Weight loss and marathon training

EliseTK1

About 2 1/2 weeks ago I started training for my first marathon (Disneyworld in January, so excited, eeeeeeek!!!!!) and I'm trying to balance marathon training with minor weight loss. I'm 5'6"/~162 lbs and am aiming to be ~150 lbs by race time, or at least right before the 3-4 week taper. The weight loss is mostly for performance, although I wouldn't mind going down a pants size. I've lost ~2 lbs already.

Historically I'm not a runner- I'm a weight lifter (recreational,) my pace is slow (12 min per mile is comfortable/sustainable,) and I contend with minor hip and knee pain while running (got some good pointers already from a PT regarding stretches and such.) I'm a Dietitian with an excellent grip on weight loss and overall nutrition, but I am NOT an expert in sports nutrition. I've been doing a lot of research in that area.

I'm currently following the Disney-recommended marathon training program for beginners with a few modifications to improve my pace, and I'm continuing some weight lifting to preserve as much muscle as possible. I am doing my best to run on both the treadmill and outside, but it's hot as balls here in Florida pretty much until the end of the year. Outside sucks.

My questions are:

Have any of you done this, meaning you purposefully lost weight while marathon training and were successful (or not) in finishing it in the upright position and maybe even with a decent time? What were the biggest challenges you faced? Looking back, what recommendations would you give? Any fun/useful/necessary tips or tricks you care to share?

runningkel

Personally, I think you need to pick one or the other...training or losing weight. Fueling for a marathon, especially your first one, is going to be a lot of trial and error. You're going to be starving...runger is very real...that's why a lot of people find they gain weight while marathon training. I gained weight training for both full marathons I've ran, though I can lose weight training for a half. It wasn't a ton of weight, but I definitely put on a few pounds. The full is just harder on your body. You're putting it through a lot and you need to adequately fuel. I can't even imagine running 4 hours on a Saturday and then watching my calories. Maybe if you tried eating all your exercise calories back and see if you still have enough energy and are recovering well you can go from there. I'd also make sure your loss is set low, like .5/week rather than 2/week.

For fueling, make sure you have something handy to drink right after long runs...a good mix of protein and carbs. Chocolate milk is a pretty perfect ratio of them. If you'd rather eat, that's fine, too...just make sure it's pretty much right after your long run. I find if I wait more than 15 mins, I'm not hungry until later, and by then I'm actually nauseous and miserable. Pre-long run, try a banana and PB toast an hour or so out. It's pretty mild and will fuel you without being a huge meal.

I actually just read a running article that said people need to pick one race goal. Basically they said you shouldn't train to lose a bunch of weight, run a marathon, qualify for Boston, get a 5k PR and become a bodybuilder all at the same time...just pick one goal at a time to focus on.

If it's your first marathon, and you're already contending with some pain, you should just focus on finishing the marathon. The pain is going to get worse, even if you start out pain free, you're going to hurt eventually (ice baths are your friend). Definitely don't worry about pace, running a "decent time", or losing weight thinking it will boost your performance (it won't have that much of a difference). Just focus on getting to the start healthy!

Nicci93

I don't have any marathon-specific advice for you, but I wanted to say that I am also running the WDW Marathon in January as my first full marathon! I also run in the 11-12 min range.

I have run a handful of half marathons (running my 5th this weekend), and this is the only time that I have successfully lost 10 or so pounds during training. The best advice I can offer is to not be too aggressive with weekly weight loss. Keep it consistent and figure out what macro percentage make you feel best for runs. I find that I am starving the days AFTER a run more so than running days. Have the flexibility with your weekly calories to accommodate the fluctuations in appetite.

cwolfman13

Not a marathon, but I've attempted to lose weight while training for cycling endurance events and have always had a hard time balancing a deficit needed to drop weight and fueling my training. I get crazy hungry when I'm training...I always do better with weight loss when I'm taking a more moderate approach to my exercise. Just my experience with endurance training and trying to lose weight at the same time.

Eat in a deficit and my weight drops, but performance ultimately suffers...at times, recovery has been an issue, but that could also be due to not exactly being a spring chicken anymore.

MeanderingMammal

For a first marathon I'd focus on completion, rather than worrying about your racing weight.

A marathon is a challenging proposition, I've run four now, and fueling reliably is a material point in there. They're a very different proposition to a half, of which I've done eight, and you don't mention having done any of them in the past.

