Post exercise recovery

[Girlintheframe]

I'm really struggling with this.

Been going to the gym doing heavy weights 4xs a week for around 18months. Then discovered running and just love it!
So now I aim for 3 xs gym and 3 x runs. I'm training for my first 1/2 marathon. The runs haven't got long yet (9k last long run) and I'm currently on a deload week.
However despite the shorter distances the post exercise fatigue has been awful. I'm so, so tired. Have scrapped the gym all this week to try and recover better.

I eat well though maybe not enough so am looking into this. Take B complex, Magnesium and Omega 3. Hydrate as best I can. Eat high protein and high carb. My current macros are 50% carbs, 30 protein and 20 fat.

My muscles feel fine but I just can't shake this feeling of exhaustion.

Anyone have any tips? I'm 52 and post menopause incase if matters.

Should have said I started running a year ago but until Jan just did 3 xs 5k and the occasional 10k.

How’s your sleep?

But there are weeks like this , especially with 6 hard sessions each week.

How much of your running training is in Zone 2 ? maybe your runs are too hard at the moment?

Gosh well done OP. This sounds brilliant.

Definitely keep an eye on your pre and post run nutrition. Plenty of protein and carbs. And hydrate.

Not eating enough makes me feel like this. How many calories are you eating? Is your weight stable?

@LittleBigHead - sleep is all I want to do! I'm getting about 8-9 hours, more than usual but I just can't shake the fatigue at all. Im hoping it's just my body adapting but it is making me panic a bit. If I'm this tired so early on in training, am I even going to be able to cope?

@Notgivenuphope thank you. Yes I'm trying to be learn as much as I can and optimize both. Just bought a recovery drink to see if it helps whilst I try and get my head around it all.

@Franklet, I do wonder if I'm eating enough tbh. I'm going off my Garmin and eating whatever it's giving me as maintenance. Currently 1900 cals. My weight is stable and I'm trying to increase calories accordingly without overshooting and eating too much. It's hard when you're hungry from the extra activity but I want to eat well and fuel myself properly. I have bought nutrition training book for running to see if it helps.

Honestly I wouldn't bother with those. Gimmicky and full of sugar. Water is fine. Add salt to your food if you lose a lot through sweating, but as you say, your runs are up to 10K which isn't excessive. Avoid gels and protein bars - full of crap. Nothing a good diet won't help.
Perhaps go and see a sports nutritionist. They will be able to draw up a plan for you while training. Good luck in your half marathon.

You have to let your body recover in between all the activity so rest days are important and high carb not medium but high carb on the rest days should do it. Women need carbs for hormone production.

I cannot exercise more than 3-4x a week as I just get extremely tired. I also find that it doesn’t really help my fitness. In fact, I can go several weeks without getting on my bike (in a cyclist) and find I don’t lose too much fitness too quickly.

have you got a Garmin? I find it’s pretty spot on about load balancing, but you could also be coming down with something.

I've increased my exercise after a year of being quite unwell. Considered myself pretty fit before but exhausted now as I start to come back. I'm older than you but do think your body needs to adjust to the increase in activity and rest is really important. Do you have at least one full day off a week? You could do a dog walk or whatever as active recovery but nothing more strenuous on that day.

Thank you all for your replies, you've given me a lot to think about/experiment with.

Have tried a pre run snack this morning to see how it helps. I usually run fasted due to going out so early but will try and experiment a bit.

I do think I'm not fueling correctly so this is something I'm going to work on. Maybe running too fast too especially on my easy runs. Also I suppose I need to give my body time to adjust. I just find it frustrating.

No gym this week and will focus on fuel. Sleep is good, if a bit much tbh. Fingers crossed I can get this figured out.

I'm 58 and been lifting heavy since I was 51. In the last few years, I've started running more (and sometimes doing other cardio-focussed stuff like bootcamps and boxing).

I usually take a full rest day, and often double up strength and running to make that happen as I usually do strength 6 days a week (splits). I have found I have to prioritise though - atm I am doing loads of strength so no boxing etc and just some short cross trainer sessions or (very) slow relaxed runs for cardio. I walk a lot.

I think you do condition and get used to higher loads and intensity, and also work out how to programme long runs vs leg day etc, but it does sound like you may be over-training right now. I'd decide which matters most to you and try to calibrate accordingly, having scaled back to allow yourself to recover and set a new baseline.

It will be OK! Just takes a bit of trial and error to find what works for you, IME.

(NB I discovered I was anaemic when I started gym at 51, which explained my fatigue and difficulty running in particular. You are post-meno so less likely but if the fatigue continues it would be worth getting checked out for that or some other cause).