I know, I know, it’s been a little marathon-crazy over here this week. But really, how often do you run a marathon!? Today’s WIAW is from Sunday – marathon day! If you’re new to What I Ate Wednesday, head over to Peas and Crayons to check it out!
As I mentioned before, I started out the day with 1/2 banana with almond butter:
And then a piece of Udi’s bread with the rest of the banana and more almond butter. This turned out to be great race fuel because my stomach never growled during the race!
During the marathon I ate a gel at every 4.5 miles: 4.5, 9, 13.5, 18, 22.5. Since these were based on my garmin, I ended up leaving more than 4.5 miles at the end so I took some of the gatorade chews that they were handing out on the course.
Once I finally got home I wasn’t super hungry but I needed to eat, so I had bread with cheese, carrots and hummus and turkey meat. About an hour later I was hungry again so I had basically the exact same thing minus the carrots and hummus since I’d finished them off!
Not long after that I showered (yes… finally showered) and headed over to my brother and sister in law’s to see Molly and HER finishing medal!
Haha I can just see her thinking: “Katie has gone crazy… I’ll just play along.”
While I was there, we tried out the Eppa Sangria I was sent! I’d gotten it weeks ago but never had a chance to try it (I wanted more than one opinion). It’s a “super fruit’” sangria, made with Medicino Cabernet and Syrah with acai, Mediterranean blood orange, blueberry and pomegranate juice. It’s also certified organic!
We all thought it was pretty good, it tasted like sweet wine but not too sweet or fruity. I’m a fan and would definitely buy it again, especially for a girls night type event (or bookclub…. haha).
We headed to dinner at Smith and Wollensky, a steak house right on the water. Our table was by the window so when I looked out all I saw were buildings and then the river. It was so pretty!
I didn’t take any pictures, but I had red snapper for dinner (served on top of whipped potatoes with pieces of crab meat in them) and then I tried two of the sides: creamed corn and creamed spinach. The creamed spinach was amazing…. Oh and my mom and I also split a half dozen oysters for a starter. I don’t think I’ve had oysters since going to an oyster roast in South Carolina! Those are so fun.
After dinner we said goodbye to my Aunt Marty and her friend and headed back up to Lincoln Park. I decided to head to Berry Moon for some celebratory frozen yogurt (you were waiting for this weren’t you!?). No one came but it was kind of nice to walk home with it and reflect on the day. And they had pumpkin spice flavor which was soooo good! I got with a bit of the vanilla and chocolate mixed.
The next morning (I know, my WIAW is drifting into another day!) I met my parents for breakfast at the Bourgeoisie Pig. I’ve written about it before, but I hadn’t been there in almost a year! I got a café au lait which was delicious and then I had the breakfast bowl which was scrambled eggs with cheese, avocado, tomato, red onion, sausage, potatoes and sour cream. It was great!
After breakfast I said goodbye to my parents and headed home. THAT is when it hit me. I RAN A MARTHON! I crossed off race day on my training plan and it sunk in. I did it. 4 months of training and I did it.
Although it seems like a disappointment – 4 months of training for 4 hours? But not at all. I try to remember the training was just as much fun as the race itself. I really loved it all and I would definitely do it again. I don’t know when or where since the next year of my life is pretty undefined, but I certainly hope to run another.
How do you feel about big events that last less than a day but take months to train for?
Have you tried any seasonal ice cream or frozen yogurt flavors?
Mmm yummy looking froyo 🙂
I was hoping to see your day of eats for the Marathon! Always interested to see what runners crave after an insane four hours of exercise. HAHA.
Personally, I have never run a marathon, but any big assignment at school, or a performance with my school band, shoot, even trips with my family! I always feel like the anticipation is almost better (and longer) than the event itself. Leaves me with too high of expectations sometimes.
Sounds like you are totally fulfilled with your run though. And you should be! Again, great job.
you’re right, it’s true with anything! The anticipation of the event tends to be better than the event itself!
Your photo makes you look like an Olympian!! I love it!
I was a bit frustrated that I trained so long for my half-marathon and that it was over so quickly — however, I’m continuing forward with my training and see it as just a stepping stone. I’m planning on running MANY, MANY more races, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. When I think of it that way, I feel a little less like I’m putting all my training eggs in one basket. If that makes sense.
Holy heck — I’m going to have to stop for M&Ms at some point today. You’ve set off a craving that’s been building for a while I think! A true and genuine thank you!! 🙂
Hahaha I wish I were an Olympian! And go for those M&Ms! So good!
i need to try these shot gels. that mocha one sounds sooooo goooood! (: can I take them on my 2 mile runs too? haha
Haha you CAN but you probably don’t need them! I usually take them for 8 mile runs or longer. Also some people have them pre-workout if it’s an early morning workout before breakfast!
I had pumpkin and graham cracker fro yo in NYC this past weekend – absolutely incredible!
ooo graham cracker fro yo sounds so good!
Now I want froyo!
that coffee in tha tpic looks mighty good…
oh it was. You’ll just have to come hang out with me there.
Well done on the race!!!!
Thank you, Michelle!
