Reebok Spartan Race

Last week, I was approached by Spartan Race Inc. to help promote their 2013-2014 season of races! 

Spartan Race has been voted the #1 obstacle race by Outside Magazine and they are the global leader in obstacle racing since 2005.

Spartan Race is on a mission to get people active, healthy, excited about change, and return to our ancient roots where running through woods, getting dirty, and facing adversity was part of everyday life. Their events are all about challenging today’s perception of normal and getting people out of their comfort zone (like running through fire?).

                             

Spartan Race has a level for everyone, beginning with the entry level Spartan Sprint (3 miles + 10 obstacles), intermediate level Super Spartan (8 miles + 15 obstacles), the advanced Spartan Beast (10 miles + 18 obstacles), and the ‘99.9% need not apply’ extreme level Death Race (48 hour race thru hell). 

Whatever your level, Spartan Race will test your strength, stamina, and sense of humor.

They have races in the US, UK, and Canada! You can find one in your area by going here.

Unfortunately, the Austin-area race has already passed, so I won't be able to participate this year. 

But lucky for you, the lovely people at Spartan Race have offered to give away one free race entry to one of my readers! So if you're up for a challenge and see a race coming your way in the next few weeks/months, leave me a comment and I'll randomly select and announce a winner next week!. 

5/22/2013: Miles run - 346 of 1000. Miles remaining - 654 of 1000

My Third Bulu Box Review

I received my third Bulu Box last week, so I wanted to share what I got! 

Fit 'n Crisp by ProMax: "Make a healthy snack decision and reach for a Fit 'n Crisp by Promax. Only 140 calories, 13g of protein and 0 artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup, Fit 'n Crisp is your perfect quell to the sugar craving storm inside." 

You can get this for $19.95 for a box of 12 bars on Bulubox.com. They come in Cinnamon Crunch and Vanilla Marshmallow. I received the Vanilla Marshmallow and it tasted like a Rice Krispy Treat. Loved it! Nice and light, unlike some of the heavy protein bars out there. 

Plantiva AllerDX: "Boost your immune system's tolerance to the environment around you. By strengthening kidney health and calming over-active liver function, AllerDX calms histamine reactions and improves nasal airflow. Best part, it works in minutes!"

You can get this for $21.95 for a 60 capsule bottle on Bulubox.com. I don't have any allergies (thankfully), so I gave this to my mom who does. It is said to calm histamine reactions within 10 to 20 minutes, improve nasal air flow with respect to seasonal environmental sensitivities and challenges, and moderate the body’s reaction to the external environment.

Fitmixer Amino: "Give your muscles fuel to burn longer and build stronger. By increasing nitric oxide production, the delicious Tri-Flow Amino Blend reduces fatigue and improves your muscle recovery."

You can get this for $35.95 for a canister on Bulubox.com (35 servings).  They come in Fruit Punch and Grape. I received the Fruit Punch flavor and I wasn't the biggest fan of the taste. I'm not a huge Fruit Punch fan of anything, so this is a personal preference. With only 25 calories, 4g of sugar, and 5g of carbs, this can double as an energy drink and post-workout recovery product.

NeoCell Beauty Bursts: "A burst of nutrients with a gush of flavor. Collagen Types 1 and 3, found in NeoCell Beauty Bursts, promote smoother, more radiant ski, hair & nails. Treat yourself to delicious taste and beautiful skin." 

You can get this for $15.95 for a bag of 60 individually wrapped chews on Bulubox.com. They come in Super Fruit Punch and Fresh Mint Chocolate flavors. I received the Super Fruit Punch and I surprisingly loved the flavor! I know, I'm being contradictory saying I don't like fruit punch flavored things with the Amino mix, but these were delicious...reminded me of a Starburst! 2 chews have 40 calories, 0g of fat, 4g of sugar, and 2g of protein...I'll take it! The Fresh Mint Chocolate flavor sounds yummmm as well. 

