Performance consistently degrading ever since first race of the season - any advice?

I’m a college frosh in a similar position. I came out and killed my first race and was close to second on my team (1 and 2 are both seniors). After that, my legs started feeling like crap and my races were getting worse and worse. I talked to my coach and we started changing my workouts to focus more on recovering my legs. Things have been getting better and my races started slightly improving. Now I’m coming into conference feeling super confident and legs feel like they did at the beginning of the season. There is hope my friend! If you have 3 weeks til state, start tapering and focusing on recovery- you’ll feel refreshed by state!

What leaps off the page are your workouts: 5 x 1600? 8 x 800? That's a lot of volume. If those workouts are typical, and you've been at it, plus racing, since early September, there's probably a good reason why you're plateauing.

Read this. You sound like the high school version:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2006/09/wejo-speaks-why-i-sucked-in-college/

Also, there's no way your first race was an accurate 3 miles. I had the same 3200 PR, and there was no way I could have come within 40 seconds of that 3-mile time. Just assume it was a short course and stop judging yourself against it.

So rest, take it easy in workouts, and give your body time to adapt, and you might still have a chance this season.

Did the 4x8 and 5x16 workouts once each. Literally my only track workouts (missed one due to sickness) because we weren't supposed to start pushing it until this month.

Coach isn't too sure what to change, if anything, in my training.

Thanks for the good advice anyways, and I'll make sure to read the article.

And the first race can't be more than 100m short... don't want to give specifics but it's a massive meet. Even if it was seriously short, I beat three teammates there that I haven't been able to come close to since.

Couldn’t finish half of a 6x800 workout in 2:30s today. I think I need to call my season over and take a break from running... honestly completely lost with myself because I’ve never fallen apart with my training like this. Don’t know where to go from here.

The problem is that you are doing workouts.

Some people should do nothing but miles, tempo and strides. You are one of them.

You are me in high school! My last two seasons of xc and track I had all my best races in the first couple of the season (September or March-ish).

I cannot see all your training, but once I got a little more perspective I realized it was all what our coach was having us do and how he was having us do it. Namely we did way too many workouts per week (for me) and we were essentially forced/encouraged to race all those workouts. At the time, I just didn't know any better. I was not aware you could do intervals at a comfortably fast 90 percent effort.

You experience might not be the same, but it does look like you are a runner who responds to more aerobic work and might only need 3-5 weeks of sharper workouts. That's how I structure things for myself now (mid-30s).

If this is the case, what should you do? Stick with your base plan and maybe continue to build on it during each off season. When the season starts, don't half ass your workouts, but don't kill them. Just practice running quicker and leave a lot of gas in the tank. I think you might find you run faster longer into the season.

Hmm, massive early-season meet that runs 3 miles? Sounds like Woodbridge. You don't have to confirm that guess, but Woodbridge is a pancake-flat course run mostly on roads/sidewalks, and there was even talk a while back that the course was a bit short this year due to construction. It doesn't have to be short by much to throw off the time quite a bit.

In any case, stop trying to hit anything in workouts. I agree that workouts are a bad idea at all right now. You're in championship season and you sound burnt out and overtrained. Keep everything super easy during the week. If your coach insists that you run workouts, make it an 85% effort, if that. Run with your #5 or #6 guy. Get lots of rest and lots of sleep.

See how far you can help your team get through CIF. Don't go out fast in races. Take the first mile easy and then see what you have after that. Do whatever you have to do to rescue the remainder of your season. Good luck.

How many races per week, avg ?

What is your easy run pace?

Tell us about your longest weekly runs this season

I had 5 total races this season in an effort to keep me healthy going into the postseason. 2 in September, 2 in October, then league finals on November 1st.

Easy runs are no faster than 7:15, closer to 7:30 (going too fast on easy days was a problem I had previous seasons but I think I addressed it).

13 milers (twice this season I believe, including once in the summer) were my furthest long run, a few more 12s and 11s.

This is a pretty interesting idea, but I feel like I've responded well to high-volume/intensity workouts before. In fact this is probably the least volume and intensity I've ever had in a season, but by far my worst in terms of improvement. But of course the counterpoint to this is that I ran the best race of my life this season off summer mileage and tempo runs, 0 other workouts... Not really sure and it might take a little experimenting with in track.

