Hi there all. I am a runner of 32 years . I am 48 years of age and want to give a marathon a go again before the age of 50. I did several back in the late 70's and early 80's. I do find that eating this way lowers my desire to eat sweets. I want to get back to the weight I ran my marathons at 155. I am 190 now on a 5 11 frame so not really super heavy but wanting badly to get back to my running weight. I am curious about a menu plan to follow for active running. I am hoping some serious runners out there might have ideas on a menu that will be simple to follow and allow me to train. I am currently running 30 to 35 miles a week but would like to gradually get back up to 50 to 60. For you runners who have used this plan how long did it take? Did you have the energy to keep your miles up? I want to gradually increase my miles and also maybe think about a fall marathon. I have played around with Atkins since I bought the book. I do eat a few extra carbs here and there so as not to crash on the run. I guess I am wondering how to do this low carb diet to allow myself to continue daily training and also to see good results in terms of weight loss. A simple plan with consistent mnus would be appreciated. I hve noticed that protein and fat seem to help me avoid sweet treats. This is good. Anyway any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. This lighter weight would allow me to have a good enough time to qualify for Boston. I am a Canadian and live in the cold north. Thanks for your help!
John

Hi John,
Welcome to this forum. There are a few marathon runners on this board. I run ultras (greater than marathon distance) and I follow the Schwarzbein Principle. It allows for increased carbs based on level of activity. I eat about 90 carbs a day mostly from veggies, low glycemic fruit, steel cut oats. On my longer training runs (greater than ten miles) I sue Hammer gel of Cliff gel. I then just revert back to my usual eating plan.
Since low carbing I've run 2 100 milers, a couple of 50 milers and a couple of 50K's so I know it works. If you review so of the older posts you will fund posts by other distance runners. We don't carbo load before races but we do realize that additional carbs are necessary for performance.
Good luck to you and please keep us posted on your progress. I am back with the program as I relapsed on sugar after my last 24 hour race! It's good to be back on track as I feel so much better!
Maureen