Just dealing with a little obstacle here! The week before Christmas I’d started running 6k to begin to work on moving from 5k to 10k. I’ve been consolidating 5k for a couple of months increasing my speed. My 6k time was about 43 mins.
I didn’t do any runs for a week over Christmas, but went out on Boxing Day and suddenly couldn’t run more than 3k - then I went out just now and made it to 5k but at the same speed I was at a month ago!
Could I have lost my fitness that quickly? Does running in the cold make it harder for your lungs - my breathing felt more difficult and now I’m coughing post-run! Finally, could it be the absurd amounts of potatoes and Yule log I ate over Christmas (I regret nothing!!!)?
Basically I’m asking...is it normal to lose that much fitness in a week?
Thank you! X
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Contentlycon
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I’ve read, and have experienced personally, that you can go about 2 weeks without losing fitness. That said, any run can be a bad run, it’s not that uncommon that I get out there intending to do 5k and can barely scrape up the energy for 3k! Everyone has bad days!
Running in cold air irritates my lungs too. Wear a Buff around your neck and pull it up over your mouth to breathe through, that’ll give you warm air to breathe.
That’s a good idea! It just feels like my lung capacity is smaller. I’ve also gone between a week and two weeks without running and not lost my fitness which is why I’m a bit alarmed. Maybe next time on a less freezing day will be better
It’s in the head and sometimes in the legs. The more you run the easier it gets. Your in the early phase still. So if you relaxed a bit over Christmas and indulged a little too much as you should, then you may feel more sluggish. Don’t worry. January is a great month for getting back on track and kicking off the extra weight. I’ve been running for 3.5 years now. Last year I was at my fittest, comfortably running 10K in under an hour and comfortably running 5K in under 27 minutes. Now I’m struggling to run 5K. I have really missed parkrun and training for upcoming road races. So in January I will be back with fresh focus.
Just an update! Yesterday I ran my fastest 5k by about 2 minutes. Had no idea it was going to happen and I’m not sure why it happened. But thanks for the support. I went slowly until I felt like I could improve again.
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