Why do I suck so bad?

Too much teeth?

It can take a while to build an aerobic base, if that is what you are attempting to do. I actually got a little slower before I started getting faster. I, too, was puzzled, but just give it some time. Simply put: the more miles you log, the faster you will get.

take your iron pills, brah.

I took iron pills every other day all summer without being told to do so by a doc or after being tested.

When I was iron deficient I was taking three pills a day. Every day. Coupled with a vitamin c supplement. Dive in my friend.

That happened to me before track season last year, it was frustrating because I had no idea what the hell was going on, it was like I was asthmatic or something and couldn't get enough air. And through my own genius and the use of Google (mostly through the use of Google) I found that my hemoglobin levels were low (A blood test also confirmed this). So i started taking two iron pills a day, one in the morning, and one at night, always with food.

I took an extra dose because when you take iron with calcium (which I do, bc i drink a lot of milk), the iron assorption is lessened.

Just my two cents.

First of all, you've made one big mistake. So did the rest of the MB readers, so I'm the only one who's gonna tell you this. Without getting paid (and maybe even paying) you run for a school. This is a mistake (again, even the owners of LRC made it - I admit that).

The school provides no benefit to you. Do you even get free shoes? Didn't think so. In my youth as well as now, I was in complete control of everything (training schedule, racing schedule, events or distances raced, shoes worn, training paces, training partners, etc) except weather. You are not.

There are some huge fundamental flaws in your approach that are more important than fine-tuning someone else's training program that you don't believe you have a say in. Guess what? You don't!

I think I am just run down. My coach is so stupid. He's had us doing 2 workouts and a race every week with no recovery days for about a month and a half. The workouts he has us do are 10x400 at mile pace 2 minutes rest an 4x1200 quicker than race pace 4 minutes rest. Could this be the reason?

Sloppy Joe wrote:

I'm slower than last years CC and I just feel dead after the first mile and I don't feel strong at all during the race. I ran more all summer!! Have not had one good breakthrough or seen any effects of this "base". But yet I can't even get a better time this year!!! I guess I just wait for the winter and bust my butt...Did I overtrain, am I burnt-out, iron deficentcy? Everything went well I July until one week I just started having trouble running 7:30 pace in August and I have never felt "good" or "quick" again this season..SO FRUSTRATING!

This is how I feel as well....

last summer, I ran only 15-20 mpw and ran a 20:43 for the 5k

this summer, I bumped it to 30-40 mpw and it dropped only to 20:31 for the 5k.... my legs just fall off after the 1st mile.

Like you I don't know what is going on. I know I have no-little talent but I still think I should have experienced more than just 10 seconds of improvement.

Same here. Another guy with little talent. Last year PR: 19:57, this year PR 19:51. Increased mileage from 15-20 to 30-35. Still nothing. Probably not enough long runs. Very very unfortunate

Same boat... wrote:

Same here. Another guy with little talent. Last year PR: 19:57, this year PR 19:51. Increased mileage from 15-20 to 30-35. Still nothing. Probably not enough long runs. Very very unfortunate

The impression I got was the more mileage you do, the better your times will be. Seems that isn't the case.

Patience...

Last summer, I ran 30 mpw got a 19:21

This summer, I ran 50-60 mpw, got injured got better, ran a 18:54, still slow as shlt

so yeah fml