Honey Stinger Energy Chew Evaluation

Hit my first long run that I felt the need to start utilizing an energy providing supplement.  Not that I felt I needed it specifically for a seven mile run but more of a train myself to eat at a certain point so as I increase my distance I'm good to go.  

This particular day was on hard course and I wasn't taking any water with me.  It was cold enough to snow and rather windy too.  I didn't remember where the liquid nutrition belt was and I didn't want frozen fingers on my run by carrying something in my hands.  I hydrated well the day before and that morning.  Hoping it was enough. Disclaimer if it was hot out I would have had water with me.  While this might seem unimportant to be discussing water right now... it plays a part in the product review.

I was slightly familiar with the Honey Stinger brand because of the waffles they make.  I ate one before a half marathon last year and had no ill effects so I thought I would branch out and try another product of theirs.

 

On this particular run I tried the pink lemonade flavor.  These organic energy chews boast being gluten free, dairy free, and full of vitamin C.  They also include 39 grams of carbs in a 50 gram package size.  Made out of ingredients such as tapioca, cane juice, honey, grape juice,  pectin and a few more ingredients I'm not taking the time to list.  I'm not consuming anything I cannot pronounce or even not know what it is.  

One little packet contains 160 calories and when I recognize that I blew through 1800 calories on my run alone that really isn't much of anything if you are worried about too many carbs in day. Honestly most distance runners don't worry about carbs in this regard anyhow.  

Anyhow, at mile three I decided to eat the entire pack of chews...minus the two I was saving for a photo op later.  My plan is 3, 6, 9...and only 12 if I'm dying to eat some sort of an energy source for my upcoming half.  I was able to easily chew the product and swallow while maintaining my pace.  I've had some products where I basically have to come to a walk to consume.  Not ideal when running for a new PR.  Despite holding the package in my hand the product didn't melt or get extra gooey during the consumption period.  I loved the taste.  It was very accurately lemonade flavored without being too tart nor too sweet.  The best part is I didn't immediately need a drink of water.  Other products I have tried have left me so parched that I would die until the next water aid station would come up.  Worst feeling ever is being thirsty in a distance race and knowing your water stop is still a mile away.  You run one mile thinking it's five in your head then!  I never once after consuming this product felt that overwhelming need for water that permeates your entire being.  That alone has me willing to continue sampling other flavors.  

I give this a five star out of a five star rating!  Not one single negative thing can I come up with for this product!  Locally I found this at Second Sole in Boardman, a running specialty store.  

Week Three Completed

It is here the end of week three and me staying caught up with blogging.  If I wait until tomorrow...then I just know I'm a lost cause again for three more weeks.

This is the week that started out a little off kilter because my original long run had to be changed to the previous week.  I'm a Girl Scout leader and also very active with Scouting and put together our Service Unit's World Thinking Day program and that left little time for a run on Sunday.

Because the week was off I barely hit my runs although they were within my time goals.  One day was a treadmill run which I abhor more than any other type of running.  And I only hit the gym one day.  I tried out a new piece of equipment "Don" showed me.  Not something I plan on trying out again.  Maybe it would be great for some but my legs are short and this particular piece doesn't change in size.  Weight rooms are not designed with the short female in mind.

I weighed in with Biggest Loser at a half a pound of weight lost.  I must remind you my goal in all of this is not necessarily weight loss but getting all fat converted to muscle where possible.  The weight loss just helps to confirm that I'm doing something right.

Ohio's weather this week was record setting high temps hitting in the mid 70's for February!  I know how this shows true global warming and that makes me cringe but at the same time the part of me that loves being outside lives for these moments.

I got my new pair of shoes in!!!

 I know my Adidas are an older model but honestly I don't care!  I love Adidas and haven't found a shoe that fits my foot better!!!  These are the Supernova Glide 8 for women.  I'm not a big pink person so I am glad that the majority of this shoe is black instead.  Overall looks are not the most important factor...it's fit and performance.

As for fit this sock styled shoe (techfit) is a perfect fit.  I immediately felt at one with this shoe when I put it on my foot and didn't even have to tie it for that zen like feeling!  Yes, I am saying shoes can put you in a zen state!  When you put miles upon miles in a pair of shoes they better fit or you will hate life and probably end up injured on top of that hate.

