The pace of spring training is picking up steam. Exhibition season is about to hit full stride.

In this neck of Ontario, there are half marathons in Grimsby, Peterborough and Burlington within the next couple of weeks. At this stage in spring marathon preparations, a half marathon offers a chance to see where you are in your training plan.

If everything's going well, you should finish about 10 minutes quicker than half your marathon time. That's what I'm shooting for in this first outing in the 2005 exhibition season. It means I'll have to shave some time off my previous best half marathon time.

Getting there isn't easy. Until now, I've found the simplest way to get faster is to drop a few pounds. You'd think that averaging 100 kilometres a week in training would lighten the load on the scale and do wonders for the waistline.

My daughter seemed to think so. I was getting dinner ready the other night when she remarked how my pants looked to be a fair bit looser – pants that were under the Christmas tree just two months ago. They weren't exactly snug back then, but they wouldn't have been my first choice had I been planning an excursion to the buffet.

"They do feel looser," I told her, as I prepared to take down a wildebeest. "But the scale's telling me a different story."

Generally, I don't pay much attention to scales – they're all rigged anyway – but I do like to see where I'm at every once in a while. Usually at the beginning of a training cycle, halfway through it, and maybe at the end.

Seems no matter how many kilometres I put in, my weight has settled in on a favourite number. One hundred and eighty-two.

I haven't just plateaued – it seems I've parked the RV, built a patio and a shed, hung lanterns and made nice with the neighbours.

Granted, 182 is about 25 pounds south of where I was when I started this running stuff, but it's still more of me than I care to carry around right now. And according to the folks at Health Canada, it's a lot more than what I should weigh.

See, I'm only 5'8" (5'11" when I pull out the Manolo Blahniks the odd Saturday night).

With those numbers, I have a body mass index (BMI) of 27.7, which classifies me as overweight – more than halfway between Normal and Obese Class I. The BMI says I'm at increased risk of health problems should I ever age.

(You can figure out your own BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height squared, or go to their calculator at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/bmi_chart_java_e.html and let them do the math)

Health Canada claims the BMI is just a guide – and may not be accurate if you're under 18 years old or pregnant and lactating. Last I checked I didn't quite qualify under either category.

But wait – there's more fine print:

"Very muscular adults, such as athletes, may have a low percentage of body fat but a large amount of muscle tissue. This can result in a BMI in the overweight range which may over estimate the risk of developing health problems."

Waist circumference also has to be taken into account. If it's 40 inches or better around your waist, trouble could be looming. I peaked at 38 but am down to 34 these days.

So maybe I'm all right overall, even with a high BMI. Still, a high BMI eventually limits how fast you can go. Blame physics. It takes a lot more energy to move a 182-pound body over 26.2 miles than a 130-pound body. And there's only so much energy the body can store.

According to the BMI chart, I need to drop another 18 pounds to be normal, weight-wise anyway. Not sure I'm prepared to give up that much wildebeest – or add that much mileage – just to call myself normal.