Did I just waste my summer?

Just go out and try to enjoy your longer runs, man. Don't worry about your pace. Based on your 5k PR, that 6:15 per mile pace seems waaayyyyy to fast for a causal long run.

Might be time to take it easy before cross practices start up. Rest and refresh. You'll be fine.

answermi wrote:

Friday night 5k’s and actually bested my PR by over 35 seconds (18:15 PR now in spikes) 3 weeks ago except that I still can’t really go on a 6-7 mile run at an alright pace (6:15-7:30) most days

See why you got injured?

Ice baths and 3 days rest.

That’ll be $125 please.

Don't train like a idiot wrote:

answermi wrote:

Friday night 5k’s and actually bested my PR by over 35 seconds (18:15 PR now in spikes) 3 weeks ago except that I still can’t really go on a 6-7 mile run at an alright pace (6:15-7:30) most days

See why you got injured?

Yeah, not too much reason to run less than 30 seconds off his 5k pace unless he is doing a workout. Maaaybee crushing the last mile of a long run, but outside of that, no reason whatsoever on an normal day.

Don't train like a idiot wrote:

answermi wrote:

Friday night 5k’s and actually bested my PR by over 35 seconds (18:15 PR now in spikes) 3 weeks ago except that I still can’t really go on a 6-7 mile run at an alright pace (6:15-7:30) most days

See why you got injured?

I didn’t go for 6:15 pace runs every day nor every week to be honest. I hovered around 6:35 on my fastest days to about 7:00 on my slowest tempo days. Half the time my runs were about 6-7 miles hovering around 7:10-7:30 with the occasional long run and recovery run thrown into place.

Here’s the link to my Strava account:

Mellow out, dude. You'll be fine by October after a layoff.

lol my 5K bet just improved to 17:51 but my average training run pace might be at 8:45 with plenty of the times going 10:00+ per mile

Anything under 7:00 a mile is a special tempo/workout that I wouldn't do more than 2/3 times a week.

I took a quick look at your strava, and right away this popped out to me:

You had to stop and walk on a run, yet your pace was ~7:15???

Slow down. Slow down. Slow down.

I don’t think you’re burned out quite yet. Tired from mileage? Sure, possibly. If anything, take a few days really easy. Figure out the source of your nagging injuries, make sure you’re stretching after every run. Run on soft surfaces if you can.

illbeinellicottcitytomorrow wrote:

I took a quick look at your strava, and right away this popped out to me:

You had to stop and walk on a run, yet your pace was ~7:15???

Slow down. Slow down. Slow down.

I don’t think you’re burned out quite yet. Tired from mileage? Sure, possibly. If anything, take a few days really easy. Figure out the source of your nagging injuries, make sure you’re stretching after every run. Run on soft surfaces if you can.

I took today at around 8:15 pace with 4x100m strides added onto it and I still felt exhausted. My calves are absolutely burning right now as well which doesn’t help. I’ll try to take the next couple days easy but going easy isn’t my greatest ability.

Somedays you just need to shuffle.

I guess this is redundant, but slow down! There’s nothing wrong with running 8+ pace on easy runs. I’m a woman with a mid-18 PR and rarely average under 8:00 pace on runs. A couple years ago, when I was slower, I tried to run 7:45 pace every day. I was burned out and eventually got hurt. Not as much now. Slowing down works!

Also, heat makes a difference! You’ll feel better when the weather cools off.

Finally, mileage sometimes takes a longggg time to show its results. People on this forum act like if you bump up your mileage, your PRs will drop immediately. And sometimes that’s true. But sometimes it takes years of stagnating and trusting the process before you get a breakthrough. Training builds on itself. It’s fun to come back for the season extra fit and fast after a summer of hard work, but sometimes it takes several summers for that work to actually add up to something. Sucks, but true.

You definitely need to take your easy runs easier. Your PR's indicate you're more of a speedier guy. When you build mileage you need to do it with truly easy running.

To reassure yourself that slow easy running is okay, look up Reed Fischer on Strava and Scott Fauble (Scott Faubs on Strava). Fischer can run 4:45 pace for 13 miles. Fauble can run 4:55 pace for 26 miles. And yet they both average above 7:00 pace for their easy runs. Sometimes they dip below 7:00 a little bit, but not much, and sometimes you see them over 7:30 pace.

If I were you I'd run 8:00+ pace every day until I felt truly rejuvenated and eager to do a workout. It is wrong to force yourself to run a "decent" pace on easy runs or to force yourself to do light speedwork or strides when they just feel uncomfortable rather than uplifting.

It could take weeks. Don't get frustrated that one day of taking it easy doesn't fix you.

You built a lot of aerobic fitness and easy running will retain it while you get your body repaired, so no you didn't mess up your summer of training.

Yep, I'm about a minute faster than OP over 5k and my easy days are usually around 8:00 minute pace, often slower.

Even though I've slowed down I'm feeling like the summer will never end and the heat will be around for a long time.

How is your diet? Do you eat enough quality calories? Do you take an iron supplement along with a good multivitamin and trace elements like zinc and magnesium? Do you eat enough carbs, protein and good fats? You are what you eat and diet has a direct correlation to athletic performance. When I was running high school XC it was work to eat enough to keep weight on and not lose strength. Iron plays a very big roll. What is your current age, height and weight? I have a feeling you aren't eating enough quality calories.

Also running in spikes in races during the summer will give you calf and Achilles tendon problems. You have to ease into running in spikes. Also run on grass and soft surfaces as much as possible. Take a few days off after training all summer.

Also, depending on the time of day you train, the temperature and humidity can leave you chronically dehydrated. You need to replace potassium and sodium along with water. Make a goal and try to drink 3 liters of water a day. I ran and hour and 20 minutes last evening. It was over 86 degrees F with high humidity. It was just a slow distance workout and I lost 3 pounds of water. I weighed myself before and after my run.

No, you took initiative to get in shape and are taking the right steps to correct your pain issues.

Years from now when you get a job, you’ll waste EVERY summer.

Consistency is the mark of an outstanding athlete. It does not matter the sport.

One does not have to run every day but almost every day. Also doubles are good, once you are in shape.

This can take years. It does not happen overnight. Do some reading and watch videos on running.