Last weekend was huge for me. I had three bike races and a 5K, one event each day starting on Thursday. I placed in every bike race, second in two and an automatic first in one since I was the only girl in my age group. The more important thing, however, was that my times were awesome. It felt amazing. I also did my 5K in 29 minutes, placing well into the top third for both my age group and gender. It wasn’t a PR for me, but I was happy with that time considering the extreme heat we’re having in Iowa right now.
I’m registering for my half marathon this week. My further distance run at this point is almost 7 miles so I’m over halfway there… it’s just that now I’m completely venturing into the unknown. It’s also very hard to get those long runs in when it’s 100 degrees almost every day. I’ve been running at night when it’s darker and even then it’s ridiculously hot.
My problem right now isn’t exercising enough, it’s not eating enough. Not in an eating disorder kind of way. I’ve been tracking my steps and exercise every day for almost a month now using my fitbit and one thing has become increasingly clear–I’m not eating enough calories and that is why my weight loss has been slow and painful recently. I’m training like an athlete and still eating like I did when I worked out thirty minutes a day five days a week. That’s just not sustainable.
It’s hard to believe I actually need to eat more to lose weight. I should be eating at least 2,200 calories on workout days and more on long workout days. But the research shows me that this is the best route to take. Unfortunately this is making me gain a few pounds back before I start losing again, which is SO frustrating! I know it’s just water weight but I hated seeing that number grow last week when I upped my calories.
Congrats on your awesome race times! Wooooo!