I've been obsessed with the boost material since the first shoe featuring it came out. The shoes hold up long past their running miles suggest.  They tend to become my coaching shoes and then my in the yard shoes.  I can recognize when the return in material is past the running use phase but I still find they hold up for additional use longer than other shoes I've worn.

I got a pair of shiny silver Sketchers as a gift from my mom and outside of looking super stylish those shoes offered no support to my feet and often left me feeling like barefoot would have been a better option.  So there is something to buying a shoe that is a good fit and of quality and of course designed for the purpose you are using it for.

I am at the point now where mileage is going to start racking up and I'll be needing to study my pre-run foods, my mid-run snacks, and my post run recovery foods.  I've been a peanut butter and jelly person before long runs but they never seem to last the way I need them to.  Plus on early morning wake ups I can't hardly get that down.  I'm not a big meal person first thing in my day.

So I've been trying the eating bananas, sucking down the baby food pouches of apple sauces, and today was peach crisp options.  Fruit is more moisture and seems to sit lighter on my stomach.  I'm thinking about using the apple sauce option instead of energy gels/beans/etc... during my runs this training period.

I always stress to my athletes how they need to eat a healthy protein within 30 minutes of a workout and race day.  Today I didn't quite accomplish that but I did try out an energy drink for recovery.  Again I had a long day so I wanted to not fall asleep after hitting my long run to finish up this week.

I tried a zipfizz in fruit punch flavor that I found at Sam's Club.  You add one tube to a bottle of water and drink up.  There is no added sugar and it only contains 10 calories.  Supposedly there is 833% of your daily value of Vitamin C in this product.  And it boasts that it contains 41,667% of your Vitamin B12.  I'm not sure if your body is even capable of absorbing that much of a vitamin at one time let alone if it is healthy.  According to the ingredients list the caffeine ie "Botanical Antioxidant Blend" comes from "Green tea leaf extract, Green coffee bean extract, Grape seed extract, Grape skin extract, guarana seed extract, and Alpha-Lipoic acid.

I wasn't particularly fond of the zippy (bitter) flavor.  But it was tolerable and I was able to chug the drink down.  Did it do anything for me energy wise?  Not sure.  I didn't feel an instant boost like when I drink my drink of addictive choice, Redbull, but I did feel hydrated and never felt a lag of exhaustion after my run.  Of course I didn't have time to sit down and relax so I may have just been going on pure adrenaline anyhow. Would I recommend it?  Not really but I wouldn't say avoid it either.  My daughter liked the flavor and I guess for a 10 year old it's pretty "cool."  But 10 year olds think farts are cool too so I'm not sure her recommendation counts for all that much.  

So I've finished another week.  I'm feeling pretty good.  And I'm talking to myself here on Blogger.  All in all sounds like another successful go at life!

Week Two Hit My Goals

So week two it is...yeah still a little behind in the writing but at least I'm not eight weeks in and just now writing!

Because of the way training plans are designed to have your long run fall on the same day of the week as your end goal race... week two actually starts out with my long run.  The training plan calls for a four mile run and I hit four miles running the main street in Salem; State Street.  And one road behind it too.  I tend to drop my kids off at their CCD program and then hit the pavement during that time.  It's better on the pocketbook then chilling at Marc's spending money in the closeout aisles which I do far too often anyhow!  It was raining during this run but rain to me is like air.  I'm a Pisces and while I don't totally get into all that horoscope stuff I do feel drawn to water.  Rain during a run is usually a good thing.

I hit up the gym on Monday before the kids got off the bus.  I was a bit sore and couldn't understand why except that the day before I hit better times on my run then expected.

Tuesday is almost impossible for me to run because I have City Council to attend, sometimes planning commission, and during the in season this one being track, I have meets.  So I usually take Tuesday as an off day to any for of exercise because I just don't have time for multiple showers.

This week didn't exactly go as planned because the kids ended up sick with that lovely 105 temp flu that is going around.  Thankfully mine didn't get as sick as some and despite a trip to the doctor for an ear infection in the littlest one we were hit pretty mild.  So Wednesday ended up as an extra rest day.

