Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Boordy Vineyards 5k Recap

Sunday night was the Charm City Run Boordy Vineyard 5k. One of my friends is a serious wine lover (she is planning on visiting about 20 more before the year is over!) and I was able to convince her to run with me pretty easily.  We got to the race in plenty of time and parked right by the starting line (have I mentioned before how much I love smaller races?).  We stood in line for about 2 minutes to pick up our packets and then just hung out until the start.  (Seriously, I love smaller races.)

Maddux is a fan of purple race shirts, too.

The race started right on time and while it was pretty bright and sunny, I really enjoyed the course.  I was a little nervous about running through the vineyard because the ground was a little uneven, but I liked the out and back layout.  It's always nice to know exactly what you have left.  I was happy to see the water station was strategically placed so that you passed it twice.  I took advantage of it both times!  The run never felt particularly good, but I managed to keep a decent pace.  Unfortunately, the second I passed the 3 mile mark my body decided to retch.  It was a little odd considering I felt ok right before.  I was so embarrassed.  Of course it happened right when I was in the midst of every spectator at the race.  I couldn't keep running because I couldn't physically move without retching more and I couldn't bear the thought of soiling the finish line with puke.  Eventually I managed to start back up again and ended the race in 28:05.  Not gonna lie, I was kind of upset once I realized how my time would have been pretty awesome had I not had my moment.  Even though the end was not my finest moment, I still had a great time and can't wait to run in the race next year!

I can't say enough good things about Charm City Run and how well organized the race was! At the end of the race they had cold water bottles available and the food tables (crackers, bread, grapes, a variety of cheeses--perfect post race snack!) were set up so that runners could form 3 or 4 different lines.  We filled our plates quickly and found a place to sit to enjoy the music before our wine tasting.  Once we were done eating we went to the bar to enjoy our 6 tastings that came with our race entry.  While a lot of the wines available were on the sweeter side, it was still fun getting to hang out with a great friend and try a new place out.



Thanks again to Charm City Run and Boordy Vineyards!  My only hope is that no one captured my moment of glory at the finish line.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

July Kona Kase Review

Disclaimer: I was sent a Kona Kase free of charge in exchange for a review.  I wans't required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own.

I really love getting mail.  Cards, packages, you name it.  I have to say though that surprises are the best kind of mail.  I knew my Kona Kase was coming but I had no idea what would be in it.  It was really fun getting to see what snacks I got to try out.


I was really excited about some of the products and slightly disappointed in some of them.  You get a card in the box of the potential snacks you could have and some of them sounded SO good.  I was a little sad when I saw that I had two samples of Perky Jerky instead of two different products.  I'm not a big fan of jerky in general, and while I have yet to try it, I'm not in any hurry to!



So far I've only eaten two of the products.  I ate the coconut Health Warrior bar before a run.  At first I thought the texture was a little odd, but after a few bites I was hooked.  It settled well and was a perfect quick snack to tide me over until I could eat after my run.  I'll have to keep my eye out for them in stores!  The other day I took the Enjoy Life's Seed & Fruit mix to work.  I really liked it, but I probably won't go out of my way to buy it.  I like things that are really easy to eat and it wasn't as simple since there were so many small pieces.

I have one bar left and two packages of running fuel that I'm saving for my upcoming long runs.  One is a gel (I've only had a gel once, and while I ended up PRing in that race, I really wasn't a fan.  I'm a big texture person.) and another is a package of "chews" that I'm assuming will be similar to my beloved Clif Shot Bloks.

The card in the box has a place so that you can "grade" each of the products.  I thought that was a fun feature and will be a helpful reminder of what you tried.  It can also give you some ideas of other things to try and tells you the website where you can order each product.  Some of them even give you coupon codes.



I enjoyed getting to try out a Kona Kase, but I don't think I'll be a regular subscriber.  I wouldn't call myself a picky eater, but I do have some go to snacks that have worked well for me in the past.  If it ain't broke don't fix it, ya know?



A big thanks to Kona Kase for letting me give it a try!

Disclaimer: I was sent a Kona Kase free of charge in exchange for a review.  I wans't required to give a positive review and all opinions are my own.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Back to Training

So, I'm officially training for a half marathon.  I'm really excited about it because it's one of my absolute favorite races, BUT also really nervous because it is only 50 days away.  I'm on the second week of my training plan right now, and while I've already had to make some adjustments, it's going pretty well.  I've gotta say, having limited time to get my butt in shape is definitely a motivator to get out the door!

I was in Pennsylvania for a little over a week and got in some hilly miles in my parents' neighborhood while I was there.  They were TOUGH, but I was really happy when my last mile on one of my runs clocked in under a 9 minute pace.  I don't see 8s very often on my Garmin and was especially happy that it happened on those hills!

When I left my parents' house my sister came with me!  She helped me get some work done and we saw some of the sights of DC.  We ate lots of good food, went on a great walk with Maddux (minus the part where we encountered a skinny dipper), and may have added a small addition to our family.



Today I tackled some intervals on the 'mill.  I think having some speed work thrown into my training plan for my last half worked really well so I'm going to do my best to fit them in when I can.  I ended up running 4 miles in 35:47 with a ten minute warm up and then 2 hard minutes followed by 3 easy minutes (repeated until the end).  I was a sweaty mess after that one!

In other news, don't forget to sign up for Color Me Rad!  I have mine coming up in just a couple weeks and am getting excited!  I also have a review of the July Kona Kase coming your way soon!  I've only had one of the snacks so far, but think it is going to be awesome now that I'm in training again!  Feel free to use the code GIFTSUMMER for $5 off a kase!

Happy Friday!