Checking In

Hi gorgeous ladies! Well I, like Kristina, haven't posted in forever so here I am. I'm still running, now stuck smack in the middle of marathon training in the hot (HOT!) Texas summer and really sort of thinking that this might be more than a little bit crazy.

I get up at 4:40 most mornings and meet a friend to get in a run before the sun comes up and then on weekends we do a long run. This weekend we're scheduled for 16.5 miles early Sunday morning and I don't mind admitting that I'm more than a little bit scared. Nevertheless, I'm getting excited about the race this fall and keep thinking to myself that I'm going to be a marathoner. It never even occurred to me to think I would ever say that before this last year.

The problem is that in addition to being a runner, I eat like a runner too. That is to say: I eat A LOT. Since I'm burning mucho calories but also consuming more because I get a lot hungrier, it's all pretty much evened out and I haven't gained any weight. That said, it is occurring to me now how much easier it would be to haul my carcass 26.2 miles if I weighed, say, 10-15 lbs. less. I'm still in the fantasizing stage - not yet the planning or commitment phase - of losing this weight but once I figure out a strategy, I think I will implement it and see where it gets me.*

*The problem with this idea is that you're not supposed to lose weight while marathon training. You need to eat enough to keep your body fueled, and if you're losing weight, chances are good that you're not taking care of yourself like you ought to. So you have to find the precise balance between eating enough to be healthy and running enough to burn what you eat (without overtraining). So needless to say, any weight loss strategy has to be slow and subtle.

I miss each of you, and figured that we'd all come down with a big case of the blahs. I hope more of you post and update us on what's been going on!

XOXO,
Lisa