WTF has happened to my running.

pyrowill

So I consider myself an OK runner, but in the last 2 weeks something has changed and I'm not liking it and haven't a clue why. I'm still overweight but I have PB 10k time of 57 mins and PB 5k time of 27ish. So not fantastic, but about average. I regularly ran 5k's once to 3 times a week and throw in the odd 4 miles/10k.

However, 2 weeks ago I decided based on a link a nice person here provided me to try out some training plans by Hal Higdon, I decided since I was ready for the next challenge that I would go for the 10mile Novice training plan since I had run a few 5k's and 10k's and this was the next step up. I am working off this training plan http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51127/15K-10-mile-Novice-Training-Program

However my issue is, for seemingly no reason at all, upon starting week 1, I am really struggling to even do the 2 mile runs. Week 1 is 2miles, 3 times a week, and I'm finding myself out of breath after about 4 minutes. 3 weeks ago I had run 2 5k's in a week without this horrible unfit feeling, and I can't for the life of me work out what is different, my diet hasn't changed, my sleep cycle hasn't changed, same with time of day and water consumption. Nothing seems to be different, yet suddenly I'm wanting to stop before I've even done 1 mile. If it was just one run that was a bit strange I wouldn't worry, but today I completed run 2 of week 2 so that's 5 runs I've done terrible, and the miles will start to increase soon.

How is it that 3 weeks ago I could run a 5k in 27 minutes, and now running 1 mile makes me want to die....

jeets888

That is strange .... and if nothings changed cant understand why. For me i normally struggle with my breathing after i had a rough weekend of partying but does not kill my running fully. Did you stop running for the 2 week period - this still should not cause major differences but rather more stiffness after your run.

I reckon give it another 2 or 3 runs and assess thereafter. Our minds can mess with us as well .... you'll be back to where you were sooner than you know it! Just keep at it and dont lose your willingness

_Zardoz_

Sometimes it just happens. How your running goes just ebbs and flows. Some weeks and days you feel fantastic and others you won't keep plugging away and it's change as you know you can do it and there are no obvious health issues. If it continues for more than a couple of weeks maybe just visit the doctor to be on the safe side

pyrowill

Nope, didn't stop running, I ran 2x sub 30min 5k's comfortably in the first week of May before starting this program. I'm not blaming the program at all. But literally I feel like a switch has flipped in my body and I'm where I am with running 3 years ago (sucking).

GillianMcK

It's probably your mind rather than your body, sometimes it's just about gritting your teeth and getting on with it, I have actually had arguements with myself on a run about keeping going (fortunately I'm in the forest and it's only the dog that can hear me), keep going, Hal Higdon also supports the training for walking when you start to 'huff & puff', if you're struggling to breath, walk for a bit and then start up again (just make sure that you start up again and don't string out the 'recovery' walk too long).

There could be a subconsious part of you that is freaking out over that extra 6.5k that goes from 10k to 16.5k, you've just got to beat that voice down and keep putting one foot in front of the other!!!

Has the weather changed, I struggled a few weeks ago because it was really 'close' (Scotlands version of humidity but without most of the heat), just couldn't breath properly and had to walk more often that I would have liked, however I battled through and done my miles and ignored the length of time that it took me to do it (in my mind the achievement is in the distance not the time).

ETA: Do you run the same circuit all the time?? I found my running getting worse at one point because I was running the same 10k circuit all the time and was starting to anticipate the rather long steep incline that I knew was coming up, started changing my route a bit and that seemed to help?? It's difficult because you know the route and the distance and how long you have before you're home but could be something to think about??

nathalier71

Could be as simple as changing your route - do you always do the same? I find changing mine often keeps me going... I get bored quickly

greengoddess0123

Could this be a mental thing? Perhaps your body is happy with the pace and distance you were running, and unconsciously you're digging your heels in at the thought of pushing to the next level?

The only other thing I can think of is are you recovering from illness, or could you be ill? Maybe it's time for a check up with your doctor, just to make sure all your parts are doing what they should.

Good luck working it out. I hope you're back to feeling like yourself soon.

TriShamelessly

Keep pushing through it. I went through this recently leading up to a race. Sucking wind every training session, cutting some of the longer runs short because I just wasn't up to it. The result - a personal best at every distance during a 10-mile race and beat my hoped for time by almost 5 minutes. Our bodies are just complex machines that sometimes don't like us! (Okay, all that said, if it persists for more than a couple of weeks, you may want to consider a check up at the doc.)

pyrowill

It could all be in my mind you could be right, hence why I put it to the lovely forum .

I think the air has got a bit drier lately, the route is the same, I just turn back when I need to, I don't think I'm freaking out about the eventual distance though, I relish the opportunity. I have a 3 miler on saturday, which will complete week 2. Will see how that goes and check back. it's just really frustrating you know, I wouldn't expect to be doing worse at such a shorter distance at the same pace I am used to. Even slowing it down to a 10-11minute mile pace doesn't help.

malcolmjcooper

Your conversions are way off 2 miles is only 3.2 k's and 4 miles is only 6.4 k's

SonicDeathMonkey80

So I consider myself an OK runner, but in the last 2 weeks something has changed and I'm not liking it and haven't a clue why. I'm still overweight but I have PB 10k time of 57 mins and PB 5k time of 27ish. So not fantastic, but about average. I regularly ran 5k's once to 3 times a week and throw in the odd 4 miles/10k.

