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Original poster

Slower running times after Pfizer

31 replies

GrassIsRiz · 31/07/2021 14:38

I'm posting on behalf of my cousin, who wanted to know if she was alone in this. She is 38 and a keen runner. After her first Pfizer jab, she felt quite fatigued for a couple of weeks and then recovered. She had her second a month ago, immediately felt very tired again and this is still persisting now. But the thing she really is wondering about is her running times. She doesn't want to go to the doctor for it as she says it must be very small fry, and the fact she can still go running has to mean she's basically ok in the grand scheme of things. She has consistently run 5k in under 25 minutes right up to the point she had the jabs. Since she had her second, though, she hasn't done a single run under 30 minutes. She just feels much slower and more tired. Has anyone else experienced this?

OP posts:
MRex · 31/07/2021 14:52

If she has any physical pain or breathlessness then she should see a GP. Having had a few weeks off she'll have lost a little fitness and needs to push harder for a while to regain it. 25 minutes is not a fast time for such a short distance, so I would guess she isn't doing much else for fitness; building in some other exercise might help.

NotSonicTheHedgehog · 31/07/2021 15:29

Em under 25 minutes is a good time for an intermediate runner for 5k Hmm

SunsetInToulouse · 31/07/2021 15:30

5km in under 25 minutes sounds like a pretty decent time to me. I didn't have the Pfizer jab, so can't comment on that, but in the past I have felt more tired / slow for a few weeks and have wondered if my body is fighting off an infection or similar. I guess it's conceivable that it could be related to the body generating antibodies in response to the jab. It could also be a whole variety of other things too though.

SpnBaby1967 · 31/07/2021 15:32

Blimey, hope she hasnt pulled her muscles with all that overreaching she is doing there Hmm

ChristmasCurry · 31/07/2021 16:06

I had the Pfizer, felt tired for a few days after my 2nd jab.

My bike times are now better then they were before I had the 1st jab.

No tiredness and feel much fitter.

thinkingaboutitall · 31/07/2021 16:08

There
Is
No
Correlation

Passthecontrol · 31/07/2021 16:12

Someone posted a similar thread about her cyclist husband last week. Reduced fitness and cardiovascular ability, iirc he developed myocarditis after the vaccines. I know a few people in RL who have reported ongoing fatigue after the vaccines too.

MRex · 31/07/2021 16:17

@NotSonicTheHedgehog

Em under 25 minutes is a good time for an intermediate runner for 5k Hmm
Really? Back when I had time to measure, I used to run faster than that with my mate and thought that was just normal pace rather than.particularly fast. He could sprint quite a bit faster when he wanted to.
Abraxan · 31/07/2021 16:41

I know this is MN but yes, even on here, 5k in 25 minutes is pretty good.

These are are average times based on age and sex according to one healthline website

Slower running times after Pfizer
Slower running times after Pfizer
OrangeBananaFish · 31/07/2021 16:54

Under 25 mins is a bloody good time for an average runner (ie not professional athlete). I've been running (including parkrun) for over 9 years now so know quite a lot of runners. Nice to know I've always been crap. PB is 25:43, but that was years ago. I managed 31:38 this morning (but recently had covid so currently hoping to get back to the 27/28 minute mark.

Just had a look at my local parkrun results for today. 85 people out of 267 ran a sub 25 so yeah 25 mins is really good.

Anyway sorry OP I can't help as I haven't had pfizer.

Wooollffff · 31/07/2021 16:56

DD1 did her best ever time after her Pfizer jab. Your cousin needs to get checked out by her GP, there could be 100 reasons why she is not feeling that great and it needs investigating.

WhiskeryWoman · 31/07/2021 17:15

It’s what’s normal for her though isn’t it and that’s not… it’s a huge amount slower. Of course there could be many other reasons, but clearly something is amiss which warrants a doctors appointment for a check over. I was feeling really off it last year (I’m a cyclist) but kept plodding on wondering why I’d got so slow, so kept trying to push harder. I ended up really poorly in the end and got diagnosed with Epstein-Barr. I had no idea!! I didn’t have any issues after either of my Pfizer doses… but everyone is different and our bodies react differently.

beattieedny · 31/07/2021 17:18

She should see her GP. Could be anything really from side effects (I had v unusual nasty ones, but most are fine), hormonal, anaemia, random infection.
Her time is still better than my PB, ha.

amicissimma · 31/07/2021 17:25

I'd recommend seeing her GP. This can happen after an infection, so could happen after fighting an (artificially introduced) pathogen. It can be a sign of something serious, but not necessarily.

Original poster
GrassIsRiz · 31/07/2021 19:14

Thanks all. I'll try to persuade her to have a chat with the GP. It's definitely not lost fitness through lack of practice as she's basically kept up the same routine. Interesting that some of you think under 25 minutes is slow - that's definitely fast to me!! I always take over 30 mins for Park Run, but for her it's really really unusual (well, completely new actually).
Anyway, thanks again, and I'll pass all this on.

OP posts:
RunningFromInsanity · 31/07/2021 19:43

Pretty much everyone is slower than normal at parkrun at the moment, simply because they haven’t had the opportunity to practice fast sprint racing over the last year.
Training is fine, but you are never going to push yourself on a solo run like you would at parkrun or a race.

Mangofandangoo · 31/07/2021 19:49

@MRex

If she has any physical pain or breathlessness then she should see a GP. Having had a few weeks off she'll have lost a little fitness and needs to push harder for a while to regain it. 25 minutes is not a fast time for such a short distance, so I would guess she isn't doing much else for fitness; building in some other exercise might help.
I'm a runner and I can't get my 5k under 28 minutes 🤷🏻‍♀️
MRex · 31/07/2021 19:56

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend people, I don't do parkrun but was used to running with a mate and obviously had a skewed idea of what the average pace is.

BordelDeMerde · 31/07/2021 21:32

On a virtual running group I'm in on FB, quite a few of us have felt more sluggish after having the first Pfizer jab. I did myself for about six weeks or - just felt like my legs were made of lead.
I'm fine again now though. I presume my immune system was busy doing its thing.

5k in 25 minutes would be fast for me.

Delatron · 31/07/2021 21:37

The point is 25 minutes to 30 is a big drop. She needs this checking out.

greendiva · 31/07/2021 21:41

25 mins for parkrun for a 38 year old is a great time! It's a bit drop if she is usually consistent at that time. I felt a bit shit and slower running after my first jab for a few weeks.

greendiva · 31/07/2021 21:42

*big drop

bloopshoop · 01/08/2021 08:31

I always run slower in the summer because it's so much more humid.

knittingaddict · 01/08/2021 08:37

My daughter is a cyclist and had the Pfizer vaccine. She's just completed a massive ride with challenging uphills and had no problems at all. The boiling hot weather that day was obviously taken into account. The weather does have an impact on performance, as others have said.

AuntieStella · 01/08/2021 08:52

Does she have any other symptoms at all - easy bruising, bleeding gums, night sweats? I'd so, then yes it is worth seeing GP and getting some blood tests done to check there isn't an underlying cause.

It's also possible that she's been having a very mild case of covid (despite jab) as there was an awful lot of it about around the time of her second jab and you can still get it. Having a mild symptom only during exertion sounds plausible.

And having covid itself really can much up your running - fit young man who usually ran comfortably sub-20 before he had covid is still struggling to get below 25 since he had it nearly a year ago. Know a few people with similar, but not usually such long lasting, drops

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