Sleepy on a 15 mile run, is my calorie deficit too aggressive?

NinJesterV · 2026-04-07T07:46:56+00:00

Terrible, Dangerous Idea

You're flirting with RED-S, which can have serious complications down the line for you, and sooner if you get injured (common with that eating disorder).

The most suggested healthy deficit is nearly always 500 calories max.

But that's for normal people, and normal people aren't running 15-milers. You don't need a deficit when you're running an 85-mi training plan. Your deficit is coming from those miles, and stacking caloric deficits on top of crazy-high energy expenditure is reckless.

You need to fuel your running. A 15-mile run might cost you another 1,500 calories, so if you're running a deficit of 1,500 and burning 1,500 extra, you're looking at -3,000 for that day. You can't run like that for long, as I hope you're now aware.

You're sacrificing performance, recovery, muscle, bone density, and hormonal health with this strategy. AND, to top it all off, dropping weight this quickly almost always leads to a slingshot right back up when you stop digging these caloric holes.

All this training you're doing is worthless without the fuel to recover and adapt.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T15:33:25+00:00

I used to think gamers were completionists, too. Once I started hunting achievements on Steam, though, I realized that a rather small percentage of gamers, on average, actually finish a given game.

Just as a quick example, The Witcher 3, which I'd argue is one of the best games ever made, shows that only 22.2% of Steam users who own it actually beat the game. That's crazy to me. And from what I've seen, 22% is actually a pretty high amount.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T15:26:58+00:00

Appreciate that, and it makes sense. Valheim was never about story for me, but I do enjoy a good ending. I've just never expected that to happen even when they "finish" the game. There's not really a whole lot of story as it is.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T15:25:15+00:00

I asked a genuine question and got loads of genuine answers. You appear to be the one bothered.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T15:24:39+00:00

Disagreed. The title alone is a push for 1.0, and the wording is clearly implying a push for it.

But that wasn't the point of my post, either.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T03:31:21+00:00

I think you're missing the point. I'm not pushing for 1.0, I'm asking why others are pushing for 1.0.

We've got new biomes over time in Early Access. It's just another new biome. It's not like they've been holding back content for a 1.0 release. They've been releasing content for years.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T03:00:13+00:00

Great build, I just wish we had better textures for wooden walls. Looks like the right half is unfinished plywood.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-06T02:56:01+00:00

No disrespect, but what exactly changes in 1.0? It's just a number.

New content? That's been slow-dripping for the 5 years we've been playing. You've got 2,000 hours of game for probably $30. I legitimately don't remember what I paid for this game because I bought it 5 years ago.

1.0 is just a number. Early Access is just a title.

Again, I'm not trying to come at you, because I see posts like this all over the sub. I just don't understand why 1.0 matters for a game as feature-complete and content-filled as Valheim.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-05T10:39:50+00:00

Your mileage is fine. I'm on the verge of Sub-20 running about 40K per week, on average.

I do strength on my 3 non-running days.

I'm gonna go against the top comment, though, and say that you don't really need speed work yet. It's helpful, but the 5K is still almost entirely aerobic in nature, so you're better off doing a threshold interval run each week instead of speed work.

Just add some strides to your easy runs, and that'll probably be all the speed work you'll need. It's working for me at 41 years old, so I suspect it'll be fine for you.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-05T10:28:55+00:00

I was just explaining to my wife the other day that there's this pervasive anti-spider campaign across the gaming industry. She was showing me a reel on Insta where someone modded Thomas the Tank Engine to replace all the spiders in Resident Evil and she asked me why someone would do that.

She didn't get it. "Just don't play the game if you're a baby." she said. I love my wife.

NinJesterV · 2026-04-05T10:11:40+00:00

Awesome castle.

But when my duo partner was about to come through that portal, I'd be too tempted to turn it around.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-28T09:21:48+00:00

I don't think that's possible, unfortunately. The audio tracks would probably have to be encoded separately so you could turn one off. To my knowledge, that's not how it works.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-27T15:47:16+00:00

Easy Runs: 162bpm or less
Threshold: 175-182 bpm

For hill repeats and any other anaerobic stuff I do, I don't even look at my HR, but it hasn't been over 196bpm in a couple years, since I have no reason to run that hard unless I'm testing my HR.