However, 2 weeks ago I decided based on a link a nice person here provided me to try out some training plans by Hal Higdon, I decided since I was ready for the next challenge that I would go for the 10mile Novice training plan since I had run a few 5k's and 10k's and this was the next step up. I am working off this training plan http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51127/15K-10-mile-Novice-Training-Program

However my issue is, for seemingly no reason at all, upon starting week 1, I am really struggling to even do the 2 mile runs. Week 1 is 2miles, 3 times a week, and I'm finding myself out of breath after about 4 minutes. 3 weeks ago I had run 2 5k's in a week without this horrible unfit feeling, and I can't for the life of me work out what is different, my diet hasn't changed, my sleep cycle hasn't changed, same with time of day and water consumption. Nothing seems to be different, yet suddenly I'm wanting to stop before I've even done 1 mile. If it was just one run that was a bit strange I wouldn't worry, but today I completed run 2 of week 2 so that's 5 runs I've done terrible, and the miles will start to increase soon.

How is it that 3 weeks ago I could run a 5k in 27 minutes, and now running 1 mile makes me want to die....

What is your every day run pacing look like? Is that personal best 5K in 27min what you do every time you run?

On the surface, it sounds like you're trying to "win" all of your training runs. Get the PB of 27min out of your head. I run a 5K in 19min and wouldn't dare run that more than once every 6mos at a race. Just to put things in perspective, my every day training runs are around 9:00-9:30 min/mile, and that's a good 80% of my running. Running slow during training is not a fail. When I first started running, I would get annoyed with myself if I ran anything slower than an 8min/mi. All I had to show for it was sore as f*** shins and lots of forced rest days. Once I slowed down, I got faster.

pyrowill

Your conversions are way off 2 miles is only 3.2 k's and 4 miles is only 6.4 k's

Huh?

JCrazyRunner5

i ran my first marathon last october after getting into running 3 years ago, got injured, but finished. havent ran a race since, and casually run at best. happens to the best of us.

Juliebug33

What is your longest run you have completed? If 10 miles is longer than that...it is likely in your head. Adding distance to your running can mess with your head, the good news is once you achieve that distance your confidence will improve and you will find new limits to test. Good luck!

Poods71

I had the same problem years ago. I used to go to the gym 5 days a week and then one day I just found it really really hard (like I was back to being really unfit again). I tried pushing myself to keep going for a while but eventually it became too much and I just gave up all together. I don't know if I just burnt out from doing too much or if there were other issues. I have since found out I have an underactive thyroid and get low iron so these could have been the culprits back then. You should get your thyroid and iron checked out just in case. Hope you get it sorted out :flowerforyou:

pyrowill

What is your every day run pacing look like? Is that personal best 5K in 27min what you do every time you run?

On the surface, it sounds like you're trying to "win" all of your training runs. Get the PB of 27min out of your head. I run a 5K in 19min and wouldn't dare run that more than once every 6mos at a race. Just to put things in perspective, my every day training runs are around 9:00-9:30 min/mile, and that's a good 80% of my running. Running slow during training is not a fail. When I first started running, I would get annoyed with myself if I ran anything slower than an 8min/mi. All I had to show for it was sore as f*** shins and lots of forced rest days. Once I slowed down, I got faster.

Most of my training 5k's I complete in about 29-31 minutes as I really don't run flat out like on a race. I would say I'm guilty of not pacing myself well on training runs and have trouble allowing myself to slow back down. I aim for between 9:40-10:00 min/mile for the average run, with these new runs the last 2 weeks I've been hitting 10:15-10:30 simply cos I can't keep up... I don't know if I can mentally allow myself to aim for slower like 11min mile again.....

GillianMcK

What is your every day run pacing look like? Is that personal best 5K in 27min what you do every time you run?

On the surface, it sounds like you're trying to "win" all of your training runs. Get the PB of 27min out of your head. I run a 5K in 19min and wouldn't dare run that more than once every 6mos at a race. Just to put things in perspective, my every day training runs are around 9:00-9:30 min/mile, and that's a good 80% of my running. Running slow during training is not a fail. When I first started running, I would get annoyed with myself if I ran anything slower than an 8min/mi. All I had to show for it was sore as f*** shins and lots of forced rest days. Once I slowed down, I got faster.

second this as well, I've been through marathon training and currently in my taper, wasn't happy with one of my runs the other week and as my trainer pointed out in my PT session, not every run can be a PB, 27min for a 5k is really good, my 5k time is longer but I struggle with the first 4miles of a run (hence the trying a marathon on Sunday).
Keep going and remember while the only race pace is suicide pace, this doesn't mean that you should run your training runs like that:)

malcolmjcooper

throw in the odd 4 miles/10k.

pyrowill

What is your longest run you have completed? If 10 miles is longer than that...it is likely in your head. Adding distance to your running can mess with your head, the good news is once you achieve that distance your confidence will improve and you will find new limits to test. Good luck!

Longest run I've ever done was 8 miles last year, other than that I probably have about 30 10k's under my belt and a heck of a load of 5k's.

I suppose this training plan is more about distance than time, perhaps I should forgo my ego till i've completed it and chill out, see where that gets me. Although I shouldn't be huffing and puffing 4 minutes into a run, even at my 5k pace....

badbcatha05

Perhaps without even consciously thinking about it, you are pushing harder than your normally would because, "hey, it's only two miles, I run more than this all the time." Maybe check your pace...

JustSomeEm

This is the time of year when humidity and temps start to rise in my area. That ALWAYS makes it harder for me to run. Also, I have allergies, so when the pollen is flying, if I'm not on some sort of antihistamine, I suck wind when running. FOR ME, allergies and humidity rising always make me want to slow down, and this is the time of year for that.

Now, it COULD be in your head too. I find that I run better and get more accomplished if I don't follow a 'program'. I had to stop the C25K program because I felt like I was being told what to do... and I don't like being bossed around. I ended up setting my own goals, and that worked just fine for me.