Which actually probably made Thursday the rough day it was.  Too much rest in between runs makes for heavy legs.  And lack of sleep due to sick kids doesn't help either.  I pushed through and honestly didn't do as bad as I thought but my body might have argued with you.

Friday again was a rest day.  So this makes week two another week where I missed some cross training workouts.  The gym can be my friend...but only if I can get there during open hours when I have a babysitter...

Saturday because I knew the next day was going to be too busy I hit up my long run.  Training plan called for another four miler but I like to get more longer distance runs in then the average plan calls for so I bumped this up to a fiver.  I went to the Greenway Trail which is mostly flat to boost my confidence after a long tiring weekend.

My husband went running as well.  But he managed to get a bad cramp, or a pull/tear, or compartment syndrome... we don't know and doctors including specialists don't know.  That's a year long story in the making and continuation and maybe some day I'll get into it but that some day is not this day.  Long story short his eight miler ended up being four miles walked!  I nailed my time and didn't walk.  I was on cloud nine and well the temps in the low 60s in February didn't hurt either!  But I felt horrible in celebrating because of Josh's injury.

As for Biggest Loser this week I weighed in at 147 lbs.  Which means I finally lost a pound.  And believe it or not that was all it took to put me into second place for the week at work!  Little bit of extra motivation.  With my luck I probably just didn't have a whole pile of crap in me and the next weigh in will reflect no further results.

I did go to Second Sole, tried on a couple of pairs of Adidas shoes and because my size was out of stock... I ordered in a pair.  Can't wait until they come in and I'll of course talk about how exciting that is for my feet!

All in all a decent workout week despite the struggles.  I really want to do things right this time and it's been not the weeks of workouts I intended.  Long road ahead and I can't mess around or I won't be ready for the end event!  Here's hoping the next week is a bit better!

Week One and Counting

So week one (I'm actually a few weeks behind in writing!) of my half marathon training plan for Canton Hall of Fame.  It was a successful week as weeks go in measurement.  I ran twice...I lifted twice...  Not exactly a miracle by any means but I knocked a few workouts out.

Played around using the Fitbit and the New Balance watch.  They don't give me the same distance nor the same pace.  But I still like the Fitbit for tracking my heart rate.  I noticed that since I started back in December in getting back into shape that my resting rate dropped from upper 60s to low 60s.  By fitness that means I'm getting somewhere.

Reading my notes in my old fashioned hand written log and I remember that we actually had a cold day this winter.  Most days have been unseasonably warm, hit some record warm temperature, and had barely enough snow to register it all winter.  But on my Thursday run I found myself in a semi-whiteout and very cold windy weather that produced freezing snow pellets.  It's a bit crazy but crappy weather like that sometimes invigorates me to finish a good run.

I've also been tracking my weight every Friday during Biggest Loser with work.  I started at 148lbs  the first week of January...and well as of this week I'm still at 148.

So other than a pretty boring week in training.  I've got nothing! Track conditioning started, I'm still working in the cafeteria, City Council is fighting about chickens, and the winter bugs are staying away from our family at the moment.  Life is good and my new shoes will hopefully be something I obtain sooner rather then later because my legs and feet hurt after running in the old ones.  Let's see how week two stacks up!

Day One Officially

So today is day one officially of my training for my half marathon.  It's not a New Year's resolution type of thing despite being the start of the new year... well it's day two but yeah day one is face it a day to pig out on leftovers from the night before and of course the traditional New Year's meals.

I digress...  And I use a lot of... so be warned!

I need to start a little further back then today but not so far back as my last blog.  My mom at a work Christmas party won a fitbit charge 2.  She is someone who likes gadgets but not technology gadgets so after explaining somewhat how they work and offering it up to my brother I got to claim it for myself!  Now the technology aspect of this little gadget has me typing in how much water I drink, challenging friends to walking competitions, and tracking steps.  I made my daily goal 10,000 and have only hit it twice.

With that being said... I have been watching this little character on my wrist to see if it really does track steps correctly.  The first day it told me I was creeping up to 70 steps while I was merely standing in place combing my hair, putting it in the traditional pony tail, and brushing my teeth.  I literally took not a single step.  My next tracking challenge was to run four miles.  I put my GPS on and the fitbit and they came within a few steps of each other which was probably user error trying to start two things at the same time.  Today I put the fitbit to the test again and it was a full quarter mile off -too short from the two mile distance I ran.  So after three tests of this piece of technology I'm going to take it with a grain of salt so to speak because it appears to only be correct 33% of the time after three trials.