I wouldn't even be considering ending my season if I wasn't confident my team could do just as well without me (especially with my recent performance). But if I do choose to continue my season I'm definitely done with anything other than mileage and strides. Thanks for the advice.

Will try and keep this thread updated because the advice has been very helpful.

coulduseadvice wrote:

sosimilar wrote:

You experience might not be the same, but it does look like you are a runner who responds to more aerobic work and might only need 3-5 weeks of sharper workouts. That's how I structure things for myself now (mid-30s).

This is a pretty interesting idea, but I feel like I've responded well to high-volume/intensity workouts before. In fact this is probably the least volume and intensity I've ever had in a season, but by far my worst in terms of improvement. But of course the counterpoint to this is that I ran the best race of my life this season off summer mileage and tempo runs, 0 other workouts... Not really sure and it might take a little experimenting with in track.

Interesting, it is possible we are somewhat similar, and possible we are not. But in light of the fact that you enjoy, and have been successful on higher volume/intensity work, then perhaps it is something else. Are you getting adequate sleep? Is nutrition dialed in? Things like iron levels? Any troubles in life like boyfriend/girlfriend/family/money/whatever? Are academics harder than they've been before? Those things can really add up.

coulduseadvice wrote:

Couldn’t finish half of a 6x800 workout in 2:30s today. I think I need to call my season over and take a break from running... honestly completely lost with myself because I’ve never fallen apart with my training like this. Don’t know where to go from here.

Easy jogging, and races. Just get out every day and run very, very easily.

sosimilar wrote:

Interesting, it is possible we are somewhat similar, and possible we are not. But in light of the fact that you enjoy, and have been successful on higher volume/intensity work, then perhaps it is something else. Are you getting adequate sleep? Is nutrition dialed in? Things like iron levels? Any troubles in life like boyfriend/girlfriend/family/money/whatever? Are academics harder than they've been before? Those things can really add up.

Sleep could be an issue (a little under 7 hours every night) but it's not like I used to get any more in the past; this is probably my best season since freshman year in terms of sleep actually.

I believe I'm doing a good job with nutrition (and nothing has changed recently); weight is stable too so not an issue of calorie intake.

I'm getting my iron levels tested soon, because if it is anemia that'd almost perfectly explain everything and the solution is pretty simple. I almost wish it were anemia for that reason...

No personal troubles thankfully, and because I'm a junior academics are definitely harder but I think I'm handling it well.

Did you gain weight?

Yeah, that all sounds pretty good. Try to get a tad more sleep, obviously, but 7 a night is not going to thrash a season. And I hear you on the anemia, it is nice when things are cut and dry.

Whatever it is, enjoy the winter base training. Good luck moving forward. Bad seasons happen.

extra 15mpw during summer with no school obligations and no workouts = OK new total body stress

extra 15mpw+ workouts + races + school (harder academically you say) + no extra sleep (teenagers should realistically get 9 hrs per night probably) = too much total body stress.

body only cares about total stress, so might have been too much. run easy and get more sleep. if a position is open for you to run and after a week easy you feel like doing it, give the race a try and go into it with no expectations.

Have you gotten your ferritin and hemoglobin checked? Sounds very similar to anemia I had last year... great races and then couldn’t get my legs to work and felt dead all the time.

Iron? wrote:

Have you gotten your ferritin and hemoglobin checked? Sounds very similar to anemia I had last year... great races and then couldn’t get my legs to work and felt dead all the time.

I'm getting them checked soon. How did you perform after getting back to normal iron levels? Did your legs feel better?

This was very common on my kids team this year. Not necessarily too many workouts per week but run at the wrong intensities. Next year run your workouts at your current race paces not goal pace. You may get smoked by your teammates in these workouts.

4 weeks before your goal race start running at your goal pace. Taper for one week. That should keep you from emptying the well in workouts during the year.

Yes, 100%. But to get your iron up faster, you have to control your stress, sleep and nutrition. And take your supplement consistently. It should be taken either 90 minutes after eating or 30 minutes before, should not be taken near calcium or caffeine, and should be taken with vitamin C (aka orange juice without calcium or emergenC). Also make sure your supplement is ferrous sulfate and get liquid iron instead of the pill if you need to get your iron up fast. Anecdotally the liquid gets the iron levels up more quickly than the pill. But again, this is something that should be checked, but it is not definite that this is the cause of your troubles. The symptoms just sound eerily familiar.