong winds and being blown around.

Just asking if it is some external factor that may be effecting your running rather than your body. I don't know, have you worn out your trainers, just a thought eg: when my tyre presures are low it feels like I'm cycling through treacle.

Dr.Dan, excellent point and something that could be very valid to my situation. I'm not exactly got much fat to spare so i would guess my glycogen gets a hammering should my diet not be upto scratch..... which i'm pretty sure it is, i'm a little OCD'ish when it comes to my training but i do slip up now and again. I'll look into it

bikermouse, yeah ive been getting out in some crap weather as of late. The cold and rain doesnt bother me but i have a pet hate for the wind and did have to do my warm down into the wind..... last thursday which just so happened to be my last good run before all this happened. Coincidence? I didnt work hard though, i just shut down and plodded home in an unbelievable slow pace whilst cursing at the wind under my breath