More From My Half Marathon

I am still in disbelief that I ran a half marathon. That is crazy! I seriously have forgotten a lot of the experience so I am glad I wrote it down right away, even though I was out of it when I wrote my last post.

I read a lot on preparing for a half marathon. I checked books out of the library and read running blogs. I read up on what to eat a few days before and what to eat the morning of the half marathon. I prepared myself for everything, except for what happens after the half marathon.

I did not really eat a whole lot the day I had the half marathon. According to my Endomondo app, I burned around 1600 calories running. I think that entitled me to a day of eating and not worrying one bit about calories. Well a lot of the day I didn't even feel like eating.

For breakfast I had one piece of toast with peanut butter on it. I did not eat again until after the race. After I stretched out I ate two blueberry muffins and had some water and Gatorade.  I didn't eat again until dinner time. I completely forgot about lunch. My body was dead, and my mind was in sleep mode.  My sister in law (who also ran the half marathon) and I went to Red Robin for dinner.

We pigged out. We were so excited to go out to eat and not even care about what we were eating (health wise). By the time we sat down to order we were ravenous.  We literally joked about just going up to other tables and stealing their food. We ordered the spinach and artichoke dip to share, and I got the teriyaki burger.  I also got a lemonade, which is super good, but really filled me and maybe not a wise choice.  I ate and ate, and was totally stuffed after that.

Honestly I wish I had eaten more that day. It was seriously a guiltless day, where I could eat whatever I wanted and not feel like I was going to gain weight. The problem was I wasn't very hungry. And after I ate dinner I felt stuffed the rest of the night.

On Sunday I felt horrible. I didn't know if it was my stomach or exhaustion. I had woken up on Saturday at 4:30 am, ran 13.1 miles, and stayed up until midnight with no nap in between.  I didn't eat breakfast. At lunchtime I ate but still felt just yucky.  I didn't know what to do post run because I hadn't researched.  I was supposed to pack up all my family's stuff to get ready to leave Utah but I felt horrible. My stomach was just unsettled.

By 7:30 at night I had major diarrhea. I wasn't sure if it was something I ate or if it was post half marathon stomach. I was just a poopin'. TMI I know, but it needs to be said.  I was able to go to sleep around 10 pm but I still felt sick. Monday morning I felt better but I felt drained.  Diarrhea takes a lot out of you, no pun intended.  If diarrhea is a result of running a half marathon then I might wait a while before doing another.

We got the race results and I placed 12 out of 14 women in my age group (25 to 29). I feel good about that. I wasn't last. And it was my first half marathon. My brother in law placed 3rd in his group, which is awesome! My husband was last place in his age group, and I am just so grateful that he ran with me.  If he had run on his own he would have gone a lot faster.

Below are some pictures from the half marathon.  I just want to tell you that I look awesome. I totally rock my look. I don't realize how ridiculous I look when I am running. The thing is I can't wear earphones in my ears, so I have to run with big, bulky headphones.  I also have to have a fanny pack on so I can easily reach my chap stick, water, shot bloks, and phone. And yes, I need to wear the silly visor. You know it! So here are the pictures:

This is us before the half marathon. Yup, I look awesome! lol

This is when we saw the camera guy and decided to try to look cool while running. 

And this is me just after the race. I tried hard not to look miserable.

I wish we had taken a post-race photo of the four of us, but we forgot. We weren't our selves after the race.  It took a lot out of all of us. Yeah, at this point a full marathon seems out of my range. Maybe one day... But for now, on to new things.

-Kate, your not-too-fit guru