I do like the ability to tack multiple things and I'm sure as I spend the next five months working on my goal I'll talk more about it.

So as you can see my half marathon is going to be the Pro Football Hall of Fame half.  My husband gave me the official training shirt and the log book and a training plan for my Christmas gift.  Now being who we are we tend to edit those training plans so it's not worth posting that in a picture.  I'm not following the plan to a T and will be making edits at least weekly!

The training log is a tried and true because I can't log online.  I've tried to be modern and every time I try to track something online it gets lost, I get tired of the time it takes to get to the correct spot, and I can't just easily flip through years and years of logbooks to compare easily.  I'll be the logbook keeper when technology no longer has them available in paper format.  That old lady that just won't get with the times that staples some three ring binder paper together, spills some beverages on a corner or two, uses white out here and there... yep that will be me!  Again I digress...

I've never purchased an official in training shirt for an upcoming event.  I tend to be low key.  Josh is scoping out the video for the course, checking out the pictures of the mile markers on the course, memorizing the elevation chart... I on the other hand have asked him do I need to train in town, our Hilloween Half Marathon course, the Greenway Trail, or Mill Creek Park.  I just need to know what type of course the race will take place on so I run accordingly.  I don't like knowing what is ahead of me and maybe that would help but the mind game of right now is hard enough to tackle let alone adding the mind game of knowing what is yet up ahead!

I'm not entirely unfamiliar with this particular course.  A handful of years back a friend and I race-walked the 10k course.  Our husbands ran the half and since she isn't a runner she asked if I wanted to walk it with her.  She could have out walked me any day... I probably slowed her down.  But it was fun to come into the stadium hearing your names called over the speaker system.

Anyhow, the race is paid for.  The hotel is booked.  Apparently the necessary start your training motivational gear is in place.  So all I need now is a pair of shoes.  I'm horrible with shoes.  I run in shoes that are like 300 plus miles over their lifespan.  I do retire them to my coaching shoes but face it, I'm not exactly rolling in the dough so slapping $160-$200 down for a pair of shoes is basically my entire week's pay.  And I'll need two pairs of shoes between now and race day.  So I have to make these work for the month of January.  Don't get me wrong these New Balance are a great pair of shoes...two half marathons and two PRs ago!

This past week I had a cold so I was lazy.  Didn't hit up the gym.  Didn't go out to run.  I was annoyed enough with my cold that having the fitbit on bothered me so I plopped it onto the charger until New Year's Eve at 12:15 in the morning.  I wanted to start the year out holding myself accountable.  It is after all why I'm trying to blog.  So again...here I am day one and I put my time in.

Day two I promise myself to eat healthier.  Right now I'm starving and the leftovers are calling my name.  Give me a break!  I'm a work in progress.  :)

Getting Back in Shape...Again

I consider myself an active person.  I run on a semi-regular basis and race a couple of times a year.  I don't race to be competitive but more to support causes or to have fun with friends.  I'm also a track and cross country coach...so I have to be active to teach as well as to keep up with the team.

However I find that I'm in my mid 30's and my body doesn't respond as well to running as it used to.  Meaning that I am not 20 year old thin anymore.  Heck I'm not even 30 year old thin with a little effort thin.  I'm quickly approaching the 40 year old frumpy mom despite having trained for and "raced" in two half marathons this year and a few 5ks as well.

I spent my summer running but mostly nursing a diagnosis of planter fasciitis.  By nursing I did my physical therapy at home a few days a week and only running once or twice a week.  I delayed the full recovery because I refused to fully stop running...please don't lecture I'm a big girl and know how to behave better.  I also spent some time on my bike until I backed over it after practice one day.  Don't ask.  I might also mention that I LOVE summer because I can swim.  Any time I can get into a pool or lake I do.  And it helps that my daughter is a fish.

And as summer came to an end and I had to start putting on my winter clothing again I discovered that my pants were a little tight around the waist and that a muffin top became an official part of me.  I discovered the lovely bra strap/band lumps are there and proudly displaying themselves through my lumpy sweaters despite my trying to layer things to hide them.

