September 22, 2013

The taper begins!

I had a bad eating day yesterday. The boys stayed the night at my parents' house, so Jerry and I decided to have a date night. I couldn't figure out what to make for dinner, so I suggested going to Cracker Barrel for pecan pancakes (not at all a healthy choice, but at least it was high in simple carbs, a good choice to fuel my 16-mile run today). On the way, Jerry suggested going to Buffalo Wild Wings instead.

Now, I hadn't been to BWW since before I'd lost the weight, and I used to love their boneless wings! So we decided to go there instead. Fried wings aren't a great carb-loading food, as you can imagine. Margaritas (yes, plural) probably aren't either. And we shared some fried pickles. I haven't eaten that much fried food in the last year or two combined.

When we got home, we walked a few blocks to a bar for a beer. This bar has been here since long before we moved in, but I'd never stepped foot in it. We always say that we should walk there and have a drink to check it out, so we finally got around to doing that. Then we walked from there to my parents' house. It was my dad's birthday, and I'd made him a pecan pie (his favorite).

We sat outside by the lake, and Noah showed me a stray kitten that has been hanging around my parents' house. He's adorable! My heart melted as soon as I saw him.


He let me hold him for a long time, and then the neighbors let their dog out. The dog saw the cat and came running into my parents' yard. The cat flipped out and ran up a tree. The neighbors came and got the dog, but we couldn't coax the kitten to come out of the tree. He was meowing like crazy, and kept looking like he was going to jump, but he was too high up. Jerry ended up climbing up and getting him ;)


I felt bloated and gross last night (from my poor food/drink choices, I'm sure), so I was sure to have a crappy run today. I briefly thought about running my 16-miler tomorrow instead, but I really wanted to just get it done, so I got ready to head out as soon as it was light outside (7:15 ish).

I packed my Camelbak with water, two packets of Gu (Salted Caramel and Chocolate Mint flavors), my phone, and my pepper spray. I decided to hold off on eating breakfast until I got back. I wanted to use this run to mimic the marathon as best as I could, so I set my Garmin to beep an alert every 1.5 miles (the water stations at the race will be every 1-2 miles, and I plan to walk just long enough to throw back a few ounces of water).

Before I could procrastinate at all, I was out the door and running. The weather was great this morning--54 degrees and overcast. Despite how I felt last night, I felt amazing today! Remember the deal I made with myself on Thursday? If I met my pace goal Thursday for all 10 miles, then today, I could run at easy pace (10:00-10:40) instead of long run pace (9:38). I had full intentions of doing that, but I was feeling SO good that I just ran however my body felt like running.

At mile 1.5, my Garmin beeped, so I walked for 10 seconds and drank a couple of gulps of water. Same thing at miles 3, and 4.5. Then just before mile 6, I ate the Salted Caramel Gu. It was really good! It tasted like caramel syrup that you put on ice cream. As soon as I finished the Gu, I slowed to walk for 10 seconds and drink some water.

And so it went. I walked for 10 seconds every 1.5 miles, drinking a couple of gulps of water, and I ate my second Gu at mile 12. I couldn't believe how AMAZING I felt the entire time. At around mile 12.5, I saw a cyclist coming toward me (since I was running against traffic, and he was riding with traffic, we had to pass by each other). Usually, cyclists are very "in the zone" and even when I say "Good morning!" to them, they don't even look at me. But this guy actually said "Good morning!" first, and then stuck out his hand for a high-five... he told me "Great job!" and I said, "Thanks, you too!" and we went on our ways. That little high-five exchange totally made my day!

I never got tired during the run today. So, just for the heck of it, I ran a sub-9:00 mile for my 16th mile. I honestly felt like I could have kept going. It was GREAT!


I love it when I have a run like today's. It makes me feel very confident going into the marathon. If I feel even half as good during the race as I did today, then I will be one happy camper.

