<p>Dehydration is unlikely as I’ve worked pretty hard on that area - that was partly the reason why I dropped down to three to four miles for several weeks and eventually discovered that the problem was caffeine. </p>
<p>I don’t have stomach issues while I’m running and the beans are eaten about three hours before the run so they shouldn’t cause digestive issues.</p>
<p>I do have some nasal congestion and am somewhat unable to detect odors that my son picks up on. I attributed it to fall allergies. My overall energy levels are very good so I don’t think that it’s a summer flu.</p>
<p>I can play tennis for over 2.5 hours but there are changeover breaks and perhaps they give the body the time to replenish glycogen from fat.</p>
<p>I don’t consider 6 miles to be a hugely long run; it’s long for me because I haven’t done it in a while but after doing 6 miles on Monday and Tuesday, I felt like I could easily do at least another.</p>
<p>The M-T-W runs were because I didn’t have tennis matches lined up. This summer, I think that I was playing at least as much tennis as running so there was a mix of interval vs cardio. It’s going to be a lot harder playing tennis as school has started and the high-school reserves the tennis courts during the day. Parking is also a significant problem. We could play on other public courts but they are all in terrible shape compared to the high-school. We could also play indoors but several of the guys that I play with drop their club memberships in the spring and resume them in the fall.</p>
<p>It’s clearly an energy issue. I’ve been going at ~1,800 - 2,200 calories for the last six days and the Tuesday was 1,776, a bit on the low side. I had 800 calories for breakfast (peanut butter sandwich, pistachio nuts, almonds) and I might have a little more (there’s a case of free Wheaties Fuel cereal samples in the fitness center) before playing. Historically, that’s always been enough calories for tennis.</p>
<p>I’ll look at adding oatmeal before running. I could always go with a Clif Builder Bar and I do buy them regularly (kids like them as do I) but they have more sugar than I would like. I plan to run on Friday so we’ll see how some oatmeal goes. I need to check with my wife on whether we have any at home.</p>
<p>On joints - the only issues that I have on joints lately is my knees and running hasn’t been that much of a problem lately. Losing weight on a regular basis means that I can run longer distances. Tennis is still fairly tough on the knees but my recovery time is under one day.</p>
<p>It could be a burnout issue too. I will most likely get a few more hours of sleep per day this weekend.</p>
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<p>I’ve never been that weak running nor do I run to the point of exhaustion. I’m pretty sure that I could have done another mile last night - it wouldn’t have been fun but certainly doable.</p>
To build endurance, you need to run no more than 2 days in a row and not more than one long run per week. As you do this, you gradually build the weekly mileage, so each of your runs, including the long run, become longer. I will post a link to a half marathon training plan for beginners when I find the bookmark. It is a very doable training schedule for someone like you.</p>
D2 and H went to the running store for new shoes last night. The worker had D2 try on tons of shoes and watched her gait. She is a “neutral” runner but throws her left foot in…a little pigeon toed! Of course we knew that already. She ended up with a pair of Asics that she has worn before because it feels the best on her bunion. Glad to see these former college athletes continue a healthy and active lifestyle.</p>