Hello runners,
Self-involved posting ahoy, please look away if you don't like that
sort of thing.
I've been lurking here for a while but never posted. Very interested
in some points made on the low-carb running thread. "Start thinking
like a runner, not like a dieter": seems eminently sensible.
I'm finding it quite difficult to make this leap. (I'm not into
low-carbing at all, but "thinking like a dieter" is hard to shake...
see below.) I'd appreciate some recommendations for reading re: sports
nutrition and physiology, in some detail.
My background: I'm a 33 yr-old woman, freakishly small (4'10", 40kg...
God did I cheer when Noguchi won at the Olympics) and in OK health, I
think. I only got into running a year ago, having been overwhelmingly
rubbish at sports as a kid (I'm 33). I just discovered that I enjoyed
it, and that I can keep going for a long time without wanting to stop.
I don't run for any particular goal: it just makes me feel really good
about myself, and it's so liberating. I run for about an hour, 5 days
a week, in addition to plenty of walking.
My eating quibbles: My size means that I don't burn calories at
anything like the rate bigger people do. This is most annoying,
because I love food! I was quite curvy (well, stumpy... the fat didn't
have anywhere to go but outwards) in my late-teens, and coupled with
various Life Stuff I wound up severely anorexic from age 20 to about
25.
I'm a very determined person (I guess when you're my size you develop
a lifelong obsession with being taken seriously), and my recovery from
anorexia was as effective as my descent into it. Physically, I mean.
Psychologically, I'm not sure I'll ever be over it.
And here's my problem. Since taking up running I've allowed myself to
eat more food, esp more slow-burn carbs, and I'm quite careful about
monitoring my intake. I probably don't eat enough fat as a proportion
of my diet, but overall I think it's fairly well balanced.
But I am still haunted by this fear that I'm eating too much, that I'm
not "running it all off". I know that's typical diet-think, but I
cannot shake it off. I always return to the question of my size...
people talk of burning of thousands of calories during a very long
run, but given my dimensions I'll still only burn off a few hundred.
I'm really not sure where I stand.
I want to be in the best shape possible. I want to run as well (not as
fast, just as far) as possible, with minimal risk of injury. I don't
suffer from aching muscles, and I stretch properly, but I do get very
sore knees and I want to do whatever I can to avoid aggravating such
things by eating enough of the right things to aid recovery.
Apologies for blabbing for so long, just needed to air some
frustration. I really do need more information, and I don't want to
take a headlong dive into Amazon without any recommendations. If
anyone has some well-informed sports nurtition resources they could
point me towards, I'd be eternally grateful.
Thank you!