Instead of getting a dessert for my long run treat today, I decided to get a bagel from Panera. I've been loving those Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thins, but since I burned a ton of calories on my run today, I figured I'd get the real thing. However, when I got there, I saw that they had a Pumpkin Pie bagel. How could I not get that on the first day of fall?


I spread it with PB&Co. Cinnamon Raisin peanut butter, and it was delicious! I did eat pretty healthy the rest of the day, though, to hopefully minimize the damage from yesterday's eats. After the way my stomach felt last night, I have no desire to eat at BWW anytime soon!

I officially get to start tapering for the marathon, but my running schedule for the next week looks pretty similar to my step-back weeks, so it won't really feel like I'm tapering. But I am just so happy to have my long runs behind me, especially to end with a run like today, and now I can look forward to the race :)


Just a reminder, tomorrow is Motivational Monday! If you have a pic you want to share about a health/fitness accomplishment this week, you can email it to me, along with a brief description, at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, with subject "Motivational Monday". I may include it on my MM post tomorrow!

12 comments:

  1. congratulations on having your final long run behind you!

    I admit I was very skeptical of this running plan but it sounds like it's working great for you. can't wait to hear what you think after race day is over!

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    1. I was pretty skeptical too, until I actually read the book. It makes perfect sense (physiologically); I just hope that I feel this way during the marathon!

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  2. What a confidence booster to have such an amazing final long run! I'm glad you felt so great and I'm sure it'll translate into an awesome marathon for you.

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  3. I'm so excited my Garmin is over at the Post Office to pick up. I'll start using it tomorrow. Oh how saying 16 miles just roles off your tongue like it's just a quick run around the block for 5 minutes!! Oh I get enthusiastic when I read about people out there running. I officially started my running program today. It was awesome!

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  4. Congrats on such an awesome long run! Can you believe how well your body has handled this program? I'm so happy you've done so well.

    I love Panera. What a perfect long run treat!

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  5. Katie I have a question that I've been meaning to ask you for a while but always get so engrossed in your posts I forget lol.
    Did you notice your running style change at all as you were losing weight or after you had lost weight? Or has it stayed the same throughout? I ask because I've noticed that I run weird lol. When i was younger (and slim ) I found running very easy but now I feel awkward and doddery. I'm currently at 205lb (that is the first time I have ever put my weight on the internet - oh I feel liberated lol) and I seem to run like a pair of scissors i.e no bending at the knees. It's bizarre! During my last 6k run I made a conscious effort to bend my knees which not only made me run faster but stopped the usual calf pain immediately. It's not how I naturally run though and I'm hoping that is down to weight making me cumbersome which in turn will improve as I lose weight? I just wondered how it went for you?

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    1. That's very interesting, Linda! I don't *think* my running form has changed, but that's not to say that it hasn't. It sounds so uncomfortable to run without bending your knees! It's good that you noticed what the issue is, though. It's really hard to change your form, because you have to constantly think about it, but maybe as you lose weight it will feel more natural to bend your knees. I'm interested to know how it goes for you :)

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  6. That is awesome! I'd like to get my 13.1 done in that time!!!!

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  7. Glad your run went well!

    I am sorry your stomach didn't feel well, but I have to say I was in a way glad to hear that I am not alone in not being able to eat that kind of food anymore! Seems like my stomach is very sensitive since I am now down 40 lbs. I still have a good ways to go weight-loss wise, but its a good start! I am hoping to lost 10 more by Jan. 1st.

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  8. I've had some of my best runs when I was slightly hung over. Weird I know haha.

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  9. I hope to someday be able to run a distance like that. Right now I'm working on getting past the two mile marker without croaking. I just bought my first pair of running shoes this weekend and I'm hoping that eventually I'll actually start to enjoy running.

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  10. Buffalo Wild Wings... always sounds like a great idea before I eat, afterwards I always feel like shit. I usually have a tall beer (22oz), half an order of fried pickles, and then the "meal" size boneless wings in some gut busting sauce (like Blazin' or Thai Curry). By the end of the meal I am so stuffed I want to throw up and then it takes me about a day to recover. Yet, I keep going back.

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