Well shit, 3:49 kicks ass. With two pit stops, no less.
I ran a marathon in 3:55 back when I was skinnny and young and now I am suffering under the illusion that I can still - at this age - eat all I want and more because I’m running 30 mi./week. I’ve gained weight since I’ve upped my mileage. And it ain’t muscle this time. It’s not just a vanity thing, either. It’s much harder to run when you weigh more.
And this getting the “runs” when you run, deal, man, I’m sick of that. I’ve always had this problem on long runs (and also wrestled with the temptation to subtract the pit stop time from my finishing time in half marathons over the years). Eating too many refined carbs messes with my blood sugar, but now my cholesterol is suddenly borderline high, so I have to lower my meat intake. But when I go for more “complex” (read: high fiber) carbohydrates in my diet, I end up with sudden need for pit stops during long runs. What the hell am I supposed to eat?
Oh well. I’m tempted to wear a shirt in the race for the observers on the course, “I might be fat, but I’m faster than you.”
Well, I had cut my mileage and was eating the shakes. My experience has been that whenever people start to work out, they tend to eat more and as their body builds itself (whether for running or weightlifting or what have you) they gain weight for the first two months. It’s not always all muscle.
If you’ve really only gotten back in your program for one or two months, than don’t worry about it yet. If it’s been longer than that, you probably need to address it. I recommend “the caveman diet.” Eat only those things that were available to a caveman. This means simple unrefined foods, nothing fried. no white sugar, no coffee, no white flour, no butter, no Ho-hos. Chances are, this will settle your gut as well. I have nobody to blame but myself for the potty stops considering what I ate.
For me, the magic mileage figure is 50 miles a week. At that level, I cannot gain weight. I dropped my mileage and ate a lot, because I was losing upper body mass running like that.
Chicken, lean cuts of meat, shrimp, fish. Grill it with vegetables, brown rice. I make french fries by slicing a potato and putting it in a plastic bag. Than I put in a tablespoon of olive oil and shake the bag. Than I put in salt, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, and chili powder (and anything else that looks good) and shake the bag again. Spread it out on a pan and bake. After half an hour add a sliced onion and a sliced bell pepper similarly treated and bake for another 15 min.
With a little bit of fish, or chicken this is incredibly light, yet very satisfying. The other thing is to make sure you don’t have any caffeine. It gives you the trots.
Oh well. I’m tempted to wear a shirt in the race for the observers on the course, “I might be fat, but I’m faster than you.”
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My husband is dealing with this very issue. He’s a postal worker who has a walking route, and his body has a broad frame. If you check out his legs, they’re absolute tree trunks. Thick, very muscular. The rest of his body has muscle underneath, but a layer of “padding” over it. If someone gently teases him about his gut, and he tells the person to poke him in the stomach, their expression quickly changes from amusement to surprise - not too far down under that padding, there’s a serious, unyielding layer of muscle.
He walks several miles a day, and losing any muscle in his legs, or in his shoulders/back (used for supporting the heavy mailbag), would be a big problem for him. But he’d still like to get rid of the extra fat around his gut. It’s a tough balancing act, and as the one who cooks in our house, I feel my own share of responsibility, guilt, and frustration over it.
Anyway, I can completely sympathize with your situation, as my husband deals with it daily. I’m pleased to hear about your excellent race time; congratulations! (Regarding the pit stops, though - I’m surprised that most of that time wasn’t involved in just trying to shed the spandex.)
I realize that 50 miles a week is a lot, but did you incorporate any strength training in that? Pushups and pullups should have helped to cut down on the upper body mass loss and wouldn’t have taken too much time to add (at least, they didn’t for me - maybe 15 minutes) into my running schedule, back when I could still run for more than 3 miles at a time.
When I trained for the marathon last time, as soon as I got up over 40 mi/week I was eating constantly and still losing weight. I worked in a backpacking store and used to go to a nearby drugstore lunch counter and order chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and put a big pad of butter on my vegetables, and then eat a whole basket of bread. Then I’d finish it off with a full sized chocolate sundae. The people working there were just amazed at what I was packing away - just for lunch! I don’t know that I’ll up my mileage too much over 40 mi./wk this time because I’m more worried about injuries now. But I hope the couple of long runs a week will kick my metabolism into gear soon!
Cave man diet, eh? So raw, slightly rancid meat and corn mixed with gravel after being ground on the metate? Hm. Actually your grilled meat and vegetables sounds pretty good - I should do that. I’d rather not eat too much meat (even fresh and cooked) though, because my cholesterol level is a little high (though the LDL/HDL ratio is good, so who knows what to do). Too many vegetables and whole grains mess with my intestines during long runs. I refuse to give up caffeine in the morning and just try to drink my coffee early enough to help me with evacuation before I go. A number of studies have shown caffeine to improve sports performance and besides, I can’t NOT have a cup of coffee when I get up.
Re. the others chiming in on their potty habits, I love it! Runners and elderly people are the only ones who love to talk candidly about this kind of thing.
I think fish is supposed to be good for your cholesterol. Shrimp have a lot, but the right kind. I think grilled chicken breast is light in it, too.
Well, I’ve found that it’s best to steer clear of brocolli. Carrots, onions, bell peppers I can eat with impugnity.
To quote a dictator: “We all do as me must. For, if we do not, than the things that we must do do not get done.”
Just realize it’s no friend to your bowels.
My favorite story is from a female runner who used too much soap in her laundry. When she jogged, it rained and the soap started to foam, not just a little. She was running with this great white foaming mass of bubbles falling off her crotch.
Wait a minute, I’m trying to run a sub-4:00 next month. Are you telling me I could have been drinking milkshakes instead of killing myself to lose ten pounds? :smack:
One of my coworkers told me he once urinated in his pants during a marathon because he was trying to qualify for Boston. Not the same as pooping, but still…
I can’t imagine somebody having to stop just to piss during a race. Especially a guy, who can just stand against a tree and be done with it so quick. My body seems to want to hang onto all the liquid it can while I’m running, so I’ve never had to stop JUST to pee.
The Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, Va. It’s close to home, and pretty flat. I’ve never run it before but it looks like a pretty good race, as long as the weather holds. March weather in Virginia is a little unpredictable.
I was up to 35/week about a month ago, but I injured my lower shin during a half-marathon, so I’ve had to modify my schedule quite a bit (x-training, avoiding hills, icepacks, etc.). My mileage has varied from 25-40 over the last few weeks. I’ve kept up with my long runs but I’m not as confident about breaking 4 hours as I was a month ago. I guess I’ll find out in a few weeks.
I often joke that there is a certain amount of speed (and body weight) in the world. So when someone gets faster (or thinner) there’s some poor schmuck who gets slower (or fatter).
I think I now know why my marathons keep getting slower. IT IS YOUR FAULT, SCYLLA. I hope you’re happy, you douchebag.
