Training

Hi,
I've been running for about a year now and cover 20 to 30 miles per week. My running is done mainly first thing in the morning and at lunchtime. I find that mid morning and mid afternoon I get what I call 'jelly legs' - thet're just completely shattered (sometimes have bother running up the stairs!!). Am i overdoing it or is this normal?

Are you eating to refuel after your runs?

Hi Hilly,
Eating isn't really a problem - (well the problem being that I love to do it - lots!!)I usually run between 6 and 7 am and then have breakfast of a bowl of All Bran about 7:30/7:45 and then a nutri bar about 9 am. At lunchtime I tend to eat about half an hour after running.

Going by your weekly mileage, you must be running up to 7 or 8 miles at a time. At a rough average of 100 calories per mile, plus the calories burned just to keep breathing/walking/standing etc, a bowl of cereal and a snack bar just aint enough.

Sorry, but you are going to have to do much more eating than that!

Firstly, have "jelly" legs isn't normal. Do you also feel tired?

Couple of things to try - eat more. You could try taking some Jelly Beans. This will probably work as the Jelly in the beans will cancel out the Jelly in your legs.

If this doesn't work then you could try doing some stretching exercises. I quite often get jelly like symptons in my calves, but this only happens when I haven't done enough stretching.

I do a fair bit or stretching after I've run a bit to warm up and then afterwards.
I tend to feel more tired in my thighs than my calves.
I do eat quite a lot during the course of the day and had the theory that as I haven't lost any weight in the last 6 months(constantly 53kg) then I must be taking in as many calories as I'm burning off.
I haven't tried any sports drinks yet - although have been reading up on them and was considering trying the one from Boots - would they help?, if so any recommendations?

Do you have rest days and easy days? If you're running all your runs at an intensive pace or on hilly terrain perhaps you're not giving yourself enough time to recover.

Hang on everybody - are you all saying your legs aren't tired during the day? Mine feel tired pretty much all the time when I'm not running, which I take to be a sign that I'm training well! I don't run upstairs much any more because unless I'm warmed up it would be too uncomfortable. You lot are probably so used to the feeling that you don't notice it any more - so keenrunner, you might just be feeling the perfectly normal effects of working out hard and effectively.

Otherwise I'd definitely recommend getting into sports drinks, as they really make a difference - my favourites at the moment are Lucozade Sport (not the Orange flavour which is a bit yucky), Gatorade (tangerine flavour, yummy) and Isostar (orange flavour). And if you really feel in need of more recovery after a hard work-out, I'd suggest something like High5 Protein Recovery drink (my favourite is chocolate milkshake flavour), which not only replaces glycogen but protein as well, helping those sore muscles to rebuild much quicker. (Protein recovery bars are good too.) There's plenty of stuff out there to choose from, it's a question of finding what you like drinking/eating. Sometimes, ordinary food isn't quite enough. s.

Thanks Achilles - I feel a bit more normal now. I'm going to get some drinks &/or bars at the weekend.

Feeling tired just shows that you are working your body well.

If you stop feeling tired after runs then you are not training hard enough to get any improvement !!

When I run 4 times a week I feel exhausted.
If I run 3 I feel tired. If I run twice a week like I seem to be doing at the moment I feel fine.Why is it so hard? I don't eat much but if I eat more I put on weight very quickly. And I'm not really thin.

You've got jelly legs cos you're so keen, keen runner. Either cut back on your training and enjoy what you've achieved or keep on going (on your jelly legs) and get yourself even fitter. Remember, today's jelly legs anre next weeks legs of iron!