Last year around this time I was diagnosed as anemic and was taking iron pills twice a day to get my iron stores back up. I was running really well and pred in most of my races like my best 5k time of 21:11. But then I went to the doctor and because my iron was back up she told me to stop the iron. About a month after taking the iron I started feeling really tired and sore during and after my runs. I was always tired and sometime out of breath. So I started taking the iron again and I felt a little better but then I went back to the doctor and she got mad at me for taking the iron again and told me to stop it. So I did and I was fine for about two weeks but then after about a month I started feeling bad again. So about a week ago I started taking the pills again and Ive been taking them twice a day. The problem is I just feel like my running is getting worse. I used to be able to do my easy runs at 7:30 and now I can hardly do them at a 7:50 pace. Do you think this is just the iron or another problem. I recently did a 5k and I ran it in 22:08 and I also ran a half marathon that I felt good on but got very tired towards the end. How long should it take to get my iron stores back up?