I think there’s always a bit of let down at the end, but the sense of accomplishment is so amazing that it makes it so worth it! I loved seeing your eats from this day. I’m always curious about fuel and then the aftermath.
I was definitely craving salt, but that was about it! I didn’t really have any crazy marathon cravings!
Those Gatorade chews on my faveeeeee. They’re my fuel on long runs and I love them. They’ve never bugged my stomach and I’ve never found another kind of fuel as easy to chew, which is surprisingly clutch for me. I’ve sampled Clif Shot Blocks but I’ve found they’re stiffer than Gatorade chews, if that makes any sense, so I’ll stick to Gatorade. #runnerd
I tend to get disappointed when big events wrap up, especially when so much preparation was involved. I was highly involved in a student organization in college that dedicated all its efforts to putting on one event in November, and whenever the event finished, I always felt so lost in life haha. I had no idea what to do with all my free time!
the Gatorade chews are definitely easier to chew, but you have to eat more for the same amount of calories. Plus I like the Clif flavors… haha
i adore half shell oysters, one of my favorite things to eat on special occasions.
I’ve been peeking at my local froyo place for anything pumpkin flavoured – haven’t seen it yet but as soon as it appears, I’m there! 🙂
Yayyyy you DID IT! So glad it finally sunk in. You should be so proud! I love the sounds of your dinner – yum! And great choice on the frozen yogurt! Definitely a must! 😉
haha it was soooo necessary to get fro yo to celebrate!
I have never ran a race that took months to train for but I can only imagine that crossing that finish line has to be totally worth it! It’s such an amazing thing. Also, I’ve tried pumpkin fro-yo from Red Mango… it’s awesome!
I haven’t been to Red Mango since I moved here! Ours isn’t self serve which is why I tend not to go, but someone told me they have self serve other places!
I have never been a runner until 5 months ago when I decided to give it a try. I have now been training for four months for my first half marathon! I have LOVED the training and I’m so excited for my race. I’m hoping I will feel great about all my training when I cross that finish line!
Good luck on your race, be sure to enjoy it!
That sangria sounds really good, I wouldn’t mind at all if you brought some to book club this month 😉
Haha I’ll put it in bottles to drink on the train…
I was hooppppiinnngggg you’d grab some fro yo to celebrate!! That’s totally what I did after the Half Ironman 🙂
What a fun day of eats–and once again, SOOO proud of you!!!!
I can’t imagine getting any other treat! And thank you, Annette!
Congrats!! And all of your celebratory foods were a definite must 🙂 Can you guess my favorite picture? I love Molly! 🙂
Haha she hasn’t been on the blog much over the past couple weeks, I’ll have to get some more pictures!
that froyo looks so good! now i’m craving pumpkin spice froyo big time- might just have to make a trip out into Westwood to get some this afternoon! 🙂
also i’m not sure if i got the chance to comment on your post about the marathon, but CONGRATS! it was so fun to follow along with your training and i’m so glad to hear that it went well!!!! 🙂
Thanks, Julianna! And definitely go get some pumpkin froyo!
I have to say I’m loving the sound of that breakfast bowl! Well done again on your amazing achievement!
It was delicious! I might have to re-make it!
I wasn’t necessarily waiting for you to say you went out for froyo, but I was thinking to myself as I was reading, “If I ran a marathon I’d go out and gorge on froyo.” 🙂 Great minds think alike!
My wedding is like training for forever (17 months of planning) for one day. At the beginning of it all I was pumped about every little thing, and now, with 6 months to go, I’m like, “Can we just do this thing?!?”
They don’t seem to make non-dairy seasonal ice cream. I saw TJ’s pumpkin ice cream yesterday and frowned since I knew I couldn’t have it. I do plan on making pumpkin bread/muffins though.
Haha that’s how I felt about 3 weeks out from the marathon – I just wanted to run it! Hopefully someone will make a non-dairy pumpkin ice cream! I know TJs made coconut milk ones, maybe they’ll do pumpkin! We’ll hope…
i had never tried those shot blocks before and snagged some around mile 23 also…i really liked them!
They were handing them out on one of my training runs and I liked them, they’re softer than the other brands.
The way you’re feeling makes me think of how I felt after my wedding. We planned for 8 months for an event that lasted one day, and then it was over! It was definitely sad when we had to say goodbye to it!
Yea I never thought about it, but it’s just like any other big day, you’re sad when it’s all over!
I had pumpkin spice fro yo this week too! I threw some Coffee Crisp and toffee bits on top and died a little bit inside. Delicious!
I am glad you did a WIAW marathon post.. I was hoping that you would! Great job for fueling throughout the race, I used to never do that when I was in the depths of my disorder because I wanted to “save” calories and burn them rather than replenish myself… UGH.
Red snapper is a great choice out and YUM on those sides, creamed spinach is pretty fantastic. Oh and I most certainly am nodding my head to that froyo, so many delish flavors going on in thurrr 😉
Haha the froyo was so amazing! And I did the same thing with fueling back in the day, as did another girl I was talking to! Apparently it’s a bad habit