Running low - Help me snap out of it

[Brit]

I am pretty sure that I am getting slower and that running is getting harder. What gives?

I have had low volume since we moved, I was doing 30-35 MPW in July and August. Now I am more in the 18-20 MPW range. The weather is much better than it was in the fall. Pretty much 60-75 degrees always, so I don't think that is a major factor.

I have gone almost vegetarian for the past two months because meat is insanely expensive here. I eat meat at two meals per week.

I may just be getting lazy and not pushing myself. IDK?

I was feeling pretty demoralized after my last run. I have never been super awesome at it, but historically I have been a solid middle of the pack runner. Now, not so much.

Advice? Hair pats?

[zoidberg]

Get your iron checked.

[lauren170]

I was going to say get your iron checked too!

[clseale]

Yeah, the lack of meat coupled with the lower energy made me wonder about iron. You should probably have it checked, but I'd also experiment with a really iron packed meal. I was having slight iron issues during the summer. I would throw some red meat & spinach in a cast iron skillet, & I would notice a difference the next day. Obviously my deficiency was slight. That wouldn't be enough in a lot of cases. If you can stomach liver, that would be good thing to try.

[thom]

If you've got better weather & are consistently feeling tired & slower, I'd guess it's more than just not pushing yourself. Here are a few thoughts...

- Do you pay attention to macro/micro nutrients & the amino acids much? I do think iron could be the culprit, but some of these other things could be lacking if you're eating that little meat. I will not pretend to know which amino acids you may need to seek out, but maybe some of the veg ladies could help here.

- How's your sleep?

- What about general stress or working a ton of hours? Your jobs sounds pretty intense, and maybe it's affecting you more than you think. If this is the case, you may just want to not worry so much about the pace and focus on the benefits running gives you? (I know that's hard when you had made so much progress.)

I hope some of this may help! Hair pats and hugs.

[MrsE]

Ditto what the others have said so far. Do you have a new Dr over there yet? How is the rest of your health? Do you feel OK when you're not running? Hopefully no other old health issues pop back up, but it wouldn't hurt to make a Drs appt for a physical just in case. Hugs and hair pats to you.

[emilyinchile]

Feb 15, 2014 9:08:43 GMT -5 thom said:

- What about general stress or working a ton of hours? Your jobs sounds pretty intense, and maybe it's affecting you more than you think. If this is the case, you may just want to not worry so much about the pace and focus on the benefits running gives you? (I know that's hard when you had made so much progress.) 

I wanted to second this. It does sound like your diet change could be a culprit, but stress is no joke. I had a couple very very stressful months at work, and my working out was affected by it. If you're getting your blood tested for iron levels, get them to look at your cortisol as well.

[Brit]

MrsE - I thought about that too. I get scanned again in a few weeks, so I guess I will know for sure, but I don't *think* that's it - I had a lot of other weird symptoms, drenching night sweats, super itchy skin - I don't have any of those symptoms, just being a slow runner, so my gut feeling is that I'm fine.

[Brit]

Feb 15, 2014 11:15:27 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Feb 15, 2014 9:08:43 GMT -5 thom said:

- What about general stress or working a ton of hours? Your jobs sounds pretty intense, and maybe it's affecting you more than you think. If this is the case, you may just want to not worry so much about the pace and focus on the benefits running gives you? (I know that's hard when you had made so much progress.) 

I wanted to second this. It does sound like your diet change could be a culprit, but stress is no joke. I had a couple very very stressful months at work, and my working out was affected by it. If you're getting your blood tested for iron levels, get them to look at your cortisol as well.

Stress could be a factor. I try not to stress about work, but my new job has had some challenges. It hasn't been stressful in a 'get me outta here' kind of way, but it has had its moments. I was doing well with doing yoga 3-4 times per week for a while and that helped me chill out and, maybe related or maybe not, I was seeing some minor improvements with running.

I hope it isn't stress related because I don't think that will improve tremendously anytime soon. I guess learning to manage it better could help though?

[labbie]

Ditto x10 on the impact of stress, but also agree that some bloodwork to ensure it's nothing else is a good idea.
Re. the change in diet, here's a post from the no meat athlete blog that I have bookmarked (I eat meat, but very limited)- disclaimer, I haven't read it since my running mileage level isn't really that high (yet), but in case it can give you any ideas
www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-diet-athletes/

[Brit]

Thanks labbie!