A personal message from Amanda, a recreational runner
When I was in high school, I decided to train for my first half marathon. I thought that being as thin as possible would allow me to get the fastest time. I followed a training plan to the tee, and was very conscious about what I was eating. In fact, I monitored my food way too closely. I was almost starving myself. Even on the days when I would run 8 or more miles, I ate less than 2,000 calories, probably closer to 1,500.
I lost over 10 pounds over the course of my training, and lost my period for 5 months total. I was not eating enough to sustain my training or to allow my body to recover. When race day came, I struggled. When I crossed the finish line, I felt terrible and ended up almost passing out. I knew that I was capable of more.
A few months later, I decided to begin training for another half. This time, I let myself eat more. I gained over 5 pounds back, and it reflected in my training runs. My pace was consistently faster, and I didn’t feel so terrible afterwards. With my second race, I cut over 10 minutes off of my time. If someone had just educated me on proper eating and training when I was younger, this could have all been avoided. Putting on those few extra pounds in fact increased my performance, contrary to what I had always believed and had been taught. I learned the hard way about strong not skinny.