Artisana Superfood Nut Butter: "Already love the delicious and nutrition taste of cashew butter? Now with 5 different superfood additives, Artisana Superfood Nut Butter is a perfect appetite suppressing snack for your taste buds and your body. Take control of your appetite and feel full longer. They are superior sources of antioxidants and exceptionally high in vitamins, minerals and overall nutritional value. Certified organic and kosher. Made in a peanut-, gluten-, dairy- and soy-free facility. Non-GMO."

You can get this for $31.59 for a box of 20 packets on Bulubox.com. I received the Acai Berry flavor, but they also come in Berry Antioxidant, Goji & Milk Thistle, Blue Algae, and Phyto Plankton. I love love love Cashew Butter and grinding my own butters at the grocery store, so I was excited to try this. I usually have an apple with peanut/cashew butter every day as an afternoon snack, so I tried this today. It was pretty good! I'm stuck in my rut with my normal peanut butter, so it was tough to branch out. But with 1/2 the calories of regular peanut/cashew butter (106 calories in a packet), I'd be willing to try and make the switch to incorporate this into my daily snack. 

Overall, GREAT BULU BOX!

If you don't want to purchase the products separately, you can sign up for their monthly subscription box like I do and get similar sample products delivered right to your door. It's only $10/month - a great deal!

If you use the code BULUGAN879 at checkout, you can get the first month FREE (a savings of $10)! 

5/20/2013: Miles run - 342 of 1000. Miles remaining - 658 of 1000

Let the Insanity Begin...Literally

Yesterday was my first run back at it after the Pittsburgh Half Marathon last Sunday. I was extremely sore afterwards and my knee was hating me. I went on a few walks with Jon last week but decided to take it easy. Plus, he got sick towards the end of the week so we weren't able to go to the gym, and I was just being downright lazy. 

I arrived home from Pittsburgh on Sunday night and welcomed getting back into my lunchtime workout routine. I set out for an easy 3 mile run throughout my neighborhood. I thought it'd be pretty tough since I had taken a week off, but it wasn't bad...just hot! I feel the Texas summer is upon us! I'll get a pretty good tan if I continue to run outside in the middle of the day. 

I saw this poor little fellow out on my run...guess the heat was too much for him too :( I told myself he was just sun-bathing. 

In non-running news, Jon gave me a copy of his Insanity DVDs. Now that I live at home, I can do these workouts in our nice, cool living room - AC and ceiling fan blazing - and not feel bad about jumping up and down like I would if I was still living in a 3rd floor apartment with whiny neighbors below me. 

Jon and I are going to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at the end of this month and my mom just found out that she's going to accompany my dad on a business trip to Hawaii in 2 weeks. We both decided now was as good of a time as any to start up the Insanity workout - time to get bathing suit ready! I know the Insanity program is 60 days, but hopefully we can get some results in 2 weeks. We completed the 25 minute Fitness Test yesterday. We both found that tough, so wish us luck in doing the full 60 minute workouts...starting today! 

5/14/2013: Miles run - 330 of 1000. Miles remaining - 670 of 1000

Pittsburgh Half Marathon Recap

This weekend I completed my second half marathon in Pittsburgh. Jon dropped me off close to the start line around 6:20am for a 7:00am start time. The weather was perfect...55 and sunny! I didn't have a specific goal  in mind for this race, but I knew I wanted to finish under 2 hours again, like I did in DC 6 weeks earlier. I figured, if I've done it before, I can do it again! However, this time I had a knee injury to deal with. No big deal. 

The day before the race, Jon and I went to the Expo to pick up my race packet. I had received an email a few weeks ago about purchasing a memorial Run for Boston race bib, so I was excited to pick up this sweet tank to wear for race day!

Look how close I was to the start line! When I registered, I decided to exaggerate my finish time a bit so I could get assigned a corral closer up to the start line. That's cheating, I know. But I learned my lesson from DC. The further back you are, the more people you have to weave around, and it definitely made a huge impact on my 1st mile time. In DC, I was about 10 corrals back and my first mile was 9+ minutes. For this race, I was in the 2nd corral and my first mile was a 7:24...score! 

