marathon training for Nov race - should I hold off on training until I drop this ten pounds?

4leighbee

I took a few days off from running this week. Too much rest, but still - I felt my body needed it. It got me thinking - if I spend April, May, and June staying the course of my regular running and eating in a deficit with the express purpose of losing the extra ten pounds I'm carrying, will I be better off for the training time between June and November, when the marathon is. Or - will missing out on the months of increasing mileage hurt me?

I'm currently topping out at 35 miles per week, with my longest run being 14.

I'm so chatty this week - would love your advice!

4leighbee

I should clarify: I'm not losing the ten pounds for aesthetic reasons but rather to improve running and reduce pounding to my joints. Now, I won't mind if I look better but ...

WhatMeRunning

In my opinion you're better off with less weight, and you will struggle mightily to lose while training for a full. You can train while heavier though and have a longer time to build your base which will make it easier. But June to November is plenty time for training.

That said though, I tend to build up first. So I do not practice what I said above.

5512bf

Most training plans start at 35-50 mile for a base and are 16-18 weeks long. Having several months of a good base of mainly easy miles will serve you well when you get to the actual marathon specific training. Hills, intervals & tempos will require you to be properly fueled and while possible to do eating at a deficit, it's much easier at maintenance. You have plenty of time to take off 10 lbs before any marathon specific training begins. If you can't get rid of it all before that time i'd try to keep your deficit at 250-500 calories. You could still lose an additional 3-4 lbs that way if necessary.

kristinegift

With a base of 35, that's a really good base for marathon training. Heck, my first marathon, my training TOPPED OUT at 35-40 miles a week!

Running with a focus on weight loss til June/July seems like a good plan. And then you can focus solely on marathon training when the plan starts. I don't see why you shouldn't do it!

4leighbee

yep - sounds like that's the best plan. But if I feeeeeel like running extra long, it's not the end of the world either, lol.

VanderTuig1976

You may want to start a bit early (few weeks) to give yourself some wiggle room in case "life" happens and you miss a long run or a week during your training - that way you have the time to make up the missed run or training week or even repeat it if you feel that it didn't go well. FWIW, I did this and was able to complete the training plan despite having a few weeks that side-lined me.

Also, I gained about 10 pounds training for my marathon. I will admit that I did not make good food choices but I had no idea how bad post long run hunger could be! Going into the training, I thought I'd lose a few pounds, lol. Hopefully, you're a much more disciplined person than I am!!!

Good luck with your training!

4leighbee

the timing ... this just came across my FB feed. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/crossing-the-finish-line-25-pounds-lighter-guilt-and-all/?WT.mc_id=2016-KWP-AUD_DEV&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVREMARK&kwp_0=85253&kwp_4=449729&kwp_1=253488&_r=0

STrooper

Matt Fitzgerald in his books on nutrition and training recommends losing the weight before you get into the heart of the training. While in maintenance, base building mode, you may find the consistency of the training a little easier to deal with.