Good morning!
Well, I was right, I was working until about 10pm last night. But, I have great news– almost everyone has confirmed their donation for Shop 4 A Cause 2! I was actually blown away by how fast everyone made their donation and even emailed to tell me about it. A HUGE thank-you to everyone for making this such a smooth process! The fact that we had over 55 auctions and 52 of them are now paid is really, really amazing. THANK YOU so much!
The heat wave continues and so does the Banana soft Serve Vegan Overnight Oats parade!
Recipe can be found here. Toppings included raw cacao nibs and Nature’s Path Rice Crisp cereal again. So much crunchy goodness!
I did not use a frozen BROWN banana today, but a nice yellow one. It made such a difference in the banana soft serve. It ‘whips’ a lot more and gets much more creamy.
Every last drop.
The Wedding Planner
I don’t know how I forgot about this, but Eric and I have a wedding to go to the night before my half marathon this weekend! We got the invitation long after I had booked my half marathon last year, but I didn’t want to miss a wedding just because of a race, so we agreed to go. However, now I am starting to get a bit nervous about being at a wedding and then having to get up around 4:30am the next morning!
A few things I am worried about:
1. EATING NEW FOOD
Number one rule of racing is not to do anything different before the race. Obviously the food will be out of my control the night before and I am a bit worried that something is going to upset my stomach. I requested a vegan dish, but other than that I have no idea what I will be eating.
2. OPEN BAR
Need I say more? I have told myself absolutely no alcohol at the wedding. Who wants to be hungover the morning of a race? Plus it is dehydrating. I am really hoping I can stick to this pledge because open bars and I go way back. :lol:
3. BEING ON MY FEET ALL DAY/NIGHT; WEARING HEELS
The wedding begins at 2:30pm so it will probably be a day spent on my feet like most weddings are. I am a bit concerned that my legs will not be fresh for the race! I ALWAYS wear heels with a dress, but I think I may bring a pair of flats with me if I want to give my legs a rest.
4. BEING OUT LATE, NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP
I am still debating what time I should leave the wedding at. I’m thinking my cut-off should be by 9:30-10pm? I think the wedding is about a 15-20 minute drive from home, so I need to factor that in too.
5. RACE PREPARATION
My plan is to prepare all of my race stuff (clothing, sneakers, water, hat sunglasses, sunscreen, Garmin, music, etc) tonight or Saturday morning so I don’t have to worry about it Saturday night or Sunday morning. I am also going to do Vegan overnight oats and make that Saturday morning and pop it in the fridge so it is ready come Sunday morning.
Have you ever had to deal with weekend social outings when you have a long workout or a race the next day? Do you skip it or go out and modify your evening? Any tips for me and how I should handle Saturday?
See you this afternoon for 1,000 words…errr….12,000 words. :biggrin: *wink, wink*
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a 13 K 5 Peaks Mountain Race the morning of a friends wedding this summer. I didn’t realise the conflict until too late. I am going to be able to make it to the reception, but I am skipping the ceremony.
Yeah, I would definitely go with flats, I actually prefer them over heels. I haven’t had any events that collide with activity plans, but I’d definitely devote my energy to what I enjoy more. :)
Jenn
The night before my marathon we’re having a inspiration/pasta dinner and pasta is just too heavy for me too close to the race, so I’m planning on eating normally throughout the day, with a biigg lunch, then eating super super lightly at dinner. I do this normally before a big run so hopefully it works out! Maybe you can eat before then only eat a little bit at the wedding?
Angela! Where do I buy those spoons in Canada? I freaking love them and want to buy a set for my house!
Oh wow, those are a mess of problems to encounter the night before the race! Hope you are able to enjoy the wedding and still manage to run!
I have been wondering where you get those cute spoons… please tell.
They are from crate and barrel and also a FL kitchen outlet store that I forget the name of ~Angela :)
The FL kitchen store is probably the Gourmet Chef; if not, the Kitchen Collection.
I actually know an elite runner that usually gets no sleep before a race and always drinks a lot of wine the night before! She says it actually helps her! And she has run the Boston Marathon and is extremely healthy! Funny, huh?!
This Sunday is my first half marathon. I scheduled it months ago. Then I decided to take an EMT class this semester and wouldn’t you know that the national registry practical exam is on Saturday? Just goes to figure! I am also nervous. I am nervous about passing the exam and doing well at my race. I am worried about having the appropriate foods available all day Saturday. The test starts at 8 am and could run until 2 pm. All my classmates are going to order pizza, but I am a vegetarian and I would NEVER eat pizza the day before a race. I am definitely going to be bringing my own food. Then after I finish with the exam, I have a 2 hour drive to get to the expo before it closes to get my race packet. Yikes! What a stressful weekend. The good news is that by the time I get to the starting line, I will be more than ready to go for a nice long run!
