long run weight gain?!
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torybobory1989
Posts: 6 Member
Hello everyone. I'm two weeks from my first marathon, and I just completed my first 20 miler over the weekend. I'm getting very worried. I have about 20 lbs that I would really like to lose, and I was well on my way over the last month. However, after my long run my weight has shot up! According to my scale I've put on an extra 10 pounds since the long run! I understand that it must be a lot of water, but it's both discouraging and physically uncomfortable. I've noticed this trend in the past, but it seems to be getting out of hand. Any advice? Is this typical or is there something I should be doing to remedy this problem?!
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Are you drinking enough liquids to flush everything out of your system. Especially on those long runs you have a lot of lactic acid buildup. It could also be a combo of water retention and muscle weight.
You also need to be eating enough or your body is going to hang on to every ounce thinking you are trying to starve it.
Good luck with the marathon.0 -
Short version: what you are experiencing is normal.
Long version: This is just my experience, but it was backed up by something else I read last night.
Distance runners seem to have two phases: the quick start period and training training. The quick start is the period before ramping up mileage in preparation for a race. A lot of weight loss is seen in this period if done correctly. Fewer miles are packed on, so we can get by with fewer calories for fuel.
During the training period, we oack on the mileage and therefore require more fuel pre, mid, and post-run. It is still possible to lose weight during this time, however a lot of calorie counting has to go into it.
I am nearing the end of my two-month quick start phase and I've lost 8 pounds. That's actually pretty good for my physical makeup.0 -
Yikes. Sorry for all the typos. That's the last time I use my phone to post replies.0
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I haven't experienced that much weight gain but when I trained for the Portland Marathon in 2011 I grossly overestimated how many calories I was burning and eating way too much which caused me to gain weight. What you have to remember is that when you're training for a long distance like a marathon you do a ton of training and your body is smart & it learns to become more efficent so you use less energy every time you go running. So if you are still eating like when you first started training you may be overeating a bit.
Also if you truly gained 10 pounds I would think your clothes would be getting really tight. That would be another indicator on whether or not you actually gained weight or it's just water weight.
Hope that helps.0 -
I am glad you posted that question because I have seen that happen to me a few times, especially when I started really hydrating up before a race. It is very frustrating when you want to be your lightest before race day.0
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Right after? Like, right ,right after? As in, you weighed yourself before you ran and you weighed 125 and you weighed yourself as soon as you got back from the long run and you weighed 135? There are only two possible explanations for this and even one of them is a stretch. The most likely is that your scale is broken. The second possibility is that you are eating and drinking WAY too much during the course of the run. You would have to eat and drink copious amounts for this to happen. Like ultra runner quantities and even then it's unlikely you would gain anywhere near that amount.
If you are doing a long run in the two to three hour range, your body should lose weight through dehydration, even if you are replenishing your losses along the way. The goal is not to keep from losing any weight on that run. I don't really want to get into my thoughts on hydration and fuel in this thread as that's not what it is about, but it needed to be mentioned.
So, please give us a little more information about this phenomena. If you are talking about weight gain over a period of days and weeks, then that is normal behavior during the final stages of marathon training.0 -
I'm pretty sure it's normal to gain weight while training for your first marathon. Although I haven't run one myself, my sister ran the NYC marathon a couple years ago, and followed a pretty strict training regimen, along with lots of reading up on how best to prep. She found through reading and personal experience that it is quite normal for weight gain to occur. As someone else posted, you up your mileage so dramatically and your body craves calories, so most likely you're eating more too.
In any case, good luck!!0 -
I think those long runs make one very, very hungry, and when we are running a lot we give ourselves a bit more permission at the table.0
