October 16, 2013

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday morning at 3:30, I woke up the kids so we could start the drive home from my sister's house. We had to leave super early so that we could avoid rush hour going through Chicago. I went through the city at around 5:00, and the traffic wasn't bad at all. The six-hour ride home seemed a lot shorter than the ride to my sister's.

When I pulled up to the driveway, I could see signs taped to the side of the house. Jerry made a few "welcome home" signs for me:


I love the Chuck Norris one! Anyway, it was good to see Jerry and the cats. Phoebe was mad at me for a little while and wouldn't let me pet her. But later, she was very cuddly. She missed me ;)


I've been in a terrible mood all day today, and I know exactly what is making me a total bitch very irritable... today is Day 3 of post-marathon rest. Any time I go more than two full days without running, my mood changes for the worse. It's not like I'm dying to go out and run, but running has a very calming effect on me, and puts me in a good mood. When I don't run for a few days, it becomes obvious to everyone around me ;)

My legs feel 100% back to normal, and I honestly feel like I could go out and run another marathon right now (hypothetically, of course); but I really want to give my body the rest it needs to recover. I went for a leisurely walk with Jerry this afternoon, to try and get a little exercise, but it didn't do anything for my bad mood. The fall colors are gorgeous right now, though! It was so nice outside today.


I didn't do my Wednesday Weigh-in today. Ever since the race, I've been pretty puffy--my rings are tight, and my whole body just feels like I'm retaining water. Running that distance does weird things to my body, and I expected that; I was also craving salt like crazy for the past few days, so my sodium intake has been much higher than normal. I didn't want to step on the scale, see a large gain, and then feel discouraged, so I'm going to give myself a few more days of being back in my routine before I look at the scale.

It's kind of interesting, actually. In the weeks leading up to the race, I was craving carbs like crazy! I couldn't get enough bagels, pasta, rice, sweets, etc. And ever since the race, I've been craving meat and salty foods. Even the day of the race, I didn't splurge on a dessert--I splurged on a margarita and Mexican food, which is pretty unlike me. I always choose dessert over anything else! I think maybe my body was craving the carbs for the energy to run, and now protein to repair my damaged muscles.


After yesterday's post about the Hansons Marathon Method, a couple of people asked me what marathon plan I recommend for a beginner, since I think the HMM would be a very tough plan for a newbie. I've only tried a few plans myself, so I can't say from experience what is the best one out there. But the Hal Higdon Novice plan is a good one. That's what I used for my first marathon, and a lot of people use it for their first. I did end up injuring my knee during that training, but I'll never know if it was the fault of the plan or if it was bound to happen regardless. Thousands of people use that plan with success.

Another thing people asked me was how I liked the Flip Belt. This was recommended to me by a lot of readers, and when I saw them at the expo in Chicago, I had to give it a try! I put my phone in it, jumped up and down, and ran in place, and it felt very comfortable. I was sold. I bought a black one for $25. When I got back to my hotel, I loaded it up with my stuff, and ran around the room with it. It felt great, so I decided to wear it during the race. The guy at the expo said that you don't actually have to flip the belt inside out so that the openings are on the inside; he said that even with the openings on the outside, nothing will fall out.

The first picture shows what the belt looks like without anything in it. It's a stretchy fabric in a loop that you step into and pull up around your waist (there aren't any open ends to fasten). The second picture shows the little pockets (there are four--two in front and two in back). You slide things inside (I have them sticking out halfway so you can see them, but you would put them in all the way).


For the race, I loaded the belt up with my iPhone, two packets of Gu, and two and a half packs of Shot Bloks. I put my phone in front center, the Shot Bloks over each hip, and the Gu in the back. It was super comfortable, and I was thrilled that everything fit. I left the openings facing outward, because it was easier to get my stuff out that way.

I'm actually wearing the belt in this picture, and you can see it doesn't add much bulk:


As I was running, I absolutely LOVED the belt! It was super comfy, and it didn't bounce. I didn't have any issues with it until mile 20 or so when I realized that I was missing a full pack of Shot Bloks--they'd fallen out. I was bummed, but I had enough with me, so it wasn't a big deal. I think if I had flipped it so the openings were on the inside, I wouldn't have had that problem. But the guy at the expo promised me that nothing would fall out!

I'm still very happy that I bought the belt, and I'll definitely use it instead of any other belts I have. I'll just remember to flip it--hence the name, Flip Belt. They come in five different sizes (if I remember correctly): XS, S, M, L, XL. I bought a small, which said it was for size 4-6, and it fit pretty true to size. If anything, I thought I probably could have gone down a size just to make it extra tight against my body. (This is not a sponsored review; I paid for the belt, and just wanted to share my thoughts. But here is a link to the website, if you're interested in checking them out).

