So last year during my training for IMAZ (April) I believe my weight ranged from 168 to 172. The week or two prior to the race I got to 165 which I had planned on and I pretty much maintained that weight throughout the summer racing season. This year so far I’ve been right at 172 but I dont “feel” or “see” the extra weight. I ran a good PR at a January half mary and my biking is stronger than ever right now. Now to my question… Does anyone know, have experience or heard if sometimes its better to not lose the “extra” lbs as it may actually be a detriment or is it always (almost) a benefit to drop a few (5-7 in my case) lbs before race day?
i’ve raced the last 3 seasons at 159-162 ish, this season, i dropped down to around 150 right now, and am seeing huge gains in all three sports, partly due to more/better training, but i also feel much better running, doesnt seem like there is as much pounding, etc. could be in my head too, who knows.
i would however not try and drop the weight right before races, do it now, before the season rolls around, and do it smart so it stays off. little day to day changes are the best way to get there.
yes going below a certain point is going to hurt you more than help. you will be hungry, not recovering, lack energy, and prob not be very much fun to be around. have you hit that point? who knows.
Same story, same weight, same PR in half marathon at 5’10" and I have been down lower and the running just gets easier and easier to go faster. That sub six stuff gets easier and easier to manage as well which is good for shorter stuff. Losing it slow enough to not hamper training is the hard part. I guess it depends on if there are bigger built guys finishing in front of you or not as well.
I hear the same thing you got to cut early in the season or dont cut. Too close to a race you can hurt yourself.
Personally- To support my wife in her janurary new years diet, I started counting calories with her (unreal how much i was eating) and I am already below my race weight prior seasons which was about 180-183ish now I am sitting at 176-177 in feburary and falling fast to the low 170’s upper 160’s. P.S. I was at 187 in december of this year and on this simple formula of my weight 180 plus a zero 1800 or now it is 1770 is my base calories then minus 500 a day plus workouts.
1770
plus any workouts 600-2000 for example lets say 600 (one hour swimming)
2400ish
then minus
500 (if you minus 500 a day for 7 days you lose a pound)
total 1900 calories
-Days with a 2-4 hour bike ride or long run etc are much higher numbers but all based on what is added up.
-No food prior to workouts under 1.5 hours
-I was already a good eater but know I am a good low cal eater, other than that I use almonds, carrots, fruits, veggis, lots of water, and whole grains and I hit the number every day or there abouts. I also cut back on the coffee.
-I also follow eat breakfast (after a workout) like a KING lunch like PRINCE, and dinner like a papuer. Still with the right numbers.
I have tried more protein less carbs and that did not work for me. Once the season rolls around I am going to increase calories a little and go more either equal calories or minus 200 instead of 500. Either way I always go off feel as well. Amazingly I am not hungary at all.
Eugene PM if you want more info.
I’ve definitely gotten to the point in seasons past where I felt like my swimming and biking began to suffer as my weight got lower (running, however, continued to benefit the lighter I got). Was cold & hungry all the time, and felt weak like I was having to “retreat” on pushing the same gears on the bike that I was used to a few pounds before. It took a little trial & error to find that optimal tipping point, though, as there are so many other real-life variables (work, family, etc) that influence your eating, rest, training, so it sort of clouded the picture until I’d been over that threshold and back a few times and then looking back it became pretty obvious.
Alas, no danger of getting too light this season anytime soon…
I tried to go into my races last year “light” by avoiding my regular intake of chocolate chip cookies and other junk food the week of my races. This worked fine for my short races, but I think it hurt me at all my Half-IM or longer efforts. I think all the supposeded empty calories top of my tank and I bonked in all three of my long races where I replaced my junk food with fruit the week of the race. I still eat fruit and have a pretty decent diet most of the time, but I also eat a lot of junk food to stoke the 15-20 hour training weeks.
Get rid of the scale and don’t worry about a few pounds either way.
Chad
Thanks for the replies. I think I’ll stick with my plan of trying to get back to 165 over the last 4-5 weeks leading up to my races instead of cutting in the last week or two. Last year it was pretty easy to cut out the daily ice cream and chips to lose the weight.