I'm 2.5 weeks out from a marathon, and I'm thinking of dropping 5 lbs over the next 2 weeks in an effort to run faster. I'm assuming being lighter would help me run faster, as long as the losing weight part does not overstress my body. Any advice?
I'm 2.5 weeks out from a marathon, and I'm thinking of dropping 5 lbs over the next 2 weeks in an effort to run faster. I'm assuming being lighter would help me run faster, as long as the losing weight part does not overstress my body. Any advice?
Yes definitely lighter is always faster don't believe the hype as long as you can lose the weight and then get some glycogen you'll be fine. If your tapering you're not training so just keep your meal small like runners connect says maybe five or 600 cal max per meal .
The exact equation of how much faster you'll go is debatable but no doubt losing some fat before the race will not hurt you also since you're not training during the taper I don't think fuel etc. is that important.
heavy weight wrote:
I'm 2.5 weeks out from a marathon, and I'm thinking of dropping 5 lbs over the next 2 weeks in an effort to run faster. I'm assuming being lighter would help me run faster, as long as the losing weight part does not overstress my body. Any advice?
Yes, definitely. If you have the body fat to lose then go for it. Two weeks of really serous calorific deficit (count every calorie in and out, cut down on carbs, eat nothing with added sugar, drink nothing but black coffee and water). Then a few days of carb loading.
If you shift 5lbs of fat that can be worth about 4 minutes in a marathon.
Notwithstanding what these guys said, I wouldn't do it. You have presumably trained for an extended period and your weight has ended up where you are. The point of the taper is to refresh your body. Running a caloric deficit in excess of a 1000 calories per day seems to run counter to that goal.
Sure, all things being equal, being 5 pounds lighter would make you faster, but all things are not equal as you fine tune for a marathon after a long training cycle.
I once figured I'd spend some time when injured losing weight. It was a disaster. I lost a ton of fitness in those 2 weeks.
Lose weight while training by not overeating and cutting back food on long run days. The time for this has passed.
Not going to happen if you couldn't do it on full training
ukathleticcoach wrote:
Not going to happen if you couldn't do it on full training
I agree. Losing 5 lbs in a few weeks, 2.2kg, is too much. You will ruin your marathon. I don't even think you could drop that much weight so quickly.
I cleaned up my diet some while marathon training and dropped from 140-141 to 138-139 over about 6-8 weeks. That took a noticeable effort in self control. Losing any more would have lead to fatigue during my peak training of 70-90 mpw which is not really worth it. I just hope that losing the few pounds will take a minute or so off my marathon.
And good luck to any American trying to shed weight during thanksgiving
I would say that conventional wisdom says that 2 pounds a week is at the top end of the sustainable and healthy weight loss range. It's a thousand calorie a day deficit. I have done that a few times.
I think the reason it was so hard for you to do it was that you were already at or near your optimal race weight. Essentially, you really had nothing left to lose.
I can drop 2 pounds per week without much issue, until I get under 150, and then it takes significantly more effort to drop weight. In fact, I usually drop 3 or 4 pounds the first week or two of a weight loss effort because my body adjust to a higher protein-to-carb ratio and a higher water consumption rate by flushing my system. It isn't real weight loss though, just water weight.
Also, 2.5 weeks is too long for a taper. Just don't do a long run the week before and keep it light the last week.
And lose the weight immediately after the marathon.
Smoove wrote:
I think the reason it was so hard for you to do it was that you were already at or near your optimal race weight. Essentially, you really had nothing left to lose.
I should point out that I'm 5'10" and 185 lbs, so I'm pretty far off my optimal race weight.
ukathleticcoach wrote:
Not going to happen if you couldn't do it on full training
Funny thing is that I find it more difficult to lose weight when I'm training. If I don't eat enough, I have trouble completing the workouts. It seems easier to lose weight when I'm not running due to tapering, injury, etc.
Sara Palin wrote:
Also, 2.5 weeks is too long for a taper. Just don't do a long run the week before and keep it light the last week.
Normally, I would agree, but I just ran another marathon 10 days ago, and my knee is somewhat sore. So I'm keeping the running light to recover, taper, and heal my knee.
Works for me wrote:
heavy weight wrote:I'm 2.5 weeks out from a marathon, and I'm thinking of dropping 5 lbs over the next 2 weeks in an effort to run faster. I'm assuming being lighter would help me run faster, as long as the losing weight part does not overstress my body. Any advice?
Yes, definitely. If you have the body fat to lose then go for it. Two weeks of really serous calorific deficit (count every calorie in and out, cut down on carbs, eat nothing with added sugar, drink nothing but black coffee and water). Then a few days of carb loading.
Yes, I have the weight to lose. I should try to lose it anyhow just for health reasons. I think the Thur, Fri, and Sat before the race, I'll return to a normal calorie intake with emphasis on carbs
Eat fufu/ugali and suma wiki only, you will lose fat but have energy for you available highly. This is Ugandan way ok thank you and good luck marathon
Smoove wrote:
Notwithstanding what these guys said, I wouldn't do it. You have presumably trained for an extended period and your weight has ended up where you are.
My weight crept up about 10 lbs over the last year. I ran better when I was lighter. I think losing 5 lbs would get me back closer to what I normally am. I think if I eat enough in the 3 days before, I'll have enough fuel in the tank to avoid bonking
DontDoItFatty wrote:
I once figured I'd spend some time when injured losing weight. It was a disaster. I lost a ton of fitness in those 2 weeks.
Was the fitness loss due to dieting, the injury, or a little bit of both? I'm in the same boat, where I have a bit of a sore knee. How was it a disaster?
So basically you were looking for affirmation for a decision that you've already made and not advice.
I don't think it matters that much given you ran a marathon 10 days ago and have a sore knee. Not knocking you, just saying these are sub-optimal conditions.
Sara Palin wrote:
Also, 2.5 weeks is too long for a taper. .
I do the easiest best taper ever. Train normally until the five days before the big event. Run 2-3 miles easy everyday. You will be so ready to go by race day, you will SMASH all your PRs.