I have been running every day for three months and have been consistently over 80km/week. One thing I find rather confusing is that when I do my long runs ( 20+ km), a 5 min/km pace is more taxing for me than a 4’15"/km pace. I am not BS’ing here. Could this possibly be because my body is not as efficient as it should be at burning fat for fuel??? This is the only logical explanation I can think of. If that is the case, I would expect my track times would be faster - indicating that my body is better at shorter distances - but this is not the case. I have been finding my track times are pretty crappy this year but I can hold a fast pace for a long time.
Perhaps the reason will come to me in my sleep. Good night all.
P.S. One of the great things about being on the west coast is that you can trash talk all the eastern slowtwitches without giving them a chance with a comeback until they wake up. Hmmmmm. Ok…here it goes…the eastern slowtwitchers smell and their momma’s are ugly!
I once read an article, can’t remember where or by whom, so FWIW, that explained your problem just like you described it.
From memory, the individual was a coach and a fairly accomplished marathoner. He said at one time he had exactly teh same problem. How he developed teh issue was that he continuelly ran all of his runs at a higher intensity then the lower zones. He said that he knew it was improper training but simply did not have the time for the longer slower suff. Once he was able to move back to the longer slower stuff he found it was difficult to hold the slower pace. His explanation was that all of the training in the upper zones made him more reliant on glucose/glycogen and less reliant or less able to burn fat.
I’m also guessing it could be an effeciency issue as well, especially if you’ve done considerably more training at the 5 min pace and very little at the 4.25 pace. Probably will just take some time to get a feel for new, different pace.
That sounds like my situation. I think I run all my slow runs at about 30-40 seconds per kilometer faster than the books suggest - but the pace does feel very natural and comfortable. I am guessing that I am burning too much glycogen and not enough fat and when I slow down and my body “tries” to shift to burning fat it is not able to do so efficiently. I also suspect this because considering all the training I have been doing I am perplexed why I am not toned right now. Also, I tend to have a high carbohydrate diet (with likely too much in the way of simple sugars).
Does my logic sound off? Anyone else experience this situation?
What is slow? I find there is a sweet spot range. When I drop below that range I find the mechanics change and I feel more pounding. To me it seems in the slower range there is more energy expended in absorbing the gravity. When I speed up the discomfort goes away. When training for a marathon on the long runs I’ll run with others and we go out at 8:00 - 8:30 minute mile pace. After 10 miles of this I feel beat up. I usually pick it up to 7:00 minute mile for the last half and the discomfort disappears. Has anybody else experienced this?
I have the exact same problem (at very similar paces). I noticed this problem last year and ignored it for a whiule thinking it was just my imagination or pre-workout meal. For me, I found that it was due to a combination of nutrition and form. I tend to run more efficiently at a slightly faster pace (less vertical movement). Nutrition seems to be the other big factor. Like you, I consumed a high carb diet with little fat (probably 10-15%). I’ve experienced a fair amount of success upping my fat intake to 30%, and consuming a bit more fat prior to my long runs. I took a while for my body to adjust, but it seems to be working. Also, I have more energy during the day.
Odd thing is that it is not muscular fatigue that I am feeling…just a general tired feeling during the run. The pace is not taxing on the muscles or the cardiovascular system. I know this doesn’t seem to make sense but this is repeatable for me on every slow run. Odd.
I would have to third the idea that your form is what is causing the problem. Your slow run is not duplicating the same muscle firing patterns and you wind up wasting energy. Incidently you see it more in swimming where newer swimmers have only one pace, swimmming slower or faster is very hard for them.