Forums > Health and Nutrition > Have you seen my aerobic fitness?
If you find it....I would like it back please.
I returned to running about 2 years ago and have made slow but steady improvement in speed and endurance. I have recently suffered a major setback where I have lost a fair amount of aerobic fitness, and long runs over 11-12 miles become VERY hard at paces that used to be fine. An example of the decline:
Long run on 10/23/10: Target: 12 miles @ 9:00 pace.
Actual 12 miles @ 8:53 average ‐ splits: 8:51, 8:54, 8:54, 8:59, 8:54, 9:04, 8:50, 8:55, 8:50, 8:50, 8:55, 8:29
Strong run. Ran hard to finish. Could have run faster.
Long run on 12/19: Target: 15 miles @9:10 pace
Actual 13 miles @ 9:34 average - splits: 9:32, 9:38, 9:31, 9:24, 9:24, 9:24, 9:17, 9:26, 9:23, 9:19, 9:42, 9:50, 10:24
Started slow in an attempt to preserve energy and then ran out of steam at mile 11 and had to cut the run short due to exhaustion and high heart rate. Experienced some unusual intestinal pain and cramping during the last few miles.
I have minimal problems with the shorter / more intense runs but notice that my heart rate climbs uncomfortably high on any slower run that is longer than 90 minutes. I have also begun to notice that my heart rate is about 15-20 BPM higher on any run than it was in the past. After skulking around the forums, I formed the idea that it might be low iron / anemia and went to my Doctor for a full blood workup. Everything came back as normal (Ferritin=87, Total Iron=143) so my Doctor advised me to cut back on running if it was bothering me. (Thanks doc…..very helpful…..perhaps I should start smoking as well).
Has anyone experienced anything like this? I have never had this sort of issue before and think that there must be something medical as the underlying cause. I don’t take any meds other than a daily multi-vitamin, magnesium and omega-3 supplements. I did travel in Africa recently but followed by Doctor’s orders on vaccinations (Yellow Fever, Hep A, Typhoid and malaria drugs) and used nothing but bottled water.
I have now found a new Doctor that has run multiple marathons and he gets that there may be something going on here. I am going to continue to pursue this medically and have slowed down my paces and delayed my racing plans as well.
Thanks you in advance for any thoughts or ideas.
2012 goals 1000 miles running Sub 22:00 5K Sub 1:45 half Stay healthy
JML:
It looks like you are in a good hand with a running doctor looking after him. It's hard to say much without knowing enough about what had happened and how long you're off from running and whether you actually didn't do anything at all or doing something. I think we all go through that kind of set-back one time or another throughout our running career; Thanksgiving followed by Christmas... ;o) If you took a few months off without doing much at all, it is not wise to compare where you were with where you are now within a few days or even weeks. I mean, if you were running 12-miles comfortably in October; and took 2 months off and come back and all of a sudden jump in and run 13-miles (I'm sure you didn't); it just not going to happen. I've found out, from my experience with dealing with other people (running-wise, that is!), that women seem to take some time off (within reason) and come back and do fairly well. Whereas, us men would have to keep on keeping on in order to keep on. If I take some time off, especially a distinct time off, it'll take some struggling to get back to where I once was.
My suggesiton is; assuming you are completely cleared medially, just take it easy and go slow; go by how you feel, and not with any specific program like "You need to run 15 miles at such-and-such pace on this day..." Getting back in shape, just as getting in shape is, a gradual business. i always think of Rocky walking up that Philadelphia library (or musium) steps at dawn... We all go through that. But, once you've done that initial development part, it won't take long to get back to where you once were. Just stay positive and keep at it. You'll be back in a flying shape in no time.
@ Nobby - I agree.
@JML - Looking at some of the comments in your log it appears that you are a fairly driven man. Nothing wrong with that but getting back to fitness after injury is definately a patience game. In your daily run graph for the last month you have logged 124 miles of which only 15 miles are noted as "EASY". All the rest are marked as long, interval or tempo. Your best bet to get back your lost aerobic fitness is to reverse those figures and run more easy miles. Your easy pace will soon improve, you will feel more comfortable at that pace and will then be able to sustain more "speed" work.