17 comments:

  1. Do you think the Hansons method would work well for other distances? At this point I have no desire to do a half just due to time constraints. I tried to go to the Hansons website but I'm not sure if I was on the right website as it shows a running store for the website. I'd like to do another 10K though as I enjoy that distance.

    Thanks and again, congratulations on Chicago Katie! Oh and love Jerry's posters:)

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    1. I'm not sure how it would translate to other distances. I imagine if you look at the half-marathon plan, and cut back the distances of the runs (cut them in half?) it would probably work. You were probably on the right website; the Hanson brothers own a running store, and they have a running clinic from there. I thought I was on the wrong site, too! ;)

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  2. Your husbands a keeper, very sweet welcome home signs.

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  3. Youre husband is so sweet with those signs!
    I too have been in a crabby mood and I think it's because I haven't exercised since the marathon. My legs have felt great since the race...no soreness at all. It's like I didn't even run that distance..guess my body is adapting! But I usually run/swim/bike at least 6 days a week so 3 days without exercise totally makes sense for my bitchy mood today.
    Hope it passes soon!
    I saw those flip bys but I don't think they'll work for me until I have skin removal surgery, my belly will just flip it when I don't want it to ;)

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  4. Would you mind posting about what type of fabric the flip belt is made out of? Do you have to put your iPhone in a ziploc so that it doesn't get wet from sweat?

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    1. Yes, I put my phone in a bag (and the guy at the expo was even handing out ziploc bags for phones, because it's NOT waterproof. I'm not sure what the fabric is made of (there isn't a tag on it). It has the feel of cotton, but it probably has spandex in it also. It was stretchy enough to be able to pull it on easily enough, but it wasn't a loose-stretch. It stayed very tight against my body.

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  5. Just curious if you actually followed the 3 day training plan as written? Can't recall reading about you cross training and that is a huge component of 3 day plans. You run harder, targeted runs and you cross train with cardio as prescribed on non-run. It's hard bash a plan if you didn't execute it as intended.

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    1. That's a very good point! It hadn't occurred to me, so thanks for pointing it out. I started the plan with cross-training (including strength training, because I was determined not to get injured). But then after 6 weeks or so, I was injured and I was just doing the prescribed runs. Anyway, you're right!

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  6. Katie

    LOVE the signs... Jerry is such a sweetie : )

    Glad you're listening to your body.... I agree, it needs time and good protein to repair itself.

    The fall colors are beautiful.... try curling up with a cat or two, some yummy tea and a great book.

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  7. do you ever feel like pinching yourself ? I mean can you wrap your head around the fact that you've lost 100 pounds, kept it off for a long time, and now run 26 mile races. In your wildest dreams did you see this coming??

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    1. It really does blow my mind! When I saw the sign at the race that said, "Remember when you thought you couldn't do this?" it brought tears to my eyes, because I NEVER imagined I would run a single mile, let alone 26.2!

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  8. Katie, I think you're right about your body craving what it needs. I think you were probably dehydrated a bit after the race, and sweat has sodium, so you needed that too, that's why you were craving salt.

    We were up in the Chicago area Monday-Wednesday this week at the Cancer Treatment Center and people were talking about the marathon. I told them that my friend Katie ran in that! The trees up north are beautiful, I noticed that on our ride to and from the airport. Our trees aren't quite to their peak here in the Lincoln area yet, we're a little further south. This is my favorite time of year. My little 3-month old Bulldog was sure happy to see me when we got home. It's nice when somebody is excited to see you! Those signs that Jerry made for you are GREAT!

    It's wonderful that you never take for granted all that you have accomplished on your journey. You are amazing and never forget it!!! GREAT MARATHON!!!

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  9. That flip belt looks pretty neat! I may check those out!

    One of the things I absolutely hate about running half marathons is the swelling of my hands! My ring is always SO tight. One time after a half marathon my feet were swollen for about 4 or 5 days. I looked like I had "pregnant woman feet". LOL!

    So excited for you that you are home and had a wonderful time! I also love the Chuck Norris sign. :)

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  10. I'm so impressed that you always answer questions that folks ask in your comments (not all bloggers do that)! Of course, I'm more impressed by all of your accomplishments - running and otherwise!

    You sure have a keeper in Jerry! My husband tolerates my running...but just barely. I can't imagine him ever making signs like that for me! Don't get me wrong - he's great, just has different ways of showing it!

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    1. I always try to respond, but sometimes I'll read it, and then forget to go back and respond later!

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  11. awww the signs jerry made you are so sweet!!! the chuck norris one is the best

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  12. I love the posters! That is so sweet and the Chuck Norris one is fantastic.

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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