Running at 41...am I over-doing it?

[LoveableLou]

I am 41, new-ish to exercise and have just completed the Couch to 5k. I've really enjoyed it and intend on keeping it up, but the last few runs have been a real slog, to the point where I feel I'm going backwards: legs are heavy, no energy afterwards, a bit grumpy.

I don't feel I'm over-doing it (3 x 30 minute runs per week) but my body is trying to tell me something. Not sure whether I need to repeat some of the earlier weeks to help my body recover a bit.

Any advice gratefully received as I'm really not sure how to approach this. Thanks!

Are you eating enough?

FWIW, also 41 and whilst Im not running much at the minute thanks to 45 hours a week of outdoor horticulture work, I could manage 3 x 30 minutes of something if I wasn't doing this job

You could just be tired / pre-menstrual / hungry / body fatigue. Running is hard and sometimes you'll have a really shit run for no obvious reason.

Just keep going.

Are youbeating your carbs. I know it's not the fashionable line currently, but I find I get really tired if I try to run without enough carbs and no runner I know does low carb.

I think so, I haven't changed what I've eaten as such. Trying to drink a lot more water, no snacking, sensible dinner. I don't really drink alcohol these days.

I did it when I was 45 so it’s certainly doable. Week 4or 5 were tough ones.

It’s not your age, it’s something else. Hydration? Food lack of sleep ? Time of day? I run after a light breakfast and 2 cups of tea. One time I ran at lunch time and it was so so so much harder. Try out different timings/ food/ etc see what works

That crossed my mind, that it is just a difficult thing and it's not going to feel great all the time. The fatigue is bothering me though.

Well do 2 runs a week for a bit to build up your tolerance then gradually introduce a third again. Or just do 20 min each.
ETC

I found the same with lunchtime runs too, felt like I was wearing concrete boots. Might give the morning run a bash to see if that helps.

Could be the recent hotter weather. I find it much easier in cool temperature

I do personal training sessions with a lot of strength training. We sort of work out in blocks of 8 weeks By the end of the 8 week period, I feel physically knackered and what I'm capable of doing feels much harder. I sometimes need to rest for a week (as in no heavy exercise rather than lay in bed)!

3x 30mins runs a week really shouldn't be a problematic level for someone uninjured and in good health.

If that is the case, then just push through (still do 30 mins, but slow down a bit)

BUT, if you've had the lurgy that's been going round, that is almost certainly covid though most people don't test, then ignore the above. You can't push through post-covid fatigue and you can make it worse (or last longer) if you try. Lots of runner have come up against this, and it can take months to recover your form. If this could apply to you then you really need to rest for a few weeks, then try again, and only continue when it feels OK. Remember to start back with a much easier run than you are currently doing and build back up

I didn't like always doing thirty minute of running when I finished it to be honest. It felt like a slog, and I kept blistering my feet for some reason.

I preferred to do two thirty minute runs (or 5ks) then either a shorter faster one or go back to one of earlier ones and jog the "walks" and try to go faster on the "runs". It just broke it up a bit.

Thank you, good advice. I had Covid at Christmas which knocked me sideway afterwards but thought the bout of fatigue I'm experiencing couldn't be linked to it as that was nearly a year ago.

When I went out today, I slowed down as much as I could but even that felt too much. I'm not injured (apart from knees playing up which I'm seeing a physio for), I'm pretty healthy. I did Parkrun on Saturday and had to stop halfway through as I felt shaky and sick. My concern is I push through I might be making things worse.

Step it back a bit, do two shorter runs per week focus on intervals for speed or hills or similar in those runs then have a longer run which is your 30 mins non stop.

Add in a bit of running specific strength training (lunges, hip extensions, core, box step ups, drop and sticks etc)

If you go on runners world you'll find some programmes that are free and will give you some structure.

If you're sure your last brush with covid was as long ago as last Christmas, then that's probably not it (onset of things like fatigue might develop a bit after the acute illness, but I think they mean a matter of weeks, not months)

If you've not been noticeably ill any time in the last 6-8 weeks, but are getting those levels of fatigue, then it would be worth trying to get through to your GP to discuss, and have some bloods (including a full blood count done) especially if, in addition to this crushing level of fatigue, you have shortness of breath, unusual bleeding (gums, bruising, nosebleeds, heavier periods), night sweats, pain in your joints, unexplained weight loss.

