Running on tired legs

I would love someone with more experience than me to enlighten me.

Whenever I run a long run (e.g. 14-20miles) and I run the next day my runs are consistently better, faster and I feel a lot better when I'm running. My mile splits are spot on and my pace is consistent, my breathing easy and I feel generally a lot better.

I know my legs are tired - but shouldnt that mean that i'm slower and feel more achy? Rather than going faster and feeling refreshed?

When I run on 'fresh' legs - i'm always slower and hating the first 2-3miles whilst i'm 'getting into it'. My mile splits are always out rather than being consistent like they are when i'm running.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Yes, twice a day training and 100 miles a week. 

Not always possible, i'm afraid! Everyone that i've asked has said that it shouldnt be like that and I should be running easier on fresh legs.

Emmy_bug,

I`m with you (ish) on this one. I seem to run better during a decent volume training phase. When I taper to peak for a race, I have almost always felt something was missing on race day and that I could have run faster whilst in training phase.  So much so that I prefer to run an easy 7miler, two days before a marthon, rather than the `textbook` 2-3 miles. My mum`s husband was a sub 2hr 20 marathon runner and now a coach and he thinks i`m mad, but in the week leading up to my best marathon, I did speedwork, weights and had run a full marathon two weeks previously.  My background is as a county level sprinter, so i`m not exactly built for endurance work. Go figure????

Everyone to their own! I always have a few days rest and never run the day before an event

Hi forty_44, thanks for that. I thought something similar and to be honest - it's not a bad thing but I just wanted to ask if anyone else had a reason behind it.

I'm the same! I always thought it was my legs saying "Wheee! We can enjoy this run, it's only 5 miles!"

That's a nice way of looking at it RRR!

you're not odd or unusual Emmy_bug. I read a marathon training plan, that I would like to follow, That said to run a faster run the day after your long run.
It gave the reasons why, mostly about recovery and using different muscles. Red as oppose to white etc.

i was in the pub on Tues and we were talking about brick sessions and do run better after swimming or swim better after running etc. Couldn't really come up with a concenus there either.

I'm going to do a track session tonight and I was wonderring how much warm up for optimum performance if, as I've been told, a 3 mile warm up is needed for a 5k race, should I be doing something similar for track? As there's a likely hood of me cycling 15 miles I may not know - I have been told that is a good warm up for a track session.

I'd use the 'like' if there was one. RRR

Hi Camillia - I've heard that it's good to run on tired legs to aid recovery but I just couldnt work out why I was faster the day after! Most people I know really struggle the day after a long run whereas i'm the opposite.

I rarely do track sessions but when I've done them in the past - we've had a fairly liberal warm up (2x800m easy pace), but that might not be best?

I used to swim before a track session and I found that a great warm up, my old club also did dynamic stretches before track. The club I've been training with do a single 800m jog. I usually jog to the track which is a tad over a mile then 800m then dynamic stretches and strides. I always ache and feel stiff though. Maybe that's just because it's a very lumpy bumpy grass track as oppose to an all weather track - flat and smooth.