I was having some BIG weight problems. Still am, but things had gone crazy. So I said "okay, I'm gonna try the Atkins diet". And I did. For three days. Now for me, that's a long time. Three days of NOT cheating on a diet. It was fun, it was really satisfying, and I LOST FIVE POUNDS OF WATER WEIGHT ON THE FIRST DAY!

I had been eating SO MANY CARBS during this marathon training. I was doing the PowerBars, the PowerGels, all of it. Stuffing 'em in. You'd have thought I was an elite marathon runner. Well, I was eating like one. But I was only fast-walking a 15 minute mile. So, naturally, I was gaining weight.

Well, here's the lesson I learned: No carbs = no endurance.

I did eight miles last Saturday in 2 hours. Nothing mind-boggling, but I was keeping up with my steady improvement. It was good for me. Today (Saturday) I also had to do 8 miles. IT TOOK ME TWO HOURS AND 16 MINUTES!!!!

My numbers are NOT supposed to go in that direction. The four miles out were slow, I couldn't run, but I could still do a brisk walk. Okay, fine. But about a mile into the walk back I was DONE. Couldn't even walk fast. Totally ran out of gas. THat's never happened to me before.

So, maybe Atkins after the marathon. Or maybe just all things in moderation.