There’s no point in increasing your anxiety about the race by worrying about the small stuff like a getting few more hours of sleep…it’ll just cause more stress and take away from the fun experience. Trust me…I’ve been there and realize later on that it wasn’t worth it. Life is short…go to the wedding, enjoy yourself, and have a good time! My recommendations:
-Hydrate a lot with water and an electrolyte drink (coconut water with some salt is a great option) throughout the day. I don’t know how your body processes alcohol…but if you can have a drink and feel fine the following day…then have a drink at the wedding.
-Get a good nights rest tonight…its actually more important then the night before the race believe it or not. Few people sleep well the night before a race so even if you get home late from the wedding and only get a few hours of sleep…its no big deal because you will be running off your endorphonis. As long as you sleep well the night prior to that…you should be fine.
-You don’t need to have a big large carb meal the night before the race…as long as you have something with moderate carbs…you will be fine. You’ll fill all your glycogen stores by having a good carb filled dinner tonight….as well breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Hopefully, there will be some sort of carb in your food and/or some bread around…if not, take a bar or bread with you in the car to nosh on before or after the wedding.
-Taking flats with you is a great idea. If your feet get tired…just change them into them. A lot of pro runners will do a short run the day before the race to get the blood flowing through their legs…think of dancing at the wedding, your short run!
Hope you find the info helpful. :)
I agree with flats, water, sticking to foods you know, leaving early (yes- people will definitely be enjoying the open bar to the point that they’ll think you closed the place down :) ), and laying out your gear the night before.
You’ll do a great job in your race! No need to stress, it’s old hat to you! Good luck!
Yes! I had a shower/party in NYC (2 hours from home) the night before my half marathon. To make matters worse, it was supposed to be like 90 degrees on race day. I drank water like it was my job, stayed clear of anything strange food-wise, and left the party early. I’ll be honest… I was on my feet all day and I even had 2 glasses of wine at the party. But I still managed to have a personal record on race day. Don’t worry… you can balance your half with a little fun wedding time :-)
I went to a wedding the night before my first 10K. I never go to weddings so I didn’t hold back on the wine, food, or cake. Luckily, the race wasn’t until noon, so that gave me some time to recover. The race ended up going suprisingly well, and I finished 3 minutes faster than my goal, even with stopping during the final stretch to vomit a couple of times….so I wouldn’t recommend my strategy, but it can be done on minimal sleep, and copius amounts of cake and alcohol!
haha oh this made me laugh out loud! Sorry about your vomiting…I can only hope that isn’t me!
As long as you stay until after the cake cutting it’s perfectly acceptable to retire for the evening. Anything earlier would look like a dine n’ dash.
I wouldn’t worry about the sleep so much – chances are you would be tossing and turning tomorrow night anyway! I always try to get a good sleep two night’s before the race and if you’re worried about the food, you could always pack a cooler and sneak out of the reception for some ‘fresh air’ hehe
I’ll be at the race as well – supposed to be a hot one, both weatherwise and hopefully the firemen ;)
I would be a bit nervous about attending a wedding (aka huge party) the night before an important race for the same reasons too. But knowing you, you’re very disciplined and I know you’ll keep your body in mind at all times. If I were you, I stick to H20 and load up on the carbs. You don’t have to worry about creamy sauces and such since you’re vegan. Good luck, missy!
Don’t worry about the sleep aspect the night before your race. Runner’s World has confirmed it doesn’t matter how much sleep you get the night before a race, what matters is the week before.
Relax…Don’t worry so much about the race you will do just fine. Run slow and steady. A drink or two won’t hurt just don’t over indulge. Lots of water. Have you ever looked into Chi running? Read a little on it the book is great.
Enjoy the wedding and have a great race..
Hi Angela, I was wondering if you have any tips to help others deal with being a vegetarian/vegan at a wedding? You said you requested a vegan dish, how did you go about doing this? I have my first three weddings that I am attending in the near future and I am unsure how to handle being a vegetarian when I know the meals will all be meat based. I feel really awkward/annoying asking for a special meal. Any tips you have would really, really be appreciated!
Hey Jessica! On the RSVP card there was an option to select vegetarian, so I selected that and wrote ‘vegan if possible’ beside it. Then the groom contacted me and arranged for a vegan dish. You can also call ahead to the venue where you will be eating and ask if a similar request can be made. Often, places will do it on the spot too, if you tell the server at the beginning of the meal, the chef can often whip something up. At one wedding I had a huge stir fry made for me on the spot and it turned out being soooo good.
I wonder if you did want cake (and there is that vegan option for you)… if you could box it up and enjoy it for AFTER the race :)
I did a 15 mile run the day after my highschool homecoming dance. Danced all night, drank lots of water, woke up next day, psyched myself up, and I finished it easy. It’s all mental! Just use good judgement, fuel your weddings “output” with good “input, as in food” the morning hours leading to ur race!
i have a wedding to attend to this june, the day before the very first marathon i’m planning to attend to…if you’ll be able to do it, then i’ll be attending that marathon, too=)
Good game plan! Be sure to drink lots of water at the wedding and of course have fun (:
Good luck!