Color Run - Denver, CO - June 16, 2013

Color Run is the hot thing in 5ks right now. After going to one I can see why. It was super. My friend Tasha and I ran the one in Denver on June 16th this year. The one rule is that you have to wear white shirts so we got these lovely matching numbers with colorful Daleks on them.

 

 During the race you run through 4 "color zones" where people throw and spray colored powder at you. The zones were blue, orange, yellow and pink. There are also people along the course with spray containers full of colored liquid. People come out with varying degrees of colored-ness and we were no exception.

We had an awesome time and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again! After the finish line there was quite a party with music and tons of vendors including Jamba Juice which we quite happily indulged in. The race cost me $45 and included a t-shirt, sweatband, temp tattoos, a packet of colored powder to use at the race and a ton of fun. They also had stands at the race to buy more color and lots of swag including our sweet bandanas, wrist cuffs and sunglasses.

My bib holder now has two friends!

At the after party there was a photo booth we took advantage of to get these super great shots.

There was also people with leaf blowers to blow some of the powder off which was nice for people that had to get in cars afterwards.

Advice to anyone doing one of these.
1. Bring something to sit on in the car afterwards, we had blankets and it worked great.
2. Don't wear anything you don't want to have a slight color tinge to afterwards. Including bra, socks and underwear (the color seeps through everything). Most did come off but not all.
3. The color does come off in the shower but it took quite a bit of elbow grease.
4. Go early! We were an hour early and we still had quite a time finding parking!

If you have a chance I say do it. Totally worth it!

Stridebox June

So sorry this is late in coming. My Stridebox came on Monday June 10th and it was an awesome one.

It included this amazing ball that relaxes your muscles. Works great on feet and hands!

 I LOVE Lock Laces! I LOVE THEM! I already have them on my trail runners and my everyday shoes. I cannot say enough wonderful things about them! These went straight onto another pair and work just as great as all the others! Never having to tie shoes is what I consider a win!

 Skratch exercise hydration mix. Lemon & Lime flavor. Add to 16 oz of water. 80 cal, 0 fat, 240 mg sodium, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g protein.

 PocketFuel. Banana Blueberry flavor. Is almond butter "with a kick". Per container 398 cals, 26g fat, 76mg sodium, 24g carbs, 6g fiber, 10g protein. For those who care that is 10 WW+ points. A little too much for me. And I can't lie that flavor is really not my cup of tea. But I will make sure it gets into the hands of someone who would like it!

 Electro Delytes energy citrus bars were the first to go. I had them that day and they were great. I tend to like the "gummy" type of energy eat-ables anyway and these were quite tasty!

 Blue Steel Sports-Anti Chafe Cream with Tea Tree Oil (2 packets). I have not had a chance to use these yet.

PowerIce Frozen, Refreshing Ice Bar with Electrolytes. Lime Kicker flavor (x2). 30 cal, 0 fat, 25mg sodium, 8g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g protein. Quite tasty and a very nice change of pace. Especially great coming in from a run in the middle of July!

Another super great box that was well worth the $15 price of admission!

Mickelson Trail 1/2 Marathon - Deadwood, SD - June 2, 2013

So my sister and I recently did the Mickelson Trail 1/2 Marathon in Deadwood, South Dakota. It was our first one and we had a great time. We are still training ourselves to run so it was mostly walking - but we finished!

13.1 beautiful miles of the George S Mickelson Trail

 Finally got to wear my Boston shirt.

My friend Rochelle from work ran it also.

Mandi enjoying the local scenery.

Finishers! Not quite sure what is going on with my shorts here though...

  

These are the shirts we were given for racing. Pretty sweet. My sisters in pink.

A close-up of the shirt logo.

 

A while ago I got this really nice Bib/Medal holder from Running on the Wall. It finally has something to show!

Things I learned from this race:
1. It's not that bad. Once we were going I had a great time. It didn't feel like 13.1 miles.

2. I read somewhere recently to buy running shoes that are a half to a full size larger than you normally wear. I totally get that now!  My feet were KILLING me when we finished. They were swollen and my toes were curled in the ends because I didn't have enough room. Buy the bigger shoes!

3. My hips need strengthening. My joints started protesting pretty good around mile 10, they were less than thrilled at the end and punished my severely the next day. My joints and feet hurt a lot and would have ended me when I still had energy. I have since been looking up strengthening exercises and will begin that post haste.

4. I have a long way to go but I've come a very long way from where I started. A year and forty pounds ago I never would have been able to do this. Onward and upward!

Crazy May

Sorry I have not updated for a while. May was a little crazy.

On the plus side I am running Week 12 of the chart which means I have reached the end and now need to work on adding time and distance.  I also finished my first half marathon (follow up post on that soon).

On the downside I had quite the plateau month as far as weight/inch loss is concerned. But it didn't go up so I guess that is a plus.

I will do update posts soon on my half marathon and I should have my June Stridebox soon.

In the meantime my new tank top came from Sunset Designs

Love it!

Favorite Gear #1

I feel quite remiss that it took me so long to mention one of my very favorite things and something I use everyday. My Nike+ Fuel Band.