And given your further description of your level of difficulty at the moment, then I'd go out for a walk rather than a run for the next couple of weeks, then try again

It would not hurt for you to have a health check - there may be a reason for your fatigue or you could just be working too hard.
I have just completed couch to 5K. I am semi-retired which makes it a lot easier. I was a bit worried about doing it as I am 70 and have not run before. I have found the last six runs quite hard with legs feeling very heavy but am glad to have got there. It was a good programme to get me running but I think I will cut the runs down to 20 or 25 mins in the future as they are frankly a bit boring - I have to go very slow to get to the end.

Hey op I'm a couple of years older than you but I've found the same recently. I try and do 3 *3k a week. I was managing this on top of gym classes and work.

I did wonder about food as due to alot of over time lately I've lived a bit too much off supermarket sandwiches. I last went out Saturday but it was too hot and I had to stop.

Going to stick to my usual late night runs. I've got big pot of home made soup and bread maker bread fir tea tonight so let's see if that helps.

If not maybe its normal to reach a point where it feels this hard and you eventually come out the other side.

Good luck 🙂

I agree with mixing it up.

3x 30 mins will stagnate on your body anyway if those 3 runs are all the same every time.

It's good to have a gentler recovery week about every 4th week, and even in C25k, there are easier runs built into weeks 5 & 6 to avoid fatigue.

Sometimes runs can feel rough before you go down with an illness, and it can also take a couple of weeks to feel back to full energy after something even fairly mild.

To add to some of the very plausible suggestions already mentioned...

DEFINITELY not age!

What is life stress/ mental load like at the mo? Any changes. Your body doesn't differentiate between physical (exercise) stress and mental stress. That can leave you feeling knackered. If work is busy. Or there's a lot cracking off at home. It takes its toll on my ability to train.

Also... are you starting off with a cold? It's not unusual for that to make you feel sluggish. It may not amount to a full blown snot fest, as your immune system fights it off. But it's not unusual to feel as you describe. It's something non-exercisers don't really notice.

Someone touched on menstrual cycle. I find a few days before my period, no matter how rested and 'good' everything else is in my life, I just can't hit the numbers I need to training. I feel quite weak.

It really is not a good idea to push on if you feel like that... your body is saying REST! Listen to it. If you plod on, firstly - you aren't achieving anything as you aren't pushing yourself. Secondly you are risking illness/ worse illness or injury.

Remember rest is as important (if not more so) than the actual exercise. The rest is where your body adapts and gets stronger.

That's really interesting about mental/physical stress and the body not differentiating between the two. I'm not stressed as such, but I am busy working full-time and parenting a 3 year old and the usual gubbins of running a household, but no more than anyone else.

Re: menstrual cycle. My periods are a lot shorter and heavier these days, so as soon as I finish one cycle I'm gearing up for the next. Blood work was done recently when I changed surgery and nothing showed up there.

Thinking about what everyone's said, it seems to be a combination of pushing a bit too much too soon. I will often run after a broken night with my daughter or do a Parkrun after having done 3 runs in the week. I'm also guilty of getting a bit hung up on timings and trying to do better each time. That's my inexperience showing though, so I'll dial that back a bit.

Thanks all x

I think it sounds like you need a bit of a rest. I would have some time off running (just a week or 2) and then come back to it. But when you do make sure to keep your runs slow.

There's a really supportive running community at health unlocked. They have a C25k community and a Bridge to 10k one - I recommend that for advice about all things running!

So your recent blood work rules out anaemia? I discovered I was anaemic a few months after I started running (heavy periods, I was 51) and it became so much easier once that resolved.

I've been running (slowly) for 6 years now and tend to assume if I find a few runs hard that I need time off - maybe I am fighting off low-level infection, or overdoing it in other ways, or underslept. I mainly do strength training but it is the running where that sort of thing really shows up even though on the face of it is "easier" (given I do slow short runs). So I would take the chance to rest a bit more, walk more at a speed that feels comfortable, walk briskly up some hills if I feel like it, try again in a week or so. I used to worry that having built up I would lose the ability to run but it doesn't work like that!

Quick update: I went out this morning after a good night's sleep, a day's rest and a light breakfast. What a difference: I did a brisk 5 minute warm up walk then 30 minutes moderately paced running. It felt like one of those mythical 'easy' runs people speak of but I've never experienced! With hindsight I probably was fighting a little virus as I felt pretty grotty for a couple of days but put it down to tiredness.

Thanks for all your top tips! No need to hang up my trainers just yet 😁

Things that help

squats
high knees
wearing ankle weights around the house
jumping practice
ankle rotations to strengthen your feet