Now my husband claims to still find me intensely sexy and physically desirable.  So I have to take his word for it because frankly... I don't see myself that way at all.  I can only see my imperfections that crept up since May...maybe even sooner.  Probably sooner because one doesn't get this lumpy in just a few months... I just happened to notice it now that my training has come to a stand-still.

So the week before Thanksgiving I decided to get back to my real self.  The self I want to see in the mirror every day like I used to.  I look at this two fold; if I feel better about myself in looks that is a win, and if I physically get back in shape I'm keeping myself healthier longer for my family and that is an immense win for myself not to mention my children.

So my first day of getting back into shape ended up being a Turkey Trot type race.  A few days before the Thanksgiving holiday but still within that theme.  I ran a decent race despite huffing wind.  Ended up first in my age group...don't ask me how because my time was not brag worthy at all.  And left feeling that I can do this!  Oh and for my first run since the diagnosis my foot didn't hurt during the run, later that day, or even the next day!!!

I logged a few more miles here and there as time permitted.  I even started training a co-worker who wants to get back in shape.  So I added some stairs at the local high school stadium and laps to go with them as well.  Didn't hurt like I expected so I guess I'm off to a good start.

Finally got my coaching pay from cross country season in November (it's one lump sum with all those lovely taxes taken out also in one lump sum).  I took enough money from what the government left me as change from paying my taxes and bought myself a gym membership at the place across the street from where I work which also happens to be only 1/2 a mile from my house.  So I now have six months to lift and trim and define.  I promise to be dedicated and loyal to the gym over these winter months.

I also happened to sign up for a half marathon.  Details on that later... no carts before the horse here.  My goal is to beat my last PR because this lifting is going to be excellent cross training and it's going to help me lose some weight so I'm able to cut time just on stronger muscles and lost fat alone.  I'm being optimistic that my age doesn't counteract the improvement I'm setting myself up for.  Anyone that hits the wall in their 30's knows what I'm talking about.  Mine came at 34 and my body just said f*#$ you you're not 21 anymore.  Since then I've been fighting a battle... details found above!

Despite promising myself to be loyal to my gym life has already gotten in the way and I've only been there three times in two weeks.  My goal is three times a week.  I also need a training plan and advice on how to lose weight without cutting my calories to 1200 day and drinking three protein drinks a day because I just don't see how running half marathons works with 1200 calorie diets...  I mean I could be wrong but I'm going to see a nutritionist to find out for sure.

So that's my opening run-down of what is going to officially be happening in my life over the next six months.  At the end of that time... I'll be running my half.  Do the math and see what's available in Ohio during that time span to take a guess at which race... I promise in a month or so to tell you anyhow.  It's not something as exciting as Boston so don't get your panties in a wad trying to figure it out.  Again I'm not brag worthy so it's nothing that amazing!

I plan on being an active blogger to hold myself accountable.  And heck maybe even find a few running buddies along the way.  Hopefully after today I'll have pictures to post too.  But I'm not so good at the selfie stuff so it's going to be pictures of shoes, trees, energy snacks... you know runner stuff but nothing too exciting!  :)  Any maybe, just maybe I'll attain the actual goal of losing this muffin top because I'd much rather eat a muffin then wear one!

      

Food in America

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about the food in our country.  Watched Food Inc. and that really had me go from disliking meat to not being able to stomach it at all.  I was eating chicken and now can hardly get a bite down.  I remember to check labels on all proteins to see what country it came from... in recent news I've seen too much about the seafood products from China.  I won't buy anything from there in any food item.

Recently just read "Grow the Good Life, Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise" by Michele Owens.  Loved it!  Owens talks about her own experiences in garden gives mostly her opinion why you should do it versus buying from a store, and even throws in a few facts here and there to back up her opinions.  A quick and fun read that had me designing my dream garden.  Now I just have to find a yard with a little less shade and a lot more area to do what I want. I do know that next year instead of trying to plant corn and tomatoes in my garden they are going in my front flower bed where the sun actually shines!  The melons grew in the limited light but the tomatoes are just now getting ripe and I started those as seedlings in my front windowsill in the wee hours of April!  The cold chills at night here will finish my tomatoes off while they remain green.  And folks... I'm not a green tomato eater.  Sorry.

