Who cares what you see in the mirror

I have to confess, this isn't a picture of me above. I also have to admit that running has changed my body greatly, for the better. Since my running started back in August of 2009 I've lost about 15 lbs and at least a couple inches from my waist. Also, since last working on the rail road back during college I have been revisited with the small hint of that vein on my bicep sticking out. I couldn't be happier with what I've seen happen to my body, but it means very little when it comes to distance running. Yes, if you are 5 lbs lighter that can have a positive impact on your ability to run but it won't necessarily shave minutes off your marathon time.

Tomorrow I run the Minneapolis Marathon, I will get beat by both men and women who if picked out of a line-up you'd swear couldn't run 2 miles let alone 26.2. It's gratifying to watch the weight go down and see the fat go away, that's a fantastic thing, but it's easy to fall in love with what you see and automatically assume and expect that that's going be the difference between a new PR and running the same pace.

I'm not saying weight loss is a bad thing and I do believe that if you are lighter you are able to push yourself farther and train harder, but it's almost a double edge sword: you're loosing weight so that's a great thing, but you see positive results so you may lighten up on the things that got you there.

Distance running may not fall under our old track quote in high school that "fat equals fast" but I think it's just as possible as "skinny equals fast."