2012
3000 miles
Break 1:30:00 for half marathon
Break 40:00 for 10K
mileage hound
@ Nobby - I agree. @JML - Looking at some of the comments in your log it appears that you are a fairly driven man. Nothing wrong with that but getting back to fitness after injury is definately a patience game. In your daily run graph for the last month you have logged 124 miles of which only 15 miles are noted as "EASY". All the rest are marked as long, interval or tempo. Your best bet to get back your lost aerobic fitness is to reverse those figures and run more easy miles. Your easy pace will soon improve, you will feel more comfortable at that pace and will then be able to sustain more "speed" work.
+1. Before I even read the other replies, the fact that you were struggling denoted that you were fighting to match your old paces and not just keeping it easy.
It is every hard to find yourself performing below previous levels and be patient. I know, I took 2 years more or less off and, after over a year, am just now getting relatively close to where I left off. Much of the reason why is just consistently putting in the miles, regardless of pace. Once you start getting back into it you can run workouts....but for now, just run.
2012 goals: Fastest race times since 2006.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
Is your weight the same?
Thanks to all for your thoughtful replies.
Nobby - The run on 10/23 was several weeks post injury (calcaneal stress fracture) and was one of many long runs that just felt great. During injury recovery, I did a ton of pool work to try to maintain aerobic fitness, and eased back into mileage and intensity once I received the all clear from my doctor. The trip to Africa resulted in a two week running hiatus during which I only did one easy run and a ton of hiking. I didn't expect to jump back in at the same level of fitness but I also did not expect to have running turn into something so painful. I have never experienced such a dramatic fall off in fitness before which leads me to conclude that it may be something medical. In the absence of a definitive cause, I have to believe that you are right and I need to back off the paces and just run easy for a while.
Chris UK / Spaniel - Guilty as charged.....I do push myself.....but I do a fair amount of non-running cardio XT in an effort to build my aerobic base without having to subject my 43 year old legs to runs on consecutive days. You do raise a good point and if the Doctor does not find anything, I am strongly considering going back to a plan that involves more mileage at easier paces.
PR100 - My weight is down from 193 pounds to 187 pounds over the last few months which I think is due to a conscious decision to eat better. No radical diet.....just eating less/better and exercise. I am 6'2" so I am definitely not underweight. I am still hydrating and fueling for long runs as I always have to make sure that I am not bonking due to poor fueling choices. It is not just a matter of not being able to run long at my previous paces. I cannot seem to complete a long run at any pace that is over 15 miles. At the 90 minute mark, my heartrate climbs rapidly and the run turns into a death march. When I trained for my first marathon about a year ago, I was able to run these distances without issue.
After I posted my original post yesterday, I received a call from my new Doctor. He had a cancellation for today so I get to see him later this afternoon. Huzzah! I hope that he can help to make some sense of this. In the meantime, I am open to any thoughts and ideas.
Thanks,
Jon
So I just came from my new doctor who seems like the real deal. In addition to being a nice guy and a good physician, he is a 2:46 marathoner and has run the Comrades marathon. He had two interesting ideas to pursue:
The likely scenario - The anti-malaria drug (Malarone) that I took for three weeks starting in mid-November has been know to have the side effect of reducing the ability of red blood cells to transfer oxygen. He is testing this theory by performing another set of bloodwork and comparing it to my December tests. He says that the differences in certain counts will indicate if this is the cause of my issue. If it is the root cause, the treatment is simple......reduce training intensity and wait for my red blood cells to regenerate.
The unlikely scenario - abnormal thickening of the heart wall causing reduced cardiac function (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). I had a cardiac checkout last summer to make sure that I did not have any undiagnosed cardiac issues. I was given the all-clear by the doctor but my new primary care doc wants to do a repeat echo-cardiogram to be certain that there is nothing to be worried about.
I really hope that it is the Malarone that is causing the issue. I will report back once the results are in.
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