5 replies to this topic

[SkinnyJen]

I know some of you are training for fall long distance events... How is it going?
I am doing the Portland Marathon on 10/10/10, and completed 3 half marathons this summer. I am excited about the marathon, and am feeling ready! I am now tapering, with my last long run completed!
The weight loss front is more of a challenge. I have been "5# to goal" for 6 months, and can't seem to get lower than 120#. Ugh! Defies logic; I run 35-40 miles per week and cross train... Scale is stuck at 120. Oh well, maybe the weight will come off after the marathon?

Best wishes for fantastic events!

[Wishing2bskinny]

SkinnyJen- Good luck on your marathon! I ran the Long Island 1/2 back in May...my 1st. And I am running another 1/2 on 10/03...1 1/2 weeks away. Then a 10k Turkey Trot in November.

After my 1/2 in May, I didn't decrease my training miles and continued on with my schedule of Mon 6.5 mi, Wed 6.5 mi and Sat 12 mi runs, except for a few missed runs here and there due to weather ect. I think I am on pace to finish sub 1:50.

I totally agree w/ you that the weight loss is much more of a challenge. I have been stuck at 130 for months, up a little, down a little. I think eventually my body will give up and start letting go of the lbs. I do 5 Bikram yoga classes a week and run 25 miles a week at about 8.5 min/mi - 8.0 min/mi pace. I think I am going to swap out some of my Bikram yoga classes for Hot Vinaysana yoga classes to see if I can target my upper body strength.

I think next year I will tackle a marathon.

Good Luck to all!

[frana]

Jen- I find it much harder to lose weight when you are close to goal and training for a race. It was very difficult to figure out my calories.

I ended up maintaining for about 7 months, give or take a pound here or there. When I backed off a little and started mixing up my cardio, that's when I started losing again.

[SkinnyJen]

Wishing2b, good luck on your 1/2! Rooting for sub 1:50 for you! Of course, just finishing is an accomplishment! I am hoping for a sub 4:00 for my marathon. We shall see! With your running and yoga, you are really active. I can see how it might be hard to figure out the calories, and I struggle with this myself. My JCC is so supportive, and she gets it because she is a runner, also. I joke that I am having some good practice at Maintennence.
I would love to do NYC marathon someday!
Franca, good to know that you went thru a similar experience... After the marathon, I plan to do 100% planned menus, avoid momos or halfway days, and just kick it to the curb, once and for all. It really does seem hard to juggle performance and weight loss, esp the last few lbs.

[Rainna]

I just saw this thread and I am currently in the midst of marathon training too! Mine is on Oct. 23rd so less than 4 weeks away and I'm super excited. I completed a 22 mile run last weekend and I think I have one more long run of 24 and then I'll start tapering. Surprisingly I'm rather slow compared to most runners (you would think that at 5'0 and 115 lbs I'd be faster...*sigh I need to work those fast twitch muscles*) but I run for fun as I don't enjoy racing. I'm shooting for a sub 5 hour marathon which is completely doable for me and it gives me plenty of time to stop and give sweaty hugs or take pictures or well chat to my sister along the route as I tend to be a talker when I run...shows you how hard I'm working

I'd be much faster if I actually did interval training, but I love the long slow distance and speed just doesn't matter to me. However, this week I'm going to focus on getting some speed work in and see if it doesn't help my long distance runs...we'll see.

I'm so glad to learn that I'm not the only one struggling with distance running and weight loss as my weight loss stalled as well. I was stuck at the same weight, give or take a few ounces for 7 weeks...I was going insane! I finally broke through and lost a pound at my last weigh-in...only 5.8 more to go and I'm at goal. Once my marathon is over my plan is the same as yours SkinnyJen...I'm going to strictly JC for a few weeks and hopefully watch that number on the scale drop.

[SkinnyJen]

Hi Rainna,
Wow, a 24 miler? That's dedication! Are you doing it next weekend? Sounds like our circumstances are very similar... Petite girls, close to goal, but slow to shed the weight. I'll keep you posted on how it is going when I start the 100% planned menus after the marathon. Right now I am doing 1200 cal on off days, 1500 cal on shorter run days or x-training days, and 1700-1900 on long run days. But with the extra additions, I'm guilty of portion creep or extras. Probably why I have stalled. But I feel great, and am excited to be able to wear the size 4 and 6 sizes in my closet again.
Tapering is nice. I only did 12 miles today, next sat is 8. Then marathon weekend. Best wishes with your 24 miler.