Let’s Talk About Race Weight…
This was my body a year ago– strong, but more lithe than it is today. Photo by Ross Dettman
I know– this is a taboo subject. Women don’t talk openly about weight and women athletes… well, even among the most open of us, we don’t really like to talk about it. It’s always brought up anxiously, quickly, and then once it’s out there, we all fall upon it like a kid in a candy shop (ha?).
I’ll start out with a caveat– I KNOW that I’m extremely fit and my body is banging and I don’t need to be worried about my weight. I adore all my non-elite-runner friends who are so sweet to quickly dismiss my weight anxieties, but unfortunately, at this level, weight DOES matter. So please understand that none of what follows is meant to offend or make me sound like a crazy eating-disordered athlete. It’s facts, black and white, no hysteria intended.
When you are an elite athlete, you’re obviously in great shape– likely the best shape of your life. But at this level, when everyone is in great shape… well, you have to find an edge somewhere. If our bodies were all the same, it would be impossible to have a winner and a second place and a third place and on and on. Bodies and body composition do play a role at the level when everyone is in “great” shape.
Last year’s steeplechasing bod. Photo by Michael Scott
We’ll start with the basics: what IS race weight? Generally, when your season begins, you’ve just taken a few weeks off of training. You eat like a normal person! You have desserts! You drink! And in all likelihood, you gain a few pounds. Nothing to panic about! It’s just part of the process.
Then you start training. And with your base training, your weight can either: a) drop a ton, as you start to slim down and get back to your peak fitness or b) drop a tiny bit and then level out and then maybe creep back up because your body composition is changing. What does that mean? It means that maybe you really focus on lifting and you develop muscles that you did not have in your off season– muscle weighs more than fat, so maybe you don’t drop as much weight as you would if you didn’t lift. Your diet changes and maybe you aren’t eating “less”, but eating smarter. You drink less. You have less dessert. Your weight reflects all that as well.
Bottom line: some part of your training is redistributing your weight and maybe the scale doesn’t budge as much, but you do look different– toned, lean, strong versus just “skinny”
This year’s steeplechasing bod. Photo by Bill Leung
At a certain point in the season, however, it’s time to start racing. And girls who bulk up a bit to make it through the base part of training back off, while girls who maybe have a laissez-faire diet become a bit more regimented. At this point, you likely weigh the lowest you’ll weigh all year– and this is your “race weight”. You only weigh this much at the height of your racing season; when the season is over, you take time off and the cycle begins again.
I remember the first time I heard about race weight. I had a teammate at Virginia who had transferred from another school that was very weight conscious and she talked about what her ideal “race weight” was. I had a background in eating issues in high school, but had gone into college weighing 125– and the scale didn’t budge the entire time I was a Cavalier until my fifth and final year, when I weighed 118 and made the World Championship team. After that, I was a bit of a believer.
I took this concept of race weight into my professional career and saw a real connection: during my “off” years, when I was struggling in the sport, I just could not drop weight. I hovered between 122-126 and just could not shake those few extra pounds. Getting back to that 118 ideal race weight was impossible.
When I came to train with Furman Elite, I took a hard look at my diet and, with the help of a nutritionist and my coach, I made it back to that 118-119 weight range… and had the best season of my life.
This year, I kept a close eye on my weight– yes, I had a scale in my bathroom that I would use every morning at a consistent time. I came into my base season at a healthy 124-125; during the winter indoor season, I was down to 120-121. I went into altitude and started dipping below 120 into a consistent 118-119 and felt excited for the steady progress to race weight I was making.
Photo by TrackField97.com
But after altitude… something changed. I came home to sea level and was shocked to see my weight was back up to 123-124. Confused, I didn’t make any crazy adjustments– after all, I had just ran a major PB in the 5k, so obviously I was in shape! I talked to Coach and we decided that it was probably just a symptom of my training easing up– we weren’t doing nearly the amount of miles at sea level like we were doing at altitude. Combine that with a busy May of travel and being off my schedule, and we thought it was probably just a normal fluctuation that would work itself out.
I won the steeple at Oxy and then ran a PB in the 1500 before going over to the UK and running a solid steeple in Birmingham (not my fastest time ever, but a nice opener and a competitive race). But today… my weight is still around 120-121. What happened to my race weight?
A few factors that could play into it:
1. I haven’t been weighing myself consistently. Most mornings I wake up at Goldenboy’s house and he doesn’t have a scale– so if I do weigh myself, it’s usually after I have breakfast, go to practice, hydrate and have a snack. I know that it’s smarter and more accurate to weigh yourself at the same time every day, so I’m trying to look at the number on the scale with a grain of salt.
2. My body looks totally different (in a good way). I’ve packed on muscle this year thanks to our work in the gym with a strength coach– and I love it. I love lifting and I think it really helps me; it gives me a dynamic power and strength that other, less athletic runners have. So my body composition is definitely different than it was last year– so being a few pounds heavier makes sense in that context.
3. I’m doing much better than I was doing last year– so maybe this race weight is where I actually need to be. Performances don’t lie. I’ve run significantly faster this year than I did last year (not in the steeple– yet!). I’m doing more work this year than I was doing last year. My body is healthy– I get my period every month without the use of birth control, I haven’t had any injuries (touch wood), and I’m happy with the way I look.
Strong and sturdy wins the race? Photo by Bear and Spirit
But ignoring a number is a really hard thing to do. I would be lying if I said I didn’t worry about my weight at least once a day, even for just a second. I’m sticking to my “eat every 3 hours” lifestyle that I started last year and I’m trying to keep a healthy mindset about having desserts or drinks once or twice a week. But whether it’s the chaotic travel lifestyle or the added muscle, the fact is: my race weight is heavier than it used to be.
And maybe that’s okay. Maybe 120 is the new 118– after all, the steeple in the US is starting to be dominated by STRONG, healthy-looking women, not just the typical running pixie. No one close to me has expressed anxiety about my weight or appearance (and don’t worry, I ask!)– so maybe this is where my body needs to be to be successful.
If you’re an elite or college runner– what are your thoughts on race weight? How much does weight factor in to your training and racing? If you’re just a fitness buff, how much do you pay attention to weight? How do you use weight to track your progress? Is weight ever a goal for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
