I am training for a fall marathon, and I recently ran a half marathon this past weekend as a good tune up race. However, my body just wasn't ready to run well, I couldn't run fast no matter what, even though my mind told my body to, I just had to take it as a slow run. Why wasn't my body ready to race? Any suggestions or thoughts on why this happens? I felt like I had prepared for it, and tapered as well, although somehow to be fully honest I feel like my legs had too much rest and maybe I should have run more.
This is the pattern of what my training has been in terms of mileage. My main workouts right now are Marathon Pace runs, medium long runs, and long runs. Longest run has been 20 miles so far.
week 1: 55.7 miles
week 2: 74.7 miles
week 3: 40.2 miles
week 4: 62.2 miles
week 5: 75.6 miles
week 6: 49.7 miles
week 7: 65 miles
week 8: 77.3 miles
week 9: 45.4 miles
week 10: 61.5 miles
week 11: 46.25 miles(This week I started tapering on Thursday, where I forced myself to run less than I normally could handle)
week 12: 43.4 miles(taper week-race on Sunday)
Once I started running less, my legs ached more and it seemed like I had to go even slower than normal.
My sleeping is always great, and I eat a great diet.
I am not expecting a straight answer, as running can be complex with many variables involved. Just looking for suggestions. Thanks for any input.