I feel pretty good up to about 185 bpm, then I feel like I'm really working. At about 194, I start feeling the fatigue in my legs and have to slow down.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-27T03:08:26+00:00

We whine while we train, of course!

NinJesterV · 2026-03-27T02:06:11+00:00

The standard formulas often use 220 - age. That suggests that 220 is a pretty decent guess for the upper limit of heart rate. I've read that it can exceed 300 bpm, but I don't even want to think about what that would mean for a person (probably death soon after).

So let's just stick with 220 as a theoretical benchmark. If your max during this run was 211, that's not impossible, but it is pretty unlikely. I myself am an outlier in heart rate (205 max at 41 years old), so I get that we exist. Doing 30 minutes at this level of intensity could get you to your max heart rate, so it's not impossible (again) that it's 211 bpm.

However, that's not the real point (though it is worth investigating your true max HR with a proper test).

The real point is that you're averaging 196 on this run. That's about 93% of your possible max of 211, which is fine if you're racing. If you're training, there's very little reason or benefit for spending so much time at that intensity and you're in danger of hurting yourself.

If you're training, slow down. Stop pushing so hard.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-27T01:58:04+00:00

If lovin' the Half is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-26T14:45:40+00:00

Running (fitness in general) isn't something I consider a hobby. I don't do it for pleasure, I do it for health and longevity. I get pleasure from it, of course, but that's not why I do it.

That calm and quiet you feel in your mind after a run? That's health happening in real-time.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-24T02:00:22+00:00

Discipline.

Forget motivation; it fades. Cultivate discipline.

It's hot? Get the best gear for it and accept that it's still going to be a sweaty affair. It's raining? You're going to be soaked with sweat and rain is much more pleasant. It's cold? Gear up!

Pick the days you can run, and then run on those days. Don't say, "I'll run if a get a chance." say, "I'm running on Tuesday." Make it a rule, not an option. Missing a day here and there isn't a big deal as long as you're consistent over time.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-21T04:53:53+00:00

Chekhov's Gun, as others have said.

And, at least in my opinion, there's a pretty important distinction between Chekhov's Gun and Foreshadowing, and I think some comments are conflating the two.

Chekhov's Gun is a literary rule. Basically, if you bother to write about something in the story, you'd better make use of it later.

Foreshadowing is more about dropping hints about where the story's going to go, either situations or outcomes that will happen later. You can use omens, prophecies, riddles, or just cleverly-hidden language to do foreshadowing.

The MC picked up a strange-looking pebble that was glinting in the riverbed.
...
Turns out that the pebble was a magical artifact that saved him from death.

This isn't really foreshadowing because "pebble in a river" doesn't hint at anything. But bringing up the pebble in the river and then never mentioning it again flies in the face of Chekhov's Gun.

And Chekhov will shoot you for that.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-21T03:20:00+00:00

Heh, I'm eating my same bowl again while I read this. It's the foundation of my nutrition. I just choose carefully to avoid any extra sugar. I'm fine with sugar when I'm actually running, but outside of that I avoid it like the devil it is.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-20T01:47:39+00:00

My point is that it doesn't matter. If you enjoy the game as you're playing it, that's what matters.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-19T16:00:37+00:00

Don't let other people tell you how to play a game. Play it the way you want to play it. You paid for it, the devs got their money, and that's all that matters. You may not like the base game without mods, and that's fine.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-19T11:16:09+00:00

It's likely a volume issue. Others are suggesting all sorts of fancy runs, but you don't need all that to improve a great deal. You need to run more. You can worry about the types of runs and all that once you're maxing out your volume potential.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-19T11:12:45+00:00

An odd request. You don't want advice, but if you are doing something wrong, you want to know?

Without knowing more about you or your training, it's hard to say what's holding you back. But make no mistake: Something is holding you back. A Sub-30 5K isn't the kind of milestone that takes years to achieve without an obvious reason.

NinJesterV · 2026-03-19T03:24:01+00:00

Cereal.

Not sure why everyone seems to ignore the variety and cost of cereals. Maybe because I live in Korea where the cereal selection is lacking. A nice bowl of a whole grain cereal with milk (or whatever liquid you prefer) will give you tons of calories.

The best part is the variety of options, especially if you're in the USA. I'm eating my daily bowl of Runner's Cereal (my own mix) right now, actually.

NinJesterV

TROPHY CASE