This is my "unofficial" finish time from my GPS. I took this screen shot from my phone about 1/2 mile from the finish line. Once again, it said I ran a total of 13.6 miles when I crossed the finish line...so I wasn't too happy about that! I tried really hard to take the sharp turns and do tight corners this time, but I guess it didn't help me out too much. I could really tell a difference between this race and DC. I didn't run any long distances in April, so that had a pretty big impact on my strength and endurance this time around. 

I did set a PR for a 10K! My first 6 miles were done in 48:25 - an average 8:04 min/mile. Pretty pumped about that! But then around mile 7-8 my knee really started to ache, so I slowed it down a bit. I hate to admit it, but I actually had to walk for a minute or two. The hills were killer. We crossed 5 different bridges around Pittsburgh, and each bridge consisted of an intense slope up and back down. You'd think the downhills would be easy and helpful...that was not so much the case for my knee.

Here's my Runner of Steel finisher medal! I placed 4621 of 13977 overall and 1994 of 8548 for the women's category. 

I've decided to take a few months off from signing up for any races until my knee is better. It's fine when I have my brace on and I do anywhere from 3-6 miles, but anything longer than that, it's pretty bad...even with the brace on.  I made sure to ice my knees right when I got home. I am still very sore today and don't think I'll be running much at all this week.

Here's a shot Jon took of me after the race trying to make my way up the stairs. 

He's very helpful :) 

5/7/2013: Miles run - 327 of 1000. Miles remaining - 673 of 1000

Month 4 Recap

Hello Strangers! Sorry I've been so MIA for the past few weeks. Yesterday marked the end of my 4th month in working towards my goal of running 1,000 miles by the end of this year! 

See recap below:

As you've read in previous posts, I had quite a bit of knee pain this month. April was tough for me and I got a little behind in my goal due to that (about 16 miles behind). However, I wanted to make sure and cut back enough and rest so that I could properly heal in order to continue on with my goal. 

You can see a gap of zero runs between April 11 and April 17 - talk about torture! I was going crazy not being able to run for a week. 

I completed 64 miles this month compared to 89 in March, 76 in February and 80 in January. 

Last month my average pace per mile was 9:21 min/mile. In March, I said my goal for April would be a 9:15 min/mile. This month, my average pace per mile came out to 10:48 min/mile. FAIL! I definitely contribute this to the knee pain. There were times were it hurt to run at all, even slowly, so my times were sacrificed. Not the biggest issue in the world, but needless to say, my goal was not met. 

I ended up purchasing a knee brace towards the end of April, and as you can see from the spreadsheet, it helped tremendously in getting back to my normal times. It's amazing what a difference it made. However, I still do not want to push myself too hard or run long distances yet.

Speaking of not running long distances, I have my 2nd Half Marathon coming up this Sunday in Pittsburgh. I'm excited for it, but a little weary of my knee. I haven't run anything over 6.5 miles in the past month, so we'll see how it holds up with 13. I would like to say my goal is to break my 1st half marathon time of 1:57:29 and end up somewhere closer to 1:55:00, but I'm not too focused on that right now...I just want to finish and not have to call Jon and tell him my knee gave out and to come get me! I think I will be fine with my knee brace. I have had little to no pain when using it. 

Thanks again for all of the support and hopefully I'll be able to get back on track in May and catch up without injuring myself again. 

5/1/2013: Miles run - 309 of 1000. Miles remaining - 691 of 1000

My Second Bulu Box Review

I received my second Bulu Box last week, so I wanted to share what I got! 

CocoaVia: "CocoaVia is a delicious flavored daily cocoa extract supplement designed to help support cardiovascular health by helping support healthy circulation and blood flow. Heart, brain, muscle, even exercise endurance, all depend on a healthy circulatory system, which is vital to an active and healthy lifestyle. CocoaVia® supplement delivers a concentrated cocoa extract made from 100% pure cocoa"

You can get this for $19.99 for a box of 15 on Bulubox.com.

