Not all tiredness means you’re doing something wrong. Sometimes it simply means your body is adapting.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you sleeping enough?
• Are you fuelling properly?
• Have you scheduled recovery days?

If you're heavily fatigued, or your legs feel heavy, then swap intensity for ease. Maybe take to the bike in place of your easy run – cross training is great.

Keep showing up regularly, as consistency is key. Just give yourself permission to slow the pace. Adaptations like this are an important part of recovery, not just the run itself.

Work. Family. Social plans. School runs. Training doesn’t exist in a bubble on its own. Instead of aiming for perfect weeks, aim for flexible consistency:

• Shorten a run instead of skipping it
• Move sessions around to fit your week
• Accept that some weeks will feel smoother than others

Progress isn’t about rigid schedules – it’s about momentum over time.

Long-distance training is as much mental as physical.

Try these mental exercises:

• Break long runs into smaller chunks (run to the next lamp post, or the next mile marker)
• Focus on effort, not pace (check how you feel)
• Remind yourself: You've done hard things before – and you can do this too

Confidence grows from completing those runs you just didn’t feel like doing. That’s where resilience is built. Progress over perfection wins all the time.