Wednesday Weigh In

Happy Batman Day everyone!

     Yes, DC Comics has officially named today Batman Day as they continue to celebrate 75 years of the Caped Crusader!  What does this have to do with my running and my weight loss?  Absolutely nothing what so ever, but out of all the superheros out there Batman was my favorite growing up.  I thought I would show you a little throwback to 1989 when I got this awesome haircut in preparation for Tim Burton's Batman movie.  Getting the logo cut into your hair was all the rage back then for us Bat fanatics.  I figured since today is Batman Day I thought I would share a little glimpse into my youth.

     Anyway, work this week has stressed me out a little more than usual, nothing I can't handle, but it is worth mentioning.  I have been pitching in and helping one of the other departments as well as running my own, which has been fun, but also challenging me to keep sharp so I don't drop one of the balls I am juggling.  Also the ceiling repair and painting of one of the bedrooms has taken its toll on my body and trying to rest my body while continuing marathon training has been a little tricky.  Thankfully, with some help from my wife, I am almost finished and starting to move stuff back in.  That has made Mandy happy, now that our living room isn't filled with all my crap! 

     As far as my diet goes, I did pretty well!  Other than last Wednesday, I only went over my allotted calories once and it was by less than a 100 so I was pretty happy with that.  Wednesdays are the only day I go way over my calories and that is because of my long run.  For example, my estimated caloric burn for today's run is around 2100 and I will allow myself to go over my 2000 calorie allotment by roughly 500.  So let us see where I landed for this weeks weigh in.

7/23/14 official weigh in

185 lbs

Change: -1 lbs

Total loss from heaviest: 132 lbs

Current BMI: 28.9 (overweight)

Change: -.2

     The one thing that has surprised me is I thought the pounds would just be falling off now with all the miles and calories burned, but they really haven't.  I am not complaining at all because any loss is a good loss, but it made me do a little research.  What I found is there seems to be two to three major reasons for lack of weight loss or even weight gain during marathon training.  The first and most obvious is that people eat more.  They think because they are burning so many calories they have an open ticket to eat whatever they want, which is not the case at all, but they do and poof they gain some weight. 

    

     Another reason is muscle growth.  Your muscles are getting stronger and if you are adding any kind of weight training that can add to your muscle mass.  We all know the old saying that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you notice your clothes fitting better, but the scale isn't going down this could be the reason. 

     The last reason I found was that as you train your body to run longer and longer distances it adapts and learns it needs to store more energy, also called glycogen.  Glycogen when stored also stores water along with it, here is an excerpt from an article on RunnersConnect.com - "for every ounce of glycogen, the body also stores 3 ounces of water. That extra water your body is storing will show up as extra “weight” on the scale. Water weight will contribute even more to overall weight if you are being more diligent at staying hydrated than you were before beginning your training regimen.  Water weight will fluctuate throughout the days and weeks and is not reflective actual weight gain as fat mass. Remind yourself that being able to store extra glycogen and fluids is a good thing- you will need this for training and especially race day."

     I would guess I am a little bit of the second reason and a lot of the third reason for slow drops in weight and quite possible a gain from time to time.  With that said, I am wondering if the best time to weigh in is after my long run but before I eat anything.  At this point my body would be at its most depleted state of glycogen and fluids and would be my most truest weight.  Sounds like a science experiment to me.

     Today's long run went pretty well despite the start.  I mentally was not prepared to go out for that long, cuz I just wanted to quite after three miles.  The temp was in the low 70s with cloudy overcast skies, but the humidity and dew point were up there because it had rained all night.  Like I said I just wasn't feeling a long run today, short run, ok I could grind it out but man 15 miles what was I thinking.  I got to the half way point and my mental funk finally quit and I was starting to enjoy the run.  The humidity dropped and combine that with the light breeze, it was starting to keep me pretty cool.  I had finished mile ten and the urge to water the grass had come over me and there just happened to be a perfect spot for me to go.  I didn't shut my Garmin off when I stopped so mile eleven looks a little out of place, but I was able to push back and get the best time possible out of it.  After that I bounced back and had a nice steady pace for the final miles.  At roughly mile twelve it started to rain very lightly but quite steady.  It sure did feel pretty good and made those last couple miles feel so much better than the first few that started my run.  Previously 14 miles was my longest run to date so today I broke new ground, and despite how I felt when I started I was very happy with how I finished!