Total Pace Breakdown

[Jeff Linger]

Anyone ever had a total pace per mile breakdown? The last 3 days my pace has dropped off nearly 30 seconds per mile. I've got some theories (took 5 days off, no significant long runs for 4 weeks [note to self, see what you've posted under Marathon Season about the 4 week adaptation], less sleep for a few weeks, and the possibility that I might be minorly under the weather), but I'm wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this. Out of nowhere my pace just fell away. I did a long run (21 miles) on Saturday and the pace felt so much faster than it actually ended up being. This same issue continued on the recovery run on Sunday and a 10 miler on Monday. I'm mostly chalking it up to poor sleep over the last few weeks, but just wondering if anyone has every had a similar issue that they were able to equate to another issue.

[Jon Allen]

Fatigue, sickness, or just plain ol' burnout.  Usually one of those for me.  If your motivation hasn't suffered, just get some rest and don't worry too much about it.  30 sec/mile isn't that much, and 3 days isn't that long- sometimes we just get in a bit of a funk.  I wouldn't worry much yet.

[Sasha Pachev]

5 days off + additional reduction in mileage can cause serious problems. Lack of sleep makes it even worse. No surprises here. Get back into your normal routine and be patient. Fitness is like elevation - it takes less time and effort to lose it than to gain it.

[Jeff Linger]

Thanks for the calming advice Sasha.

[allie]

this happened to me last summer. i thought it was running burn-out. turns out i just needed more sleep. sleep = good!!!!

[Jeff Linger]

Did an 11.4 miler yesterday. Was able to hit 2.5 miles at 6:30 pace and averaged 6:52s from mile 3.1 to the end. I'm thinking the pace breakdown was potentially most closely connected to the temperature shift from 40 degrees to the mid 70s for the 3 days during the period of time in question that I was having the pace breakdown. Yesterday it was in the mid-30s. I just think the increased temperature was a shock to the system in which I hadn't acclimated to the higher temps.

[Cheryl Keith]

Several years ago I got slower for no apparent reason.  I chalked it up to just getting older and recently having had a baby.  I struggled with it for about two years.  Finally I went to the doctor and found I had a thyroid issue.  Once that got taken care of, I was running as fast as I ever had.  So if anyone ever has an unexplained slowdown for a long period of time, I would always suggest getting a physical and making sure there aren't any underlying problems causing it.