I've had a Fuel Band for a year now and I wear it every day. It tracks your daily activity and converts it into Fuel Points which it keeps track of for you. It also tracks steps taken and calories burned.

It allows you to keep track through the Nike+ website or using the FuelBand app.

It allows you to set a person goal for points and the app has celebrations for you as you reach your goal everyday, milestones in total points and streaks of days you hit your goal.

Nike Fuel is a system that runs through a lot of their products (see the Nike Training Club App post) and I like to take full advantage. It is very motivating to see an actual number showing how hard you've worked, especially when the scale isn't showing that as much as you'd like.

Nike Fuel Band is available is black, white ice and black ice. It is $150 and is available from the Nike store and Apple.

My Nike love affair continues!

Stridebox - May

My May Stridebox came today!  Stridebox is a monthly subscription service that delivers a sampling of products and accessories geared toward runners.

  

This month's box has some pretty stellar offerings including a lot of things I haven't seen/tried before.

Bonk Breaker Bites - Peanut Butter & Jelly flavor. I haven't seen these before but it seems like a good size to carry with you on a race (1.1 oz). It is gluten and dairy free. 125 cal, 4.5g fat, 85mg sodium, 17g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 4g protein.

UPDATE: 06-06-2013 My sister ate this on one of our race days. She said it was quite tasty.

Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Bar -  Cacao & Acai. This is gluten free AND vegan. Advertises lots of anti-oxidants. And says its great as a recovery bar. 170 cal, 9g fat, 30mg sodium, 23g carbs, 4g fiber, 5g protein.

Clean Ethics Bottle Bright. Is a tablet for cleaning water bottles.  Says to fill the bottle with water, drop the tablet in, wait 15 minutes and rinse.

UPDATE 06-06-2013 This worked AMAZING. Just as advertised and it left my bottle totally clean with no weird cleaner smell. Very happy with this.

Honey Stinger Energy Chews. I am a big fan of a lot of Honey Stinger products (including Energy Chews) but this is a new flavor - Cherry Cola, and I am looking forward to trying them. 160 cal, 0g fat, 80mg sodium, 39g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein.

UPDATE 06-06-2013 These were good. I love the product but the flavor was "eh".

ViFuel Endurance Gel - Peach Cobbler flavor. Haven't seen this brand before but I do like some other gels. This is 32g and it says to take one 15 minutes before exercise and one every 30-45 minutes during followed with water.  100 cal, 1g fat, 10mg sodium, 23g carbs, 0g protein.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans - assorted flavors (lemon lime, orange, fruit punch & berry). I have seen these before but haven't had a chance to try them (another score for Stridebox). These are quick energy with carbs, electrolytes and Vitamins B&C. It says to use the whole package 30 minutes before activity and to consume with water. 28g package, 100 cal, 0g fat, 80mg sodium, 25g carbs, 0g protein.

Pro-Tec Athletics Blister Bands - 1 large & 1 small. An excellent addition to the running bag.

Perfect Fit Protein by Tone it Up - vanilla flavor.  This is also gluten free and vegan. 100% natural. It is a powder that is designed to be blended or mixed into your favorite beverage or recipe. The box even included a card with some recipes on it. 70 cal, 0g fat, 30mg sodium, 3g carbs, 2g fiber, 15g protein.

The Klitch - Footwear Clip. I was SUPER impressed with this and as you can see I could not wait to try it out.

 It is a super great clip system for holding onto your shoes and clipping them to you bag. VERY handy.

This was quite a showing this month and I will update as I get a chance to try out the various products. 

Stridebox is $15 a month and I can fully tell you that it is worth the price and you get more than your moneys worth! Also as a side note - the box this all comes packed in is made from 100% recycled material, just one more thing to love.

Eat-ables #1

Quick update: Started Week 7 of the Running Chart today. Which is run 4 minutes - walk 1 minute. Movin' on up!

So I have been trying a few different energy and nutritional snacks/bars lately. There are a few that I have really liked. One of those is GU Chomps.

GU Chomps are like giant fruit-snacks but they have carbohydrates, amino acids, antioxidants and electrolytes.  Some of the flavors also have caffeine.

Chomps can be eaten before, during or after exercise. A serving size is 4 pieces and each bag has 2 servings. It advertises that each bag with fuel 1 1/2 - 2 hours of activity.  Depending on my run for the day I usually eat 2-4 about 15 minutes before.

 

One serving (4 pieces) is 90 calories, 0 fat, 50mg sodium, 40mg potassium, 23g carbs, 11g sugar, 0g protein, and is 100% of daily Vitamin C & Vitamin E.

My favorite flavors so far at Cranberry Apple and Strawberry. But they also come in Lemon, Blueberry Pomegranate, Orange, Watermelon & Peach Tea.

I have gotten bags from a few different sports stores. These bags came from Scheels and were $1.99 each. You can buy them from the GU Energy website for $35.20 for a box of 16. I've also found some of the flavors on Amazon for a few dollars less.

I feel like I do get a little bit of a boost when I eat these and extra vitamins are always in good order.