I don’t know if I’m actually asking a question or just looking for commiseration. I started running 10 years ago (34yo) and took to it pretty well. I wasn’t the fastest but got better with miles and at my peak ran a 30:29 5k which was amazing! I got burnt out so I switched to spinning about 6 years ago and have kept up my fitness ever since working out 4-5 days a week and running on a treadmill sporadically. 6 weeks ago I signed up for a 10k (which I completed today). I figured since I kept my overall fitness and cardio up I could pick up on my low end which was 12-12:30 mm. I was so wrong. Training outside felt like I was trudging through mud and when I finished I felt like crap for the rest of the day. I started with 14-14:30mm and one run was great at 13:30mm. I feel so defeated. It’s not fun and it feels awful. I’m more mad because it’s not like I’ve sat on the couch for years! I’m so active. I feel a big part is, obviously, I’m older but I’m also in menopause and haven’t physically felt like myself lately. I just wonder has anyone else experienced this? I finished my 10k today but I was basically useless for the rest of the day. I’m older but I’m not that old yet!!!
I’m post menopause and was a runner years ago. I just started back seriously this last January. Was I slow when I started back? Oh yes. I felt like I was running with a weight belt and like I was moving in slow motion. Nothing felt “natural”. It was as if I had forgotten how to breath and move at the same time. So, when I say, “I get it” you know that I actually do understand. Here are the things that have helped me: I have a better diet now. I eat low carb and get 20-30 grams of protein a meal. I’m on HRT. I started the patch and pills in July. It took roughly 6 weeks before the hot flashes and poor sleep improved. It has also helped my overall energy and mood. I get 7 hours of sleep a night. I would suggest, if you haven’t already, to talk to your DR and ask for a full lab work up and ask about HRT. I run on the street almost all the time. I have used a treadmill a few times only when I was traveling and it was the only way to get in a run. When I use the treadmill, I set the incline to 1 or more to better simulate being on the road.
You’re not ever going to have the same body or joints that you had before, but you can still be strong, and fast, and healthy. It is super unlikely that I will ever beat my PB for the mile. That’s ok. I was faster then, but I am 100% more healthy now.
Don’t beat yourself up. You’re going through a lot and being critical of yourself and comparing who you are now to who you were then is not fair to who you are now. Be a good teammate to yourself.