Calorie Counting During Marathon Training

rjbram

Is hard!
Now on week 6 of 18 week schedule for 8th (or so) marathon, but this is the first time I've tried to keep my weight down at the same time. I usually gain weight with all the carbs. Not sure this is wise, but I'm giving it a try to see if lighter body weight will lead to faster race time. I still haven't perfected my pre- and post- long run calorie amounts. I find if I am at all below the day before a long run, the run is like a death march from mile 1 on. But it is also easy to go too far in the other direction, and then I end up at a higher weight. Do other people have a scheme for this sort of thing, where you alternate 20 mile run days with only 5 mile days?