Last week I shared some thoughts on "garbage mile" training, i.e. how running without a heart rate monitor can over-rev your motor so to speak. This week, while on my long run in prep for an upcoming half marathon, I encountered a new phenomenon-- the running convenience store, or what I like to think of as "too much good stuff."
Here's the skinny, or should I say, the fat. Several groups are doing a great job bringing runners together to train for the upcoming Rock and Roll marathon in Seattle. Since the path along Lake Washington is such a scenic route, we all seem to converge there on weekend mornings. All kinds of folks show up-- from experienced fast runners to slower emerging competitors and just for fun types like myself.
This week, I found myself following a pretty large group (antecedent pun....wait for it) along my route. This gang of 10-12 runners was moving along at about a 10-12 minute pace. I have no idea how long they were going, but it looked like they were planning to run for at least a full day, based on their provisions-- most were wearing some form of utility belt stocked with 3-4 bottles of sports drinks and pouches full of powerbars, gu, and other training treats. These are high calorie items-- a sports drink has as many calories as a can of soda, and the typical sports bar can substitute for a meal. The members of this gang easily had more than a day's worth of calories on their belts. And, based on my unscientific poll, not only was this group significantly overweight, but the ones who were most overweight seemed to be the most fully stocked. It literally looked like they had knocked over, er, come from a convenience store right to the morning run.
As I was turning this over in my mind, a smaller group of 4-5 runners came over a rise headed toward us. This group was fleet footed, running in the 6-7 minute range, and they quickly parted and knifed through the sea of Gatoraders. As they passed, I noticed the absence of belts, bars, bottles, and so on. This group was serious-- watches, shoes and shades-- that's it. And, they were lean; no excess body fat to be found among this group.
Seeing the stark contrast between these two groups lead me to the realization that Team AM/PM must be endure many frustrating trips to the scale when not out training. In spite of burning lots of calories, they were putting those calories right back, thanks to their utility belts. And, Team Fleet Foot, with no utlity belts, probably threw their scales out long ago.
It really isn't so hard after all, is it? Eat less, train more, lose weight. That's the secret. Huh.
