Loss in Fitness, Thresholds, Max V02, performance etc. with 10days off? How much will I lose?

My foot feels alright tonight. Thanks for the encouragement. It is just hard when 4000's are 5 seconds slower than normal and 800's are 7 or 8 seconds too slow. That makes you doubt and consider loss of fitness and stuff. I hope it was just my muscles getting back into the flow. Tomorrow and Wednesday will just be distance runs that I hope will get my legs back into rhythm and my confidence up!

alright...i got accupuncture which really helped last night but please help me analyze why i ran 45 seconds slower than i should have today (based on comparing myself with about 10 other runners and my typical improvement from this year to last and converts from this season). i felt slow and just couldn't go and i just need some reassurance that it is something other than a loss or something like that. i know that going from 90 mpw to very little running is a shock but i did not expect to run this slow...i know i am running with a slightly different footsrike since my foot still hurts just a little and i think i have a little stomach problem (diarrhea) and i know i haven't done any hills, stirdes, accels, plyos, or any speed stuff in a looong time...if you can help me understand why i ran so slow and have any advice about my big race next saturday (preferabbly how to get back to where i was two weeks ago), here are my last 14 days:

F- 8 miles, foot really hurt

S-off

S-off

M-16x400 in 68, no distance and some elliptical

T-off, cross-trained

W-5 miles easy

T-race, ran well and controlled (lot better than today)

F-tried to run twice, each time got to 3 miles then had to stop with pain

S-off, 2 hours combining bike and elliptical

S-off, over 2 hours combining bike and elliptical

M-TERRIBLE WORKOUT- 800s, 600s, 400s, and 200s about 5 seconds slow per lap than usual

T-4 in the AM With pain and wierd gait, 9+ easy through some pain in the PM

W- 8 and a half at 6:50ish pace

T- 3 mile race--45-50 seconds too slow and only 9 days until big race (4+ weeks until other big race) then 10 fast strides

COULD I really have lost 45 seconds in just a 13 day period with intermittent running (mainly workouts or race, no distance but do have a base of 90 per week)? My legs have been reall really tight these last couple of days, maybe from getting back into it, but they haven't been too sore or tired (just tight), esp. my left calf on the same foot where i had tendonitis. COuld it be a stomach bug or did i lose that fitness from no distance or possibl a different stride? Have I lost that speed endurance and turnover? Keep in mind I ran really well last Thursday even running through similar pain...if I have lost ground in any of the aforementioned physiological aspects, can I gain them back by next Saturday? What do I need to do to get my confidence back that I can get back to the times i was running 2 weeks ago and before, specifically training (like try to get in all the distance i mixed). It's been tough with the injury but i never imagined losing this much time? Could it be something else?

I just want to thank anyone who can help me out in this matter? I did not train so much thorughout the season to end like this. Thanks again!

I wish I could help you out, but I just do not know as much as some of the guys on this board. Hopefully they might be able to advise you.

Suck it up and go!

I know that you said you ran through similar pain in your first of the two races, but I think that an altered stride/footstrike can have a much greater effect on the outcome of a race than you might think. Without a fluid and strong stride, you wil have decreased running efficiency. By running on your injury on and off the past few weeks, you have not allowed it to heal properly.

If I recall correctly, Joan Benoit Samuelson had knee surgery 17 days before either the Olympic Trials/Olympic Marathon and ran well despite not having run at all before the race for proper recovery. So along with that example and plenty of existing exercise physiology research, I do not think that your fitness has been compromised at this point. I would advise you to try to heal as much as possible so that you can run fluidly in your big race. Maybe try some active release therapy techingues, massage, good stretches, heat therapy, pool running, etc. Just try not to aggravate it for now. Then, in the 2 to 3 days before your race, run easily on a flat course so your legs are not shocked on race day.

You can only hope for the best. If things don't work out like you had hoped they would, try to forget about it and move on. Having an injury at this point in the season is tough. Believe me, I've been there. Just think about your health first; you don't want to cause more damage. Best of luck to you next Saturday!

Question: Are you insecure?

Answer: YEs.

haha yeh i know...actually, i am a little crazy! anyways, letsrun is the only place i know where i can search for answers...otherwise, i'd just be surfing the web for articles.

i may not be an expert, but after a little research, i'd like to know if anyone has ever experience iron loss and iron deficiency by taking tons of NSAID's? i have noticed some blood in the junk i've coughed up and have had a bad case of diarrhea and liquid craps for over 3 days (since i began to run badly). could i have irritated my GI tract and cause loss of iron through blood, thus slowing me down (note that i have had bad iron deficiency before).