Jogging Schedule

Question
QUESTION: Male
23
6'
185 lbs
Goal: Fun
Diet: 1,900 kcal minimum to 2,400 kcal max.
Schedule: 2-5 miles, 3-7 times a week.
Terrain: Hills
Intensity: Walk, jog, run, sprint combo
Problem: I peaked at week 4 and now I am in week 5 feeling tired.
Question: Is it normal to feel a peak or high lasting a week or more followed by a lull in a jogging schedule? During week 4 I felt so great that I did 45 miles in 10 consecutive days. Now I am in week 5 and I don't feel as athletic. Is this normal?

ANSWER: Yes, that is normal. The question is, when were you trying to peak? And what are you trying to do now after that premature peak?
If you are not trying to peak for a race, then technically you haven't peaked at all. You've become more neurologically efficient, or in shape, due to you having just the right amount of rest time and just the right amount/type of running. But do not worry. It isn't an actual lifetime peak or yearly peak, it's just a slight flaw in your training.

It's normal to feel tired after this. You WILL feel sluggish after a peak, but if in that peaking period you run more than normal, it's only natural for you to run slower and be more tired in your next week. Partially because of the obvious over training in that peaking period (which it sounds like you did), and partly because you ran so great the previous week, so when you start running sluggishly the next week, you feel a deficit from how good you felt the previous week.

I would get this feeling all the time, it's something you just have to keep running with. You can't take more rest days, you need to just keep running without too much intensity, and you'll feel normal soon.
Hope this helps,
Jared

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jared,
Thanks for answering my question. Good to know that this is normal for the go.

To answer your two questions:

1.)I wasn't trying to peak at a certain time. It just happened at week 4 and I was locked in.
2.) Now that it has come and gone, I'll just jog until it happens again. This peak is the high all the joggers are literally chasing.

What's a good training regimen I can follow to peak again?

Answer
I don't think peaking is how you get a runners high. It seems like you are toying with your training a bit too much!
A runners high is, if you get it, a really normal thing. You don't need a magical potion to get it. Some get it, others don't. But nevertheless, you get it on a NORMAL training schedule. Sometimes you can get a really good one, the kind runners talk about, once in awhile. The kind that makes you want to run for miles and miles and not want to stop. Most of the time that takes the right emotional as well as physical state.
But the point I want to make is, quit seeking. You don't run to peak. You peak for a race. And the runners high will come naturally if you really enjoy running. Just as you saw it! You didn't predict it, or plan it. It just came. You don't chase it, it just happens; so quit seeking, and just enjoy your running. A high is an effect, not the cause, of running. If you try to make it the cause, you will fail.

To answer your question though, peaking requires a lot of knowledge. Not from a book, but from you. You know how you run, and you should be in tune with your body. Analyze; what were you doing when you peaked last time?
You will need to be in perfect condition to peak. This means no rough training, but equally no laziness. It's hard for me to be able to tell you exactly how much running you need to do. But when you feel that your body is in amazing condition, you have peaked.
For some people, the old tapering triangle works best for tweaking your body. Start off at normal training intensity, then the easy jogs for a week, then at the top of the triangle, minimum distance with  sprints.