Lazy weight ... yes, I'm currently reading lazy weight on the scale

Okay, I’m admitting it ... I’m fat. Well, I’m not fat in the traditional sense, but as an athlete I feel like I’m flirting on the edge of obesity!!!! I am now paying for three months of summer pleasures. Apparently, I still fall within the “acceptable” guidelines for a female who is 5’8” tall. I can weigh anywhere between 126 and 154. Wow! That's almost a 30 lb. swing. And then there’s my BMI, which in my opinion is a completely useless number, but again falls within the “acceptable” guidelines. Bull shit. I am far from acceptable at the moment.

Statistics show that for every extra pound you carry your run pace slows 1-3 seconds per mile. The average person might say, “what’s a second?” Well, if I’m 10 lbs. over weight and I take the low side of 1 sec per mile, that’s 30 seconds added to my 5K time, a minute to my 10K time. Get the picture? A whole freaking minute. In a world where we kill ourselves on the track week after week to shave a few seconds off a PR, a minute is HUGE!

Alright ... deep breath ... again, deep breath ... I know I'm a little over the edge, but I needed to vent.

I know the number on the scale isn’t everything, but I totally admit that I weigh myself several times a week. I seem to swing between three zones ... 1) my lazy weight, 2) my normal training weight, and 3) my prime race weight. I don’t get to #3 often but I LOVE how it feels. Absolutely LOVE how it feels!!

The span between #1 and #3 is only about 10-12 lb. but, I can feel the difference. My coach once said to me, “I want you to carry a five lb. weight in each hand and go run 3 miles. Then, go run another 3 miles without them. Come back and tell me how it felt.” I didn’t actually do it, but I got the point.

I know what it takes to be at prime race weight, but damn it’s a tough road. At least it is for me. I find as I get older, now knocking on the door of being 40 -(UGH, that sounds old. Me turning 40 is a whole other post, maybe several!!)- it gets tougher. I know it's possible though. I sit back and look at some of the top athletes in Maine that are in their 40s and they look damn good. Some of it’s genetics but a lot of it is dedication to their sport.

I know what I need to do. I guess I should stop venting, get over myself, and get with it ...