I'm training for a 10 mile race coming up the first weekend of November. Though it's still a little less than a month away, I've been worried because of how my legs have been feeling. The past week, every run I've gone on, they've just felt tired and tight, especially in the hips and knees, and just generally fatigued. My pace has slowed an average of 30 seconds - 1 minute per mile.
My training throughout the summer up until now has been 5-5.5 miles per day, with a long run on Sunday. During the summer, my long runs were about 8 miles, but through September I've been working on upping my long runs. Last weekend, I did 10 miles, and the weekend before that I also did 10 miles (this was the first time I did 10 miles). The weekend before *that*, I did 9 miles. This weekend, I was planning on going back down to 9 miles to give myself a break. Then, I was going to work on building back up to 10 or 11 miles for my long runs until the 10 mile race, to make sure my body is prepared for that distance.
So, I have a couple of issues here. I don't want to cut back on my running because I want to make sure I don't drop my level of fitness. But, I'm worried about my legs being so tired. I've been taking it easy on my runs, and though I know my weekly run distances are monotonous, I make sure to take it easy the couple of days following my long run. Also, there is a chance next weekend that I may be unable to run on Saturday because of conflict with a college group I may be joining. However, I should still be able to get my long run in, but I'm unsure if I should go back up to 10, or even push it to 11, because of how my legs are feeling.
It's pretty hilly around where I run, so that's probably not helping.
Also, should I taper for the 10 mile race? And if so, how should I go about it? I've never raced before, nor have I ever run a distance this long until recently (still working my way up to half and full marathons eventually).
Anyway, what do you guys think? Should I worry about this feeling? Is doing mostly easy, slow runs helping or hurting me? Why do my legs feel so tired all the time? Did I increase the length of my long runs too quickly? Could it have to do with nutrition or something else?
Sorry this is so long, and if anything needs to be clarified, please let me know.