I've been growing an organic garden since I put my first one in when I was 21.  Ten years later I still get a decent crop of food without pesticides, herbicides, or artificial fertilizers. I did use some fertilizer in my garden last year because the soil in a home test came back completely neutral and it was a first time dig.  Never had a garden at this house so it was a necessity to amend the soil.  I've continued to kill weeks by pulling and scalding with boiling hot water left over from canning!  I use newspapers and leaves to create mulch and with much success!   Plus as they decompose I am finding a health touch of soil where clay only once existed.  The house was a foreclosure and the couple that owned it was older... they did not get out and garden much at all before losing the place and the weeds had taken over everything!!!  It is a work in progress on a limited budget as I am not working outside the home.  But progress is being made!

We see articles by well thought of people such as Dr. Mehmet Oz (of Oprah fame), published in Time, "The Oz Diet, No more myths..."  It was an interesting read.  And yes, we all really should know this information.  It's about the four food groups that were in the 1940s known as the "basic seven" and how we need to watch our intake of them in a balanced manner which is why we now have "MyPlate" instead of the food pyramid.  Not sure if the plate is more appealing and if it will help me eat healthier vs the pyramid, but the point is...we need to watch how much of what we consume.  So not only do we need to watch what we eat to balance our diets we need to watch what we eat so we don't eat things that will hurt our bodies chemically because they are artificial.

There are countless articles about food dyes, preservatives, etc... and how they affect us, our children, and the environment.  Sorry I don't find it healthy to eat a pudding colored bright blue when it is chocolate flavored and to find that all foods that pass through you for the next 24 hours or so are dyed that same blue.  Something doesn't seem right there!!!  It is not natural!  Which leads me into another article I think everyone should read.  The September 2011 Women's Health had an article titled "Frankenfish, The Scary Way our Food Supply is Being Screwed With." 

We have no clue what genetically modified foods will do to our bodies in the long run.  We do know that since they have been permitted into our food chain allergies have double in a ten year time span.  Now we are looking at the possibility of salmon being put through this process and served on our plates without our being made aware.  We need to know what we are eating.  Things need labels.  DNA is a crazy thing to mess with.  We know that the results while on the outside can be great... can also be bad.  Think two headed sheep!  Is GMO salmon safe to eat.  I don't know yet, no one does.  But I do know that I want to know if my fish is a GMO or not before I purchase it.  Just like when I check the ingredients on a box of processed food.  I want to know what chemicals are in there. 

I may be a far was off from being a scientist but I can make observations and put the information that is available together and come to a conclusion.  The efforts of American corporations to provide as much as possible as cost effectively as possible has become a greed factor at the expense of the health of American citizens.  We cannot continue in this direction or we will as many are foretelling ruin our food supply and cause starvation.  We won't have to wait for natural disasters to do this for us!  Eventually we will make it impossible to grow anything from seed because nothing will have seeds in them, or Monsanto will own them all and you as well if you continue to support all their efforts here and abroad. 

I know, I know.  I'm not quoting things specifically.  I'm basing it upon things I've read that I didn't keep in my possession but passed on, or that I saw online, or on television...  but still it is out there and these are all ideas, issues, companies, etc... that we keep hearing about on a regular basis.  What I'm asking of everyone is to make sure that they are informed consumers.  You don't necessarily have to choose green/organic because it is expensive.   But you can chose the companies you buy from based upon business practices.  The dollar you spend for each meal is your vote.  If big corporations have too much power in Congress as it appears they currently do since the USDA has no rights to deal with GMO foods...use your money to speak up.  Stop buying from companies that are not being ethically, morally, and socially, responsible.  We may not live to the day things go downhill faster then we can go up shit creek, but our children and grandchildren probably will.  Think about the legacy you will leave them.  Do you really want them to starve to death because you could only think of yourself now? 

Sorry if I come across a little harsh to those of you that are already trying to be responsible.  But I'm hoping that the rest of you get that little nudge to move in the correct direction!!! 

If you have a great article, book, video you think I would enjoy please let me know.  I devour all good reads and use them to inform my little world!