Lost my power when running! Middle aged...

[powerdownrunner]

Any other runners, running in middle age ( peri-menopause) who have any advice?

I like running trail and hills and have always particularly loved the feeling of power I have running up hills and inclines, like I can feel the strength in my body powering me up.

Well that's disappeared. Totally. I struggle with every step to keep going and need to walk where I used to run. This is quite a sudden change.

I thought it was because I have tailed down my running and if I got back into training it would come back. So I've been running twice a week ( not long runs - only about 3 to 6k) and strength training for 45 mins twice a week.

But its made no difference, other than I am now shattered. Really, physically worn out and tired in my body.

Is this due to peri-menopause? What can I do about it? Any advice on diet/ supplements or training? I am on HRT and have been for about 18-24 months.

I feel really despondent about it. That feeling of power and capability was one of life's small joys. I don't want it gone forever!

What kind of strength training are you doing?
Have you tried Caroline Girvan?
Not just her weights based workouts, but also her HIIT...

Its a bodyweight strength training class at my local gym.

Oh gawd I know this. I used to do more HIIT up until maybe mid 2021. I changed things up. Increased my weights based training. Still do HIIT but more short in duration.
I've lost my jumpability. I'm not as springy. I feel heavy. I also thought I'd ramp it up incase it was due to doing slightly less but no. 6 months of pushing it and I still feel heavy footed and not at all springy.

I feel like had I not scaled it back for 18 months I still would have lost some ability. I didn't ever stop. I just scaled it back a bit. And now I have pushed it up a bit. It's gone. Is this what happens with age. I mean no one is as springy at 80 as they were at 40. No one. Not even Olympic standard people. It must just slowly decline.

My dad is a lifelong runner, multiple marathons in his 70s etc. he experienced this and it turned out he had a thyroid issue. He’s now on medication for it and is back to normal. But he noticed his usual runs were taking longer and felt harder so he mentioned it when having a check up. They investigated and actually he did need the intervention provided.

There is no getting around the fact that getting older comes with needing to make some adjustments. I'm nearly 70 and, these days, I only go for a couple of short runs a week.

But I weight train, seriously, and do a fair bit of HIIT. 60-90 minutes most days. I think I'm actually fitter than I was in my 50s - even if I can't run as fast or as long as I used to. I can still ski several hours a day and keep up with fellow skiers half my age.

Maybe I will look into the thyroid thing.

It’s not like I have had a gradual decline. It’s more like falling off a cliff.

I did a race Sat and I could’ve cried at the end. It’s a course I did last year and all the places I could power up last year I was struggling to walk up this year. I really struggled through the whole course. It was awful.

I used to do races and feel elated and pleased at the end. Now I just feel shit.

And I’m absolutely shattered since the race. Utterly beat.

This just doesn’t feel normal or like a normal age related slow decline.

@redheadsaregreat How are old are you?

If it's this sudden and drastic, you'll want to see your doctor for a thorough physical, including complete blood work.

57

Another other peri meno symptoms that might indicate you aren’t absorbing your oestrogen or need to up the dose?
Have you added in testosterone to your hrt regime?

Are you on any other medications at all? A combo of sertraline and olanzapine did this to me. I've taken both separately at other times in life and never managed to repeat the issue so think it was just an interaction.

I get this when my iron and b12 are low. I've found as I get older I don't seem to absorb enough from my diet to cover what running takes out. Worth getting those levels checked too.

I get you! I'm severely anaemic, only found out when I could barely run in the autumn, I'd been doing ultra marathons up until then. I'm in my late 50's, do get your bloods done

Well you really need to see a doctor if this is a sudden change.

I think I am on maximum oestrogen, but not on testosterone. Could this help?

Thanks.

Thanks. I had stopped taking an iron supplement but started again recently so I’ll see if that makes a difference. Do I need to go to dr for b12 test?

Thanks everyone. Looks like a trip to the GP in order. Honestly, I find all this quite depressing and worrying. The NHS is in such a state, that the waits are huge for everything. Now that I’m older and things are starting to go wrong physically, it’s actually quite frightening that the NHS is so overpressured now.

OP, what age are you?

The sudden change doesn't seem normal, as well as the dramatic change in your ability to run / train.

You definitely need to see a GP to start with a full blood work up, and go from there.

There should be no reason why someone who's always been fit can't continue to train & compete.

Yes, peri / aging will have an impact but more subtly, eg joint pain, recovery periods, slower speeds but not like you describe.

Thyroid function is definitely one to check, this is entirely possible with your symptoms. Good luck - I can imagine how frustrating this is for you (as someone who needs to exercise daily too).

I can I understand. It might be quite an easy fix though eg if it's thyroid or iron levels, that can be addressed & the benefits seen reasonably quickly. .

@EarringsandLipstick I’ll be 51 in a couple of months. Thanks for the reassurance. I hope it is a quick fix.

Running uses up your iron stores. Someone told me that it was because of the repeated little traumas to the blood that's running through the veins in your feet. No idea if that's true.

https://www.womensrunning.co.uk/health/suffering-iron-deficiency/

Looks like the foot thing is a real thing, amongst other reasons.

This is really, really common in runners who have had covid (even really mild cases) Had you been ill, or was it during a covid wave that this first started happening?

If it could be the case, then resting more and for longer is the best thing to do. Trying to push through it can just make it worse

Read this thread yesterday and then read this piece this morning - don't know if it's at all useful but it seemed to ring some bells. It's from The Conversation, a publication put together by academics working with journalists.