I went to the sports medicine doctor this past Friday and it looks like I have two more weeks in the cast, two weeks of PT, then I can begin to ease back into training. It gave me such a light-hearted feeling to know the end of my lay-up was near. Take something away from someone to make them appreciate it…I miss running.
I am now thinking that I need to start getting obsessed about my body again (I know some people are good at that all the time- I am not one of them). Not being able to exercise has taken it’s toll. It’s time to shed those extra pounds that have made my jeans a little tighter and my stomach soft. If I cut back on sugar and ramp up the intensity while training, I am usually able to get rid of the excess. But what if I wanted to try (before training–because cutting back while training is so hard) to lose even more to improve my marathon time? If losing weight makes you faster, how much do I need to weigh?
I measure my BMI on the Runners World BMI Calculator…mine is 23.17. The scale says this is normal. That doesn’t seem right, so I decide to calculate the BMI of some of women’s best marathoners:
Paula Radcliffe: 5’8″ -119lbs > BMI 18.09
Written on the bottom of the page on RW: “BMIs below 20.7 (for men) and 19.1 (for women) are considered unhealthy” (fine print must read…unless you are a really fast marathon runner).
Deena Kastor: 5’4″- 104lbs > BMI 17.85 (does this make her really unhealthy?)
Kara Goucher: 5’7″-120lbs >BMI 18.79
Why not try someone who doesn’t run…a swimmer…
Dara Torres: 5’11.5″ (She is almost 6 feet!) -149lbs >BMI 20.78…perfect.
Maybe these runners are just young…I try:
Joan Samuelson: 5’2″- 101lbs > BMI 18.47
Ok, so now I am thinking…next to my BMI it should say “not really normal (actually kind of overweight) if you are trying to improve your marathon time.”
I think I found my answer.
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