The Marathon and Menopause

Training through weight gain

I haven’t journaled about my marathon training this time around like I thought I would. There’s really not much to say. It’s more of the same thing.

I’m up to 17 miles now. It’s late August and the heat and humidity are not my friend. I loathe summer training but I love fall racing. Most distance runners will agree.

Training in heat builds blood volume which increases red blood cell count which carries much-needed oxygen to muscles and organs. While acclimating to running in the heat is the excruciating part, it does get easier. Still, at 50, it takes even longer for me to get used to running in the heat. And even once acclimated to it, I still don’t enjoy it because it’s miserable for me.

Once the weather cools and I have all this extra blood and red blood cells still carrying oxygen, I’ll hopefully pick up some time. I remind myself on these hot, miserable runs that there will be a payoff for it, hopefully, on marathon day. I’m already naturally slowing down due to age and decreased lung capacity. But I’m hoping if I’m healthy and uninjured on race day I will have a good run.

The Reality

I’m not kidding myself into thinking I’ll get a PR (personal record). Pretty sure those days are gone. I’m not likely to ever see a sub 4:30 again. But I’d like a sub-4:40 marathon. I think if I hit the start line healthy and with good weather, I have a shot. The extra red blood cells will help.

What would also help would be losing 8–10 pounds. Those nagging, stubborn menopause pounds make a difference.

I’m not 100% sure what the exact number is, or if there is one, but it’s been said that for each extra pound a person carries they lose 1–2 seconds per mile. That’s huge over a 26.2-mile course.

And the fact that we naturally slow with age, well, that makes it even worse for me as a menopausal woman who seems to gain weight by simply looking at food. It also doesn’t help that I’m a stress eater and, for some reason, my stress seems to increase with age just as much as my weight.

Increased stress creates increased cortisol production, which is an appetite stimulator. It increases cravings for sweet, salty, or fatty foods. For me, sometimes all of them, although not at once.

I’m sure it would be worse if I weren’t as active. But it’s very frustrating, to say the least. I know with my increasing mileage I’ll burn more and probably lose a couple of pounds. But for anything impactful on my running performance, I will need to somehow step up my efforts to control what I’m eating, and stress eating really needs to be at the top of that priority list.

Sure, there are a couple other areas I can simply improve on. I can give up my Saturday and Sunday morning sweet treat with my coffee. I have to maintain not eating after dinner (I am pretty good at this already). And I need to cut back on alcohol consumption.

Whine Break

Now, I’m going to take a moment to whine and complain. Quite frankly, I’m tired of constantly having to “step it up.” Shouldn’t there be rites of passage as we age as a reward for our seniority on this planet? Yes, I understand the wisdom aspect and blah blah blah. But everything seems to be getting harder.

The grays are getting harder to cover on my own. I can’t sleep. I have no patience. My husband, 9 years my senior who will be 60 later this year, seems to be getting thinner. And here I am, getting fatter while putting in long road miles for marathon training. He’s putting in the same mileage, but he’s just a small whip of a guy and I feel like I stand out like a sore thumb next to him.

No Easy Answer

What’s a menopausal woman to do?

Nothing, I guess.

My doctor isn’t a proponent of HRT because of the risks it poses for cancer, heart attack, and stroke. She told me earlier this month that HRT is becoming a thing of the past. I know people who are on it and I would say they do strike me as somewhat more in need of it than someone like me who can suck it up.

People don’t look at me like I need to lose weight or that I’m so psychotic that I need HRT. So, I guess I’m doing a good job of masking it. And maybe my weight expectations are outdated. However, according to BMI standards, they are not. It’s exhausting at times. I want to keep the beast in the cage and all the crap that goes with her.

I just started a menopause relief regimen I purchased online that was recommended by a friend. It takes 90 days for full results. Some relief might be noticed after 30 days. We’ll see how that works. If I can be more pleasant and drop a few pounds, it’s a win.

Resolve

I can’t wallow in self-pity and why me for long. That is a waste of time and I hate wasting time. I have to take action. For now, I’ll just keep pounding the pavement and tweaking my daily eating habits in hopes that these changes will keep my menopausal chubby self at bay. So, stepping it up it is.

Wendy Slates — I am a 50-year-old wife, mother, financial services worker, and runner writing on the sly and going through menopause. It’s great to be a girl! You can find me at medium.com/@wendyslates