EliseTK1

There seems to be a theme here! I will certainly follow that advice and be more flexible with my calories so I'm not putting too much physical and mental stress on myself. Right now my long runs aren't very long- ~1.5 hrs- so I haven't experienced the runger yet, but as they get longer I'm sure I'll need to adjust accordingly.

PB on a whole wheat English muffin is a pretty standard breakfast for me, and I'm happy to toss in a banana for the long runs. I LOVE the idea of chocolate milk afterwards. I'm so going to use that.

rybo

A bit of a different perspective and result from marathon training. I lose weight without trying. When my mileage gets up to 45-50 miles per week, I'm stuffing down ice cream nightly to keep up. I lose about 5-7 lbs each training cycle, yet my runs & performance doesn't feel like it suffers. Running suppresses my hunger, so it is possible to lose weight. I know a lot of people either get more hungry or just think they can eat everything in sight since they run a lot and end up gaining, but losing happens sometimes.

dewd2

I would normally agree with everyone here but you are training for a marathon 7+ months from now. All you should be doing for now is building your base by running slowly and going just a little further each week. You should have no problem losing weight while doing this. Once your long runs get really long and your weekly mileage gets high, you will have no choice but to eat. "Runger" is real.

EliseTK1

dewd2 wrote: »

I would normally agree with everyone here but you are training for a marathon 7+ months from now. All you should be doing for now is building your base by running slowly and going just a little further each week. You should have no problem losing weight while doing this. Once your long runs get really long and your weekly mileage gets high, you will have no choice but to eat. "Runger" is real.

This confirms what I was thinking originally. I probably won't have much trouble until I get deeper into training. My increased appetite is usually delayed to a day or two after a heavy workout, so I'll need to start anticipating it and plan meals/snacks accordingly. The thing I really want to avoid is constantly turning to junk due to hunger. Someone is always bringing in cookies/cakes/donuts/etc at work, and those do not make for good fuel.

ABabilonia

What was your progression before the marathon? I'm just curious because my ultimate goal is to run a marathon too, but right now I'm training for my first 5K

spiriteagle99

I agree with the advice to lose most of your weight before you get into serious marathon training. You should, OTOH, be building your base miles now - preferably to about 35-45 mpw,, mostly easy before you begin training for your marathon. When you run that much, you have a wide latitude on what you can eat.

I lost weight on my last marathon cycle. I didn't really have a lot to lose - my goal was 8 lbs - and I lost that in two months just before and in the early days of my race specific training. I continued to lose weight as I build my mileage to 50+ mpw at the peak. I ended up losing 16 in all, several pounds below my goal. I ate a lot. I try to eat healthy, but on running days and the day after my long runs, I do get hungry so I ate pretty much whatever I wanted.

Where I have had problems in the past with weight and marathon training was primarily at the end of training, when I was running less (taper), then there was the race, and a few weeks of very light running afterwards as I recovered. (I recover slowly, so the first month afterwards I'm lucky if I get back to a consistent 30 mpw.) After my first two marathons I put on about 4 lbs because I was still eating as I had during training, while running less than half the mileage. That doesn't work. This time was different because I continued to track my eating and worked to keep CI=CO as much as possible.

Bottom line, just pay attention to your intake, try to eat as healthy as you can, but don't worry too much if you eat more than you expect on long run days. You will burn it off. One thing that helps me is I don't run well with a lot of fat or sugar in my system, so I don't eat much of either when I'm running hard.

spiriteagle99

ABabilonia wrote: »

What was your progression before the marathon? I'm just curious because my ultimate goal is to run a marathon too, but right now I'm training for my first 5K

Take your time building to your first marathon. Do a couple of 5ks, then build to 10k, then to a half marathon. Do a couple of those and then build your mileage so you can do a marathon without getting injured or burned out. Training for a marathon takes a lot of time, especially for those of us who are slower. I had two one hour runs, two 90+ minute runs and one 3-3.5 hour run a week. From reading forums (Runners World and Running Ahead) with very experienced runners, the general recommendation was to not do a marathon until you've been running for a couple of years. It's not just the miles you do while training for a specific race, but all the previous time you've spent on your feet that will determine how well you do in training and on race day. Given the amount of time you spend training, it's a lot better if you enjoy it, and that is more likely if you have the experience so running is comfortable and not a grind.

