the marathon is over - now what?

two days ago i did it - 26.2 miles in four hours and five minutes! it's amazing how one event can leave you with such conflicting feelings:  on the one hand, you have no idea why you would ever put your body through such torture, and, on the other hand you can't wait until your next marathon where you can have that euphoric feeling after crossing the finish line all over again. four months of training all comes down to one day and you just have to hope that everything works in your favor - no stomach aches, no injuries, and certainly no walls.

[100 mg of caffeine]

speaking of walls, i was absolutely determined not to hit one. so when i found these clif energy gel shots with 100mg of caffeine, i decided to stock up. during the marathon you need to constantly be hydrating and consuming calories. they suggest eating at least 100 calories in the form of gels, chews, or liquids every 45 minutes, so i decided to stock up on these turbo charged clif shots so that i would be getting calories and caffeine during the race. the more energy boosting agents the better, right? not really. although the gels worked for me during the race, it was after the race that i realized my mistake. an average cup of coffee has 30 mg of caffeine. the gels have 100 mg each. i had three gels during the race. that's 300 mg of caffeine, or, ten cups of coffee. hello caffeine withdrawals! 

[30 mg of caffeine]

the day after the race i was not only sore, but i was nauseated, dehydrated, and my head was pounding so horribly that it felt like it was going to explode. if you're going to use caffeine-spiked gels, maybe stick to just one during the race. no one needs 300 mg of caffeine in one day and your body will absolutely let you know that.

i'm going to take it easy this week (maybe some yoga here and there), but i'm excited to get back to running. next up on the agenda: an international marathon! who's with me?