The needle on the scale shudders, then settles on 145lbs. I stare down. I’m surprised to be this light, but I shouldn’t be.

This post is about losing. Not in the competitive sense, but in the physical. For me, running has meant dropping a few pounds and a few toenails. How I deal with both in the coming weeks will affect my performance as I prepare for the big race in early May.

You don’t have to be a genius to know that if you expend more calories than you consume, your weight will drop. I’m in the middle of the biggest run training weeks of my life – over 90k. I’m also down about 5-10lbs from my usual weight. Although I’ve trained hard at other sports (triathlon and rowing), I haven’t shed the weight as easily as I am now. I suspect this has to do with the comparatively few muscles needed for running.

So pick an adjective: lean, wiry, slim, skinny, scrawny. Sure I feel bonier – especially around the knees – but I also feel quick and efficient at running, which is the point of training.  It’s not exactly a beach body, but I’ll do the Baywatch look some other time. That said, I’m not keen to drop more weight – I have had a tendency to get sick more easily when underweight. So extra helpings are now in vogue.

At ground level, it’s uglier. My “index” toenails have turned back, and the dead nails on my big toes are awaiting their replacements growing underneath. Long runs are to blame. Slam your foot into asphalt or concrete 15,000+ times over three hours and the capillaries in your toes will start to burst. Fluid will accumulate under the nail and the gruesome “liftoff” process begins. It hurts, and I have been relieving the fluid pressure with a flame-sterilized needle slid under the dead nail (revolting but not painful). The biggest danger with nail damage is that it is causing me to change my stride which could lead to other injuries. I have a bit of that right now and so I’m backing off on distance and am cross-training with a bike.

So keeping the weight loss reasonable and preventing injury is the battle plan two months out. I’ll save the martyrdom for race day.