PROJEKT LONDON & STOCKHOLM

Race Shape & Composition

At the start of my marathon training block in February, I told myself I'd be in the best race shape possible for both marathons. I made this decision based on the fact I would like to run both marathons as fast as possible, with the aim of producing a new personal best, and then some! To really give it a solid effort.

This would mean lowering my body fat percentage and total body weight without sacrificing lean tissue. Sounds simple right? In reality it's bloody tough! It takes a lot of work and discipline to lose weight just from fat. I took up the attitude to improve on the things that only I can control, in order to give myself the best chance of achieving the best composition I can be possibly be in at the start line on April 28th, for The London Marathon. That process involves many things, such as eating healthier foods, tracking and hitting my daily macronutrients, creating a caloric deficit (but not too big), good hydration, lower stress levels, more sleep, optimal training sessions, the list is endless. In short, it's a lot of sacrifice and attention to detail over time, focusing on being as consistent as possible in both my training and nutrition.

What is the 'best' possible shape?

This was a question I originally asked myself upon starting my marathon block. The best possible race shape doesn't necessarily mean being the lowest number on a body fat reading or sitting at a really low weight. Although lowering both will help running economy, as long as lean tissue is not lost as a by product. The best possible shape is the one that I will feel strongest at on race day, injury free, a full tank of gas (topped up glycogen stores), whilst having a composition that will allow me to run as economically as possible to get me around the marathon in the quickest time possible.

Weight loss

I'm personally always a fan of having better composition rather than just lowering total weight. As long as the weight lost is from fat then performance will be much better. Lugging less fat mass across 26.2 miles can only be a good thing. If weight is lost from muscle then performance is likely to suffer, along with slowing down your metabolic rate. Therefore slashing calories too much is usually a bad thing. Imagine if you put the same engine in a smaller car, the car will go faster. This is due to less excess weight, therefore the same power output can carry you further or faster. The only time I don't think it's good to start actively seeking to lose too much weight would be during a marathon taper. Focusing on lowering weight will likely leave you tired and a higher risk of injury. Instead, efforts would be better focused on staying primed, well fuelled and injury free. The taper really isn't the time to start getting lean. If you're attempting to lose weight from fat, I recommend starting that early on within a training program.