Greetings from just out of the fat zone

Well I'm finally getting my miles back up. Which helped me discover something really, truly amazing.

It is true what they say: there IS a correllation between calories you put in and calories you burn. Yep, that's right! Now that I'm running more, and eating a bit more sensibly, I am actually LOSING weight!! Remember how I thought that I could continue to eat like a marathoner even though I took a break from training JUST BECAUSE I WAS HUNGRY? And then remember how annoyed I was that I blimped out to monstrous proportions? Remember how people had the nerve to NOTICE?

Well... I got to feeling a little envious of the Limarusses and the Lauras and the Michaels who were running the Rochesters and decided to step up my training a bit. Now that daily mile allows you to look at your weekly milage, I can share with you what mine has been since Paris:

Marathon week: 35 miles (Rock n Roll! Slap me on the back! Plus, I am SKINNY!!)

The following weeks: 0 miles, 2 miles, 18 miles, 4 miles, 4 miles, 0 miles (Appetite as big as ever!), 2 miles, 19 miles (I'm running again, can eat as much as I want!), 8 miles, 14 miles, 6 miles, 22 miles, 13 miles.

June 29. I weigh myself. CRISIS. I am six kilos heavier than race day. That's about 13 pounds more. I decide to eat a little better. And keep running. The following weeks:

10 miles, 14 miles, 5 miles (doh!).

This is when I start running to my appointments because with guests I don't have time to go for real runs: 17 miles, 17 miles, 20 miles, 21 miles. Not bad. But...

My pants don't fit. I think about going to a dietician (do I have a glandular problem?!). In spite of increasing my milage, I am now 8 kilos heavier than race day, that's about 17.5 pounds more. I start doing jumping jacks in desperation. The mirror confirms it. I am fat. I see a picture of myself. I can't believe my butt is that big. I have been running more, but the scale sticks its tongue out at me nevertheless. It's not fair. I decide to run smaller distances but more often.

The next three weeks: 24 miles, 24 miles, 24 miles. I am proud of myself for being consistent. I feel happy again. I am starting to lose some of that post-marathon party chub.

The next week: 7 miles: I was on vacation, and really partying too hard to run. But the guilt did get to me, enough to make me push it the next week.

Finally... Last week: 34 miles. Three 10-mile days. And now I feel great! Today I realized that I have lost 4 kilos (8.8 pounds), which feels much better on the way down than it did on the way up. I can put away the fat pants. I am out of the danger zone (this is the crossover point where I go from being lean to chunky) even though I would like to get down to race weight and stay there.

I'm kind of a slow learner, I know. I have gone up and down with my weight hundreds of times and every time I get down, I have this ridiculous idea that THIS time I will just STAY there. But I don't. So I'll probably be out with Michael B, running til I'm 100 (that's what he says on his blog anyway, Michael, I am there with you!).

In the meantime I have figured out a few things that have helped me:
1. Taking a multi-vitamin (I think it keeps me from craving chocolate. Honestly. Haven't touched the stuff in a couple of months)
2. Not buying bread. (I eat that hard bread instead. I don't know why. Reminds me less of cake).
3. Making a pot of veggie soup on Sunday and getting a couple of liquid lunches out of it (want the recipe?).
4. Running multiple times in one day, even if it's a mile at a time (a mile is better than zero, and once I get that done, I can usually talk myself into another one).
5. Running to work and appointments at least one way (These are free miles because you have to go these places anyway and this way I don't have to worry about traffic or waiting for the bus. People have been pretty cool about it, too).
6. Your body reflects your behavior from two or more weeks ago. If you do bad things now, you're going to be crying on the scale in two weeks. Trust me on this one.
7. Fitness and weightloss must be maintained. You have to always keep that in mind.

That's it for now. I have to run to a meeting now. Need to get there early to towel off.