Weighty issues

Day 29 of 130
Ks covered: 160
Ks to go: 942
General mood: On the mend
Running highlight: Getting out the door
Equipment status: Back in action
Body status: Slow and steady
Weight: 148 lbs

There’s an elephant in the room and it’s wearing sneakers.

Last week I wrote about my “need for speed”  but there’s something I left out: I’m 18 lbs over my ideal weight. Yes, this morning, I weighed in at 148 lbs (thank you stomach flu and a very slow 20K for smashing the 150s!). Compressed into a 5’5 body, that translates to a serious Tootsie Roll.

I’ll admit, for me 148 is actually pretty great. This time last year I weighed 20 lbs more. But, my body is still very squishy and 18 lbs of extra butt and belly can’t be making me faster.

A recent assertion in a large American running magazine (rhymes with Munner’s Morld) was that a runner’s time improves by two seconds per mile for every pound of body weight lost. So, it would seem, my finish line time and my waist line are in bed together – not that they’re burning any calories while they’re at it.

Assuming said runner has, ehem, 18 pounds to lose, he or she could improve his or her time by 36 seconds per mile. That’s almost 16 minutes in a marathon for said runner, bringing that person from a 4:47 PB to 4:31 PB without so much as an altered training schedule. Of course, the logic doesn’t completely hold, or my 31-pound three-year-old would finish a marathon in around 18 minutes, but if it works for me, that leaves only 11 minutes to be conquered through the pain of hills, tempo runs and interval training. Voila, 4:20 marathon! Easy right?

But here’s the problem: I’m hungry. Hungry like Rosie O’Donnell at a Kate Moss dinner party. Now, I won’t lie, even when I’m not running I like to eat, but this new regimen is leaving me famished. And here’s the thing – Crazy Haruki says all his running leaves him craving things like fresh fish. What I want to know is – do strawberry marshmallows have fins? For me, it’s all about the sweet stuff. Mmmm…Twizzelators.

So it’s time to throw down another gauntlet. Coz if I tell you I’ll have to do it. I’m going to lose 18 lbs by Ottawa. How? More protein, less refined sugars, small meals more often, kill the after-dinner snacks. So let’s see how it goes. I’m going to add it to my stats at the top and you’ll keep me honest.

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