Drastic loss of performance in winter ?

The Forums Ask Us.
1

Hey, I’ve been in the zone for a while, didn’t post at all… But now I am experiencing something that concerns me.

1 month ago, after a wonderful summer of GPP, right in the middle of my SPP1, I set a 30m PR, 3.62s HT. 50-60m runs felt GREAT too, smooth, quiet, everything was perfect…
BUT THEN, sub 5 degree C temperatures took over, and the quality of sprints reduced drastically (cold+having to run with multiple layers and pants which messed up technique) the feeling was of " lets get this over with " .

Today, it was KINDA warm, I went out there to time a 60 and BOOM, again I was heavy, tired, slow, 6.8s HT which is NOTHING like 3.62 pace I did (it sure felt like it, i was a rocket 1 month ago ! ) I know 30 is not a 60, so just trust my feeling on this one, I know I ran faster than that !

I know it’s stupid, but its messing with my mind now, CAN I EVER REPEAT WHAT I DID ?
Should I just forget about it and let the meet be the judge ? I was expecting 6.6 today AT LEAST… Can a “bad, cold day” really **** you up by 0.2s over 60 ? I guess this is the main question of this thread.

Sorry if this is a meaningless question, but I admit I am inexperienced and I am really worried.

2

Cold weather can certainly have a very negative effect on performance and people do have bad days or days where they are not at their absolute best. It is just once practice, relax. Handtimes are also inaccurate (to say the least) and can be susceptible to huge margins of error.

3

broski, don’t worry about it. i recently ran a 30 outdoor with like a +5m/s wind in cold temperatures and ran .3 slower than my runs at the indoor track later in the week.

4

Thanks :slight_smile: That helped !
I think i’m done with timings though… Just go by feel till the meet… HT’s never do any good huh ?