Marathon Training Makes You Fat

I frequently talk about my ravenous apetite ... and in fact, the topic of food and eating tends to dominate our long runs on Saturday. Each of us thought we would experience some "physical enhancements" with training, whether it be slimmer waists or smaller thighs - we all expected to SEE results. Well, we are seeing results, but not those expected. All of us have confirmed that since training we have each GAINED WEIGHT.

When we mention to others that we are gaining weight, they state "It must be muscle". We discussed this concept too, and we all agree that its not muscle (muscle doesnt make your pants get tighter, for example). So, what is it? Could it be the pound of pasta I inhale at each meal? The package of cookies that seemed to mysteriously vanish? Maybe its the bag of chocolate-covered-pretzels I just polished off?

Fellow runners talk about family and friends requests to see pictures of their "hot new body", and having people ask us directly "are you loosing weight?". It seems that everyone assumes we must be looking pretty good after almost three months of training - just as we assumed we would. But we arent, and I think we are all wondering what we are doing wrong. I have to admit, the fact that I am not alone is oddly comforting. If it was just me stepping on the scale, watching the lbs pack on, as my friends bragged about their weight loss and need to downsize their wardrobe, I might be wallowing in my misery right now. Instead, I am aware that we are eating more - but also working harder ... and that there must be some logic to it all :)

I did surf around and find that this weight gain is not uncommon ... while its also not uncommon to loose weight. It might be wise to remind myself that simply training for a marathon does not permit me to eat like every meal is my last. If I can create this focus in my life around marathon training, I think maybe I can expand that focus a bit to the food I consume. So I have a new goal on top of training - think before I eat :)