So I'm a sophomore girl in HS. I've been running track since 6th grade and xc since 7th. I was pretty good at it in MS. My PRs were 2:32 in the 800, 5:50 in the 1600, and 23:20 5k by the end of 8th grade. I never really trained off season, and when it was track or xc "season" at my school, it was just 5 week long and would run about 10 miles a week. Other then that, I occasionally ran easy 5ks on weekends.
Fast forward to XC season my freshman year. I show up to practice with the people I'd been running with for the past 2-3 years. My school is K-12 and small, so good middle schoolers can train with high schoolers sometimes. I struggled so so so much during practice. I could not keep up with the upperclassmen which I kept up with in the spring.
My first race was a 3 mile and I ran 25:30 - walked a bit of the course. Ended up getting injured and didn't run the rest of the season. Didn't run over winter break, and started track season.
First HS track meet - ran the 1600. Came in dead last at 7:54 . I was in disbelief because my times from just a year ago were always around sub 6. I also ran the 800, and came in almost last with 2:59. As the season progressed, I got down to a 7:00 but nothing compared to 8th grade.
* I did go from being 5`2 and 90 pounds to 5`4 110 pounds. I grew 2 inches but gained 10 pounds. I look a lot more "developed" but more muscle so I'm not sure if that affected my performance.
So this summer, I decided I was sick and tired of being so slow. For the first 2 weeks, I decided I'd run 4 miles each morning at 10:45 pace (VERY EASY) and 2 miles at the same pace. Then I did 5 miles almost everyday with a few strides + hill runs for 4 weeks, and just ran a lot more than I had ever in my life. I thought for sure I'd get back to or CLOSE to where I was in 8th grade.
XC season just started. Let me say, it is absolutely terrible. I ran my first 2 mile time trial on a xc course; 19:50. 5k time trial came out as 26:40. 800 was a 3:04. I am so frustrated. I'm worse than track season of freshman year even though I trained during the summer. I expected to be the same level as track season or better. I'm confused at the sudden decline of my performance. I went from times that could make varsity at my small private school, to being one of the slower JV runners.
What are the factors of this sudden decline in my performance? What can I do to get back up again?
What I think could be the causes:
- Weight gain of 20 pounds
- Unmotivated: I don't feel like pushing super hard. I'm almost never out of breath or feel like I'm dying at the end of a time trial or race. in MS, I felt like passing out, meaning I pushed super hard.
I don't know. I still love running but it really upsets me that my performance keeps declining. Especially after the summer training. (I know it isn't very intense, but I expected to be a little quicker or stay the same...)
Thank you if you read through my entire rant/post. I really appreciate any feedback, advice, or anything you have to say about my situation.