Not a good running day today– got only a mile, hardly broke a sweat but my legs were like “no way, f this”. So I finished up with a long cooldown, got a good stretch in and moved on. It’s not a big deal, just my body saying it needs a little break, which I don’t mind giving it :)
One thing I’ve been meaning to talk about is how my relationship with food has changed since I started running. Back in my dieting days, I avoided exercise because it made me hungrier. Of course it makes me hungry! My body says “hey you just burned X calories, now eat something to make up for that”. And it would take all my willpower to say no! (And I didn’t say no many times, leading to those lovely feelings of failure…) It is hard enough to restrict my diet without adding extra hunger to the mix.
And now, on days when I run I am basically ravenous. And I try hard to give my body what it needs– nutrients and energy to repair and grow and let me kick butt in my next run. If I didn’t give my body fuel, I would only hurt more the next time– in fact, I can tell the difference if I haven’t eaten well.
I keep saying “my body says”, as if it’s some outside force. But I am a body. This is a tough concept for me to grok sometimes, I spent many years thinking about my body as a transportation device for my consciousness. But I am my body too.
Running While Fat 