XyloBurst Gum: "Sweet and refreshing yet sugar-free, XyloBurst xylitol chewing gum will leave your mouth feeling fresh and clean. Sweetened exclusively with 100% all-natural xylitol and recommended by dentist worldwide, XyloBurst xylitol chewing gum has positive oral health benefits."

You can get this for $15.48 for a box of 12 on Bulubox.com

EBoost Natural Energy: "EBOOST combined green tea, vitamins and super nutrients for lasting energy and health. No chemicals. No artificial flavors. Just the good stuff."

You can get this for $25.50 for a box of 20 on Bulubox.com

Barlean's Omega Swirl: "Omega Swirl is an Omega-3 sensation with the taste and texture of a fruit smoothie! Now everyone can enjoy the benefits of Omega-3 without the oily taste and texture of liquids or having to swallow large capsules. Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids,Omega Swirl flax and fish oil supplements are the freshest, best-tasting and most nutritious Omega-3 products, naturally."

You can get this for $26.35 for a 16 oz. bottle on Bulubox.com

Real Food Barre: "Black Swan Chocolate Berry is a dark and mysterious Barre flavor with delicious complexity...a rich nutty blend with cocoa and cranberries will daringly dance across your taste buds."

You can get this for $27.48 for 12 bars on Bulubox.com

Neo-Chill: "Neo-Chill is an easy-to-use dietary supplement that promotes relaxation without drowsiness – meaning, it helps the body and mind to “chill out” without dulling the senses nor exerting a hazy, enervated feeling.* It contains Suntheanine®, a patented, proprietary L-theanine (an amino acid) also found in green tea."

You can get this for $21.19 for 24 capsules on Bulubox.com

If you don't want to purchase the products separately, you can sign up for their monthly subscription box like I do and get similar sample products delivered right to your door. It's only $10/month - a great deal!

If you use the code BULUGAN879 at checkout, you can get the first month FREE (a savings of $10)! 

4/17/2013: Miles run - 288 of 1000. Miles remaining - 712 of 1000

Week of Rest

I know I've been MIA for about a week. There's a few reasons why...

First off, I thought my knee was better after I tried out my new shoes, but turns out, I was wrong and it was still bothering me. So I've taken a week off from running, hoping to get back to it this afternoon. I figured, if I'm not running, there isn't much I can write about. 

Secondly, Jon was here this past weekend, so I wanted to focus on spending as much time with him as possible during his short trip. We did attend a few of my Aunt Tamie's classes at the gym on Friday and went canoeing on Saturday on Town Lake. I have been extremely sore for the past few days (that's actually an understatement...I really couldn't move). So that was another reason why I took off from running and blogging. Not much to write about when you spend the majority of your time resting.

A family affair - Jon, me, my cousin Breann, Aunt Tamie, and Uncle Kirk - post 3 classes

Thirdly, there is a cougar running around our neighborhood. That's right, a cougar (the animal...not a middle-aged woman). Our neighbor lady saw it her driveway last night. I'm not sure if they come out during the day, but I'm not about to find out! Treadmill for me...plus, it's getting warmer out. 

Finally, Boston. I planned on writing a weekend recap on Monday, but it just didn't feel right. Even yesterday, I couldn't do it. I'm still in disgust and it's hard for me to write about my normal life when chaos and despair are happening in other's. I don't want it to come off as if letting a few days pass makes my feelings any different, but maybe writing about it will help me.

My thoughts and prayers go out to my fellow runners. Jon's sister ran Boston 2 years ago and I follow many bloggers who were in it this year. It breaks my heart knowing that such a heartfelt event could be overshadowed by someone so heartless. 

This has made me a little nervous about running my next race in Pittsburgh on May 5th, but we can't let "them" win. Jon may join me for it so that I feel a bit safer. I'm sure the race organizers will be very prepared and ultra cautious, but I can't help but have that vulnerable feeling. It's going to take a while for me to get over this fear, but I will. 

I'm off to see how the knee holds up with a quick treadmill run. 

4/17/2013: Miles run - 271 of 1000. Miles remaining - 729 of 1000