What is a normal slow down for summer running? I'm training for a half, so I'm in the 90-minute runs for my long runs. Before summer really hit, I would do between 8:30-8:45ish miles for the distances. Today? Notsomuch... Barely under 10. I did have to walk a couple of times otherwise it probably would've been about 9:30ish. Is this normal? Or am I just getting slower? I know summer is supposed to make you faster, but I kinda feel like I'll be happy to even hit my previous paces!
I should add, it was sunny, 81 and approximately 100% humidity at 7am. Houston is glorious in the summer.
It's hard to fast in the heat and humidity. You should ditch the watch so you can relax a lite about your pace. Just think how fast you'll be when it cools off.
I think you are normal. Weather like that easily slows me down 1:00/mile. We've had a relatively cool {I'm whispering so as not to jinx it} summer so far, so I can't give as good of advice as many of you. Try to hydrate well and don't worry too much about it. Maybe try to take advantage of cooler days or the treadmill for your speed work or race pace days?
Warmer weather is my nemesis. Slows me right down and makes me feel like my head is going to burst. Just focus on distance and don't worry about the pace for now. That will come back.
Sounds normal to me! I was about 30-45 seconds off my normal pace for the first part of my run today, but I felt like even that was pushing it too hard. I decided to ditch the watch for the last part, and it really helped me mentally. You'll see huge improvements in the Fall. We had a cool morning just last w/e and the difference was huge.
Oh thank God. I really should ditch the watch but my long runs are by minutes for this program, not mileage. I need to dig out my old, simple sports watch that I used to have so I'm not getting beeps and pace updates every mile! Thanks you guys - that helps me to not go too crazy!
Definitely the weather. Your weather would make me far slower than the 30-60 seconds that others mentioned, possibly in the 1:30-2:00 slower range considering the humidity.
I'm also in Houston, and yeah the heat and humidity have me dying recently. Just keep running, and you will reap the rewards come winter, though! So, like, next January, haha.
I'm in Louisiana, and my pace definitely slows between :45 seconds/1 minute per mile in the summer. Eventually (like in December) the humidity will get better. Ha!
Definitely the weather - I keep thinking about how fast I am going to be in October! We do our long training runs at 5am and it's still brutal - 100% humidity is going to slow you down.
I'm also in Houston, and yeah the heat and humidity have me dying recently. Just keep running, and you will reap the rewards come winter, though! So, like, next January, haha.
Yeah it's been kind of brutal lately. Although I have to say, since I wasn't working in the April-May-June timeframe, I tried to do 2-3 runs a week around 2 pm (3-6 miles a piece) and it is night and day compared to how I felt last year. My effort is higher but my paces are the same. I highly recommend this for anyone whose lifestyle allows.