So, I convinced dh to train for a 1/2 marathon with me. The training plan has us running 3x a week for 3 months, with increasing running times. The off days are for cross training or some other exercise (I'll probably do Zumba or Pilates).
Normally, I don't count exercise calories, but given how much we'll be running and how low my calories are (1200), I think I need to add some in. How would you do it? An hour of running a 10 or 12 minute mile (yes, I'm planning to be slow!) supposedly burns 500+ cals. I don't want to overestimate, so I don't want to plan to eat 500 more calls on those days. What would you do/have you done? Maybe add a percentage of exercise calories to the days that I work out? Thanks!
My two cents (having ran 3 HM's, countless 10k/5ks, Century Ride, and Triathlon) is that you will need to eat back your exercise calories during training. A good estimate is 100kcal/mi ran and 50kcal/mi biked. I would also HIGHLY recommend at the very least 1day per week of core and lower body resistance training to prevent injury. Another tidbit is that endurance athletes (in training!) need to have over 50% of their calories come from carbohydrates (complex of course.) So, if you are currently on a low carb diet, you may want to start upping the carb ratio to give you the energy you need to train and make it through daily life!
I'm training for a full marathon at the moment. Based on where I am at in my training program, I am averaging 30 miles/week (5 days of running/week). My Dr. recommended 1,800 calories for day to me in order to maintain. I'm 5'6 and weigh about 115.
There are days when my body demands more fuel so I prefer to eat within a calorie range, and when I am hungry I eat more. While not training I eat within 1300 - 1800 cals a day. While training I upped it to 1600 - 2100 cals per day.
Im training for a triathlon and a duathlon. my weight loss has stalled and my trainer/RD said 'yes, most likely you will just maintain during this time."
But for me, my fitness and stamina and strength are most important.
^ Yes they are! All this talk about running got me out the door jogging with my 7 yo's and then back out after they went to sleep for a proper jog! I love how I feel when I am jogging.
training for a half marathon
