Thursday, June 07, 2007

PSA #405

Here's something you might want to be aware of if you haven't already done a long course triathlon or a marathon.

It so happens that those among us prone to water retention often find ourselves taking on some excess fluids (and weight) during the first few days after the race.

Just imagine this: you've just done a 70.3 triathlon above altitude. But for the behavior of your bizarre teammate Miguel, you finished DFL.

You feel, and rightfully so, that it's the hardest thing you've ever done.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

And let's just say, hypothetically, that you're exhausted, quickly develop a deep and abiding hatred of stairs, inclines, and anything you have to step up on. You wonder why you didn't have the guy who built your house put in an escalator.

Then a day or so later you get on the scale to find you've GAINED 6 pounds.

Did you read what I wrote? GAINED SIX POUNDS. That's just under 3 kg for our international friends.

Oh, sure, it goes away after a day or five, but it's a bit jarring, to say the least.

It could happen to you. Enjoy.

No need to thank me; I'm here to help.

...

10 comments:

  1. 6 pounds < 13.2kg
    13.2 pounds = 6kg

    Enjoy the summer!

    And yeah, it's water.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yikes, I stand corrected. 6 pounds is just under 3 kg. I got it backwards!

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  3. Fuzzy math, I too am afflicted.

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  4. It's just inflammation. Don't weigh while you still feel the least bit sore.

    Just don't go gaining that much *on* the course or you might end up with a coma with hyponatremia. See, it can always be worse!!

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  5. I'm feeling ya geek girl! I gained weight just reading your blog about weight gain. It's my only family heirloom: a bad matabolism!

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  6. Aaaaah, like the cherry on top of your suckitude sundae. Nice. Thanks for the PSA!

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  7. I always thought the post-race puffies were from all the sweet carb drinks, gels, and other sugary crud that keeps me fueled during the race... hmmm.

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  8. It happened to me after my sprint - I was up 3 pounds the next morning! I was shocked but attributed it to a lot of water and perhaps overly heavy carbo-loading! It went away bit by bit, back to where I'd started after about 4-5 days.

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  9. Funny that you mention this. I did my first half marathon 2 weeks ago, and in the 2 days after the race I gained 7 pounds! Then I peed VERY FREQUENTLY for the next 4-5 days and dropped back to my normal weight. I had no idea this was going to happen to me, so I was a little shocked at the weight gain at first.

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  10. This happens to me all the time. Not certain why it happens but if I figure it out, I'll share the info.

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