14 Troubleshooting Performance

Times are slowing down at end

• Your long runs aren’t long enough
• You are running too fast at the beginning of the race
• You may benefit from walk breaks that are taken more frequently
• You may be overtrained – put more rest between speed repetitions for a week or two
• In speed workouts, run easier in the first third and hardest at the end (but no sprinting)
• Temperature and/or humidity may be to blame – try slowing down from the beginning

Note: usual slowdown in a marathon or long run is 30 sec/mi slower for every 5 degrees above 60F (20 sec/kilometer for every 2C above 14C)

Slowing down in the middle of the race

• You may be running too hard at the beginning – slow down by a few seconds each mile
• You may benefit from more frequent walk breaks
• In speedworkouts, work the hardest in the middle of the workout

Nauseous at the end

• You ran too fast at the beginning or the middle
• Temperature is above 65F/17C
• You ate too much (or drank too much) before the race or workout – even hours before
• You ate the wrong foods before the workout – most commonly, fat, fried foods, milk products, fibrous foods

Tired during workouts

• Low in B vitamins
• Low in iron – have a serum ferritin test, cook food in an iron skillet
• Not eating enough protein
• Blood sugar is low before exercise
• Not eating within 30 min of the finish of a run
• Eating too much fat – especially before or right after a run
• Running too many days per week
• Running too hard on long runs
• Running too hard on all running days
• Not taking enough walk breaks from the beginning of your runs
• Insufficient rest days between hard workouts