During November, December, and January, I gradually increased mileage from 42mpw to 60 mpw. This was mostly easy running (~7min pace or below) except for a weekly long run, weekly 4 mile tempo, and strides.
Last weekend however, I ran a HORRIBLE 5k road race in 17:46 and decided I need speedwork again. So today I did some mile repeats, which ended up in the 5:30's. This is extremely slow considering my 5k PR is 16:43, 3200m PR is 10:05, and 4 mile tempo's are always ~5:40 pace.
Basically, I just can't seem to run anything at race pace anymore - despite what I thought was a solid winter of training. Granted, I was feeling crappy for both the 5k and mile repeats (digestive trouble)... but I definitely don't think that's an excuse for how slow they were.
Anyways, what's the deal with this? Should consistent speedwork get me back to racing shape, or am I just slow and hopeless for track season now?
Any input appreciated.