3/29/11
15 miles
2:13
8:52 avg pace
Nothing too remarkable about this run. It was cold (again) and my hands were cold (again)…even though I brought a change of gloves. I’m really sick and tired of this cold. Spring, get here and stay here!
I wanted to address weight gain and marathon training. I have gained 5 lbs this training cycle. This isn’t uncommon for me; it has happened before. My clothes aren’t tighter and I don’t feel that much different. I don’t weigh myself religiously – just every now and then (that’s how I found out I was +5). And no, this weight gain is not muscle…I can assure you of that!
It’s more common for runners to gain weight during marathon training than lose it. It seems hard to believe that you can gain weight while doing all that running but it happens. Non-runners ask me all the time how much weight I can lose when training. You should see their faces when I tell them my weight remains the same or I even (gasp!) gain weight. Training for a marathon should never be used for weight loss. Your appetite is out of control, to put it mildly. If you have every been around me during training, you know how much pizza I can put away!
My issue (and probably the reason for my weight gain) is my out of control sweet tooth. This began around Christmas (which I think is normal; everyone overindulges in sweets during that time) but it has not gone away! Coincidently, I started training for this marathon during Christmas. I often use sweets as a “reward” for training. And that is where the problem lies. I really shouldn’t be rewarding myself with a DQ Blizzard after every long run! Totally unnecessary. The cravings for sweets are so strong that I just give in. We can’t have sweets in the house – they are gone instantly. I’m not one of those people who can have 3 Hershey Kisses to satisfy my sweet tooth!
So my solution is to cut out ALL sweets until after the marathon. I gotta do this cold turkey. I think by taking a drastic approach (i.e., total withdrawal) I can “calm” my never ending desire for sweets. Ugh, it’s gonna get ugly around here 😉
Funny thing is these extra 5 lbs don’t make me feel sluggish when I run! I feel so strong. Odd, huh? And no, it’s still not muscle!
Yesterday I went to Whole Foods to pick up some more crack White Chocolate Wonderful. I was about to also pick up Dark Chocolate Dreams but then realized that would be too close to a sweet. Chocolate + PB = Reese’s Cup. Maybe after May 1!
Do you reward yourself with treats during training? Ever gain weight while training?