EliseTK1

ABabilonia wrote: »

What was your progression before the marathon? I'm just curious because my ultimate goal is to run a marathon too, but right now I'm training for my first 5K

Over the last ten-ish years, I've trained running on and off. I've done multiple 5ks, some 10ks, some obstacle runs (Savage Race, Warrior Dash) and some other random runs. I'm active and on my feet quite a lot, so while I have a great deal of training ahead of me, I should be in good enough shape to finish the marathon without dying.

Good luck on your goal and keep up the awesome training! The first run is so exciting, and it gets addictive.

JessM822

I believe you're able to lose weight in the beginning of your training since your mileage won't be so high, so nutrition isn't really a factor. Try losing weight in the beginning then maintain it when you start your nutrition phase with longer runs. Everybody's body is different. I can get through a 4 hour marathon with 4 GU shots, a banana around mile 17, the some coke at mile 22 or so. I'm able to continue with my day without much discomfort. My last marathon I signed up for the night before with hardly any training and completed it in 4:45:00. Won't do that again, but it does prove you need a nutrition plan and a solid training plan.

ABabilonia

Thanks for the advice

Ann262

WDW Marathon! How exciting!! I think you can lose weight while marathon training if you are eating well and meeting your body's nutritional needs. MFP can help you increase your calorie intake as your body needs it without going overboard. The hard part for me was always 'post' marathon or the final taper week. It was easy to get used to eating the higher calorie load and adjusting downward when I wasn't burning as much was hard...but I like to eat, so there you have it.

JessM822

I forgot the most important part. Good luck on your training and your marathon!! Don't beat yourself up to much in training. You're going to have awesome days and days that make you question yourself. Just keep going and listen to your body and not your mind. You will hit some rough spots in your marathon. Just keep those legs moving. Out of all my marathons I still remember my first one like yesterday. Thanks to marathons I wanted more of a challenge so I've progressed to long distance triathlons. It's all so addicting. Good Luck!!!

pomegranatecloud

Having a snack before running, and eating a meal or big snack after running depending on the length of the run really helps control the hunger for me. I've found that if I don't eat anything or just eat something really light after mid/long-ish runs, I'm ravenous for days. I always drop at least a couple pounds once my mileage picks up, even when I don't have weight to lose. Also, be sure to account for whatever you're eating or drinking on long runs. Some people fuel excessively, and it can really add up.

You'll probably a couple of pounds during your taper and once your marathon is over. I am always ravenous for at least a couple of days after a long race. Depending on your experience level, you probably won't be running for at least a week or two after finishing your marathon, but you'll be used to eating like you were prior to the marathon. Don't try to cut back on eating during your taper.

greypilgrimess

I don't have any advice, just wanted to say I ran WDW a couple years ago, AMAZING! You are going to have a blast!!

I wasn't intentionally trying to lose weight, but I did actually drop to my lowest weight that January despite my food not being ideal, and I'm not someone who loses weight easily. Just wanted to show that losing weight while marathon training is possible, as long as you don't go crazy on the fast food and eating all the things!

Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions about the marathon itself, and enjoy your once in a lifetime experience! :-)

EliseTK1

So... it's been 5 months since I originally posted this, and I figured I should provide an update.

I decided soon after this that I would focus on the training and not the weight loss. I stopped logging until about a month ago. I was eating way too much- I went from 162 to 169 lbs since May. Not OK. Now I'm back down to 166, but it turns out I'm one of those who will completely underestimate how much I'm eating unless I'm logging religiously. I've set my calorie goals to lose 1/2 lb per week, and I allow myself to eat more the day before a long run while also eating back about 75% of my exercise calories that day, including my during-the-race fuel. So far it's working well- my last long run was fantastic, and I actually felt myself getting stronger towards the end.

I'm doing really well in my training, currently up to 15 miles and planning a 17-miler this weekend. (I'm doing a modified Jeff Galloway program.) The goal is to get to 25 miles by December 9 and then start a slow month-long taper. (I want my first real 26.2 miles to be at Disney!) I don't have the hip and knee pain I used to, just the expected muscle soreness/tiredness that happens in those last few miles.

My diet this last month has been very nutrient-dense with a large increase in fiber and protein. I've also been seriously limiting my alcohol intake. I am going to try my best to stick with this since it's working and I'm feeling so good. Wish me luck!