Tag: marathon

Fill up the tank

…For the long road ahead.

UPDATE: Since drafting this post, I’ve been selected as a brand ambassador for the product.

Comment below for samples or with questions.

PromoCode: AJRuns

I began running with no accessories and some old sneakers. Little did I know that running involves more accessories and expenses than an entire year of college.

Watches and socks, fancy sports bras and organic moisture wicking tanks. The list goes on. Everyone has their brand preference and  can give you their two cents about which to use.

So here’s my story and stamp of approval on my favorite fueling brand.

I’ll confess, I’m a user. I use Bloks  and GU. I’ve tried all sorts of recovery shakes and powders and never truly believed in it. I never felt the difference between the 5 miles before sucking down a packet of GU and the mile or two after. Nothing pumped me up and gave me the energy it claimed to.

Then one day as I was reading through blogs learning about nerdy runner things like elevation and the spectator presence at the New York Marathon and I saw this product I’d never heard of before ENERGYbits.

I googled it. Made in the USA, all Natural, plant-based, and actually healthy.

After trying this product, I liked it so much that it’s now my fuel of choice!!  I use both Energybits and Recoverybits.

ENERGYbits don’t give me the sudden boost of energy that you’d find from a pre-workout supplement. Instead it leaves me focused on my goal-mileage for the training run.

RECOVERYbits are something that every runner should try. Recovery after running is so important and unfortunately, it is often neglected. These little bits have been able to help my recovery by significantly reducing the soreness after a long run or hill repeats.  It also gives me peace of mind that I’m refilling my tank with the nutrition that my body needs.

Sometimes I like to run naked

…Then I regret it.

Running naked isn’t a bad thing. It’s freeing and liberating.  To me it’s the best stress relief. There’s something about being constrained that absolutely defeats this purpose for me. It lets me test my ability without distractions.

Oh, you thought I meant actually NAKED? HA!

Running naked means running without gadgets.  No Garmin watch telling me when I’m ahead of pace, no Nike App calling out splits, nothing except me and the pavement. Just one foot in front of the other and the sound of the wind whistling past my ears.

…Not a care in the world until I realize I’m 15 miles from home and very lost.

This is when I realized that running naked is just as bad as it sounds.

I started running with my phone.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve pulled up MapQuest walking directions at dusk hoping I wasn’t too far to make it home by dinner.

Now I ‘ve learned to value the expensive high-tech runs.  I have no reservations about strapping on as many devices as I can hold. I’ve even bought a flip belt to hold the things I can’t physically hold, like this chunky Android phone, iPod, and Energybits tin.

In a matter of months I went from running tech-naked to carrying more accessories than a Kardashian.

But every now and then, on the cloudy days with bad GPS reception, I still secretly like to strip down and hit the pavement.  Shhhh….

I AM a Runner

I am many things, but I wasn’t always a runner.

Summers in Louisiana are sweltering. I took my first steps in the 90 degree heat one summer, thanks to my mother.  The 90 degree weather pushed into the early 100s as I learned to drop my arms and lengthen my stride. Although I quit about a month later, Coach Ulysses Frontha’s efforts were not in vain.

In middle school my love for running around and around a track was rekindled when I realized I was decent for a 12-year-old.  I continued running through high school and through college.

After I started my first “big girl” job, I finally had money to spend and began “accidentally” registering for races. Racing once a week soon turned to back-to-back racing.

I soon realized I was hooked. But more importantly, I was officially a runner!