Loading fatigue vs overtraining

Talk to your coach. People on this board tend to understate how long it takes most people to adapt to mileage. 60 mpw isn't much to the 100mpw crows. To a person who has been running 30, it is a 40% increase.

Practically speaking, it sounds like you are too close to the edge. Back off 10mpw for a week and see how you feel. I would imagine you are about to start getting ready to race anyway.

40 not 30.

I agree with the above - you sound close to the edge - backing off for a couple of weeks will not do you any harm at all but pushing through might do.

I recently did similar but went from 35 to 50 miles, also female but older than you.

I kept pushing through the tiredness thinking I just needed to adapt and I ended up with an injury. I should have backed off, in hindsight it was easy to see, especially feeling dead on easy runs, time after time. It's also taking me some time to feel better, I wish I'd backed off on those weeks when I pushed on. I might get my iron checked - might you be low on iron?

Also you can still be underfuelling and have periods - please be careful with this. Do you make sure you fuel adequately before and after runs? I was not doing this and have only started to feel more like myself when I addressed it more seriously. Maybe your body worked better when you weren't quite as lean? There's an assumption that lighter must be quicker but every individual is different and maybe optimal running for you requires a BMI minimum of 20? Just a thought. Recommend Renee mcgregor on Insta for more on this sort of thing.

The mistake you probably made was adding workouts into the mix. You have to let your body adjust to the mileage. 60 is doable for more runners than not but you need discipline and a whole lot of patience. Back off the pace. Run easy.

There could be several reasons why you feel fatigued and are not seeing any improvement in performance.

One explanation could be overtraining. The fatigue and weight loss are two symptoms you exhibit of this. However, you may only be overreaching if feel better after cutting back on training load.

Anouther reason could be improper weight loss. Did you purposely try to lose weight or did it naturally come off as a result of increasing training? Also, a potential reason why you did not get faster despite weight loss was that you lost muscle mass. As a result, your strength to weight ratio went down, causing you not to see faster times. Prior to losing weight, were you already lean or were you carrying excess weight?

Other important factors could be your dietary and sleep habits. How much sleep are you getting a night? Were there any changes in your sleep habits with increasing mileage? You may need more sleep to accommodate for the increased mileage you are doing. Your diet may be another reason explaining your fatigue. I would recommend having a nutritional analysis done to make sure you are getting enough calories to support your training and you do not have any nutrient deficiencies.

Take an easy week -- 30-40 miles, no hard workouts. If you're just a little beat, then after a few days your runs should get a fair amount faster without trying.

If you're experiencing any insomnia or waking up too early you're overtrained. If you're sleeping like a log you're fatigued.