New here, back to running after 15 years

2026-09-16 06:27

Hi all, Elena here, 44, I work the front desk at a dental office so I'm on my feet all day but not exactly training. Ran cross country in high school, then basically nothing for 15 years, and started Couch to 10K in January mostly because my sister wouldn't stop texting me about it.

Ran my first continuous 10K last weekend — slow, but it happened.

I'm also the person who meal preps on Sunday and reads every label in the store, so the username is earned. Random question: ever since my long runs got longer, I wake up a bunch in the second half of the night even when I feel totally fine the next day — normal, or am I doing something dumb?

Anyway, glad this place exists, I've been lurking since February.

2026-09-16 07:21

Welcome. The 68 to 59 RHR drop is the milestone. My sleep got worse with back-to-back hard days. Are your hard runs close together?

2026-09-16 09:26

Back-to-back hard days wreck my sleep too. Once I spaced them out, wake-ups dropped. Not magic, just fewer 8pm intervals.

2026-09-16 20:05

Sub-55 by fall? Ambitious. What's your weekly mileage now?

2026-09-17 10:16

My weekly mileage was 20 when I ran a 58-min 10K. Sleep went sideways when I added a second tempo, not from long runs.

2026-09-18 02:42

The wake-ups could just be higher cortisol from evening hard runs. I moved intervals to lunch and it helped. Not saying that fixes everyone.

2026-09-18 22:10

Lunch intervals helped me too, but only when I actually ate afterward. Low fuel + hard run = 3am staring at ceiling.

2026-09-21 09:42

Congrats on the 10K. I'm 44, 16 weeks into a similar comeback. My RHR stalled at 61 until I added one true rest day. Yours may need one too.

2026-09-24 11:31

Good question. For me it was wake-ups after hard sessions, usually 2-4am. Deep sleep stayed flat. The tracker's 'readiness' score was the only thing that panicked.

2026-09-27 11:24

I'd ignore readiness scores honestly. They freak out over normal training stress. The 10K time and RHR trend are better data.

2026-09-27 22:45

Not a doctor, but I've been through a few comeback cycles. Your numbers look like a classic ramp problem: fitness is coming back faster than your recovery habits.

The 68 to 59 RHR is great, the 58:42 is great, but the sleep disruption at week 8 lines up with when most people add intensity. If I were you, I'd hold mileage steady for 2-3 weeks, keep one hard day, and see if wake-ups settle. If they don't, thta's useful data. Either way, sub-55 by fall is a fun target, not a must.

2026-09-28 16:43

The sub-55 target is fine, but the half next spring is the real stretch. I'd pick one. Chasing both on low mileage is how I got shin splints.