General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Drastic decline in fitness!! : ( Rss Feed  
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2011-06-07 11:30 PM

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Subject: Drastic decline in fitness!! : (
Hey everyone, just thought I'd get everyone's two cents...

The past two weeks, my training hasn't been very regimented like it usually is, BUT I feel sooooooo much slower than what I think I should be at right now.  The Joplin, MO tornadoes put a dent in my training for about a week, and then another cyclist clipped my rear tire last thursday, causing me to wreck.  Yesterday, I went for a run, and I felt so slow compared to usual. I averaged 8:03m/mi for 4.26 mile, when I can normally run 7:15 relatively easy.  Today, a friend let me use their bike because we both ride 54's, and again, my average was well below the norm, by about 2.5mph for a 22 mile loop.

Note: My logs are fairly accurate

I also have some questions...
Does the heat effect oneself that much?
I've been eating Ramen Noodles probably once a day every other day (college student, what else am I going to eat!? : P)
Or is it just the time off that has effected me? I just started running/cycling in January and haven't taken more than one to two days off at a time until recently, so I'm not entirely sure how much taking days off will effect me.

Thanks for your help!

Edited by acgibby 2011-06-07 11:33 PM


2011-06-07 11:43 PM
in reply to: #3538215

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Subject: RE: Drastic decline in fitness!! : (
Looking at your logs you run 7:30s for short distance (3 miles) and closer to 8:30-9:00 for not quite so short runs (6 miles), so I would expect you to run 7:45 to 8:00 fora  4 ish mile run.  That said if you are running in heat you can easily lose performance while you adjust for the first couple weeks.  You bike 20 ish mph for short rides (20 miles) and 19 ish for medium distance rides (40 ish miles).  So 18 mph on a bike that is not really fit to you, but not bad either, on maybe different tires with maybe some wind and heat is not off that much.  It probably isn't a fitness issue.  If it were a fitness issue your speeds would be back up in a couple weeks anyway, assuming your base is alright.  I didn't look back that far.  Make sure you are getting enough water in the heat or it will sap your strength for sure. How has your sleep been during finals week 8). 
2011-06-07 11:59 PM
in reply to: #3538215

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Subject: RE: Drastic decline in fitness!! : (
More recently, my run times have been like that, but if you go back further, for example, I have a few runs where I ran 4+ miles with below 7:30mi/mile avg.

The drinking while on the bike is something I could probably fix... I only have one waterbottle on the bike. Thanks!

Edited by acgibby 2011-06-08 12:01 AM
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Drastic decline in fitness!! : ( Rss Feed