Any advice on getting legs fresh two weeks out from marathon? I've hit all of my MP, tempo, and speed workouts, had tune up races at expected times, and now tapering accordingly. Everything seems on track except for tired, achey legs (particularly quads). Had the same issue in my last marathon, legs never felt fresh even after taper.
Just rest, baby! The hay is in the barn!
In all seriousness, I had the same thing happen with my last marathon. I shut it down and slashed my volume. I felt terrible during that time, and went all neurotic that I was letting all my fitness slip away.
My race did not go as well as I hoped, but that was my fault for poor pacing. The legs themselves were fresh and ready to go by race day.
Any advice on getting legs fresh two weeks out from marathon? I've hit all of my MP, tempo, and speed workouts, had tune up races at expected times, and now tapering accordingly. Everything seems on track except for tired, achey legs (particularly quads). Had the same issue in my last marathon, legs never felt fresh even after taper.
Fatigue and fitness trend parallel; you can't reach your highest fitness without incurring (and dealing with) fatigue. But racing fatigued is unwise and won't allow you to perform your best. You need to unload the fatigue as per the previous poster's response, yet without detraining. It'll only take a few well-planned and well-executed workouts between now and race day to maintain the fitness you've built; the rest of it is about stripping the fatigue away, either by running easily or not running at all.
Since your fatigue sounds localized (i.e., quads) and not of the general/overall ilk, you might consider the "tricks" the elites use: massage (though no deep-tissue stuff if you haven't been receiving such work already), stretching, extra naps, elevation, cold soaks, etc. It might also be worth increasing your hydration from here forward, with slightly salted water.
Most off all you need to think about what the previous poster responded with: the hay is in the barn. There are few things you can do now that will improve your race, yet numerous ones you can do to ruin it.
Excellent advice, Joggernaut.
I would invest some $$$ into a good massage this week and then another one the week of your race. If you can substitute a few easy runs with Aqua running. It helps to flush out the legs.
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