Some Pretty Awesome News

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon, Running and tagged with Energybits, Grand Canyon, Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, Rim to Rim to Rim, RnR Madrid, Running, Swirlgear March 21, 2014

SO much has been happening this past year and it’s barely March! This week especially has been a busy one for me as we get ready for our trip to Ohio. When we come back, a lot of things are happening starting with prepping for our Europe trip and this

and then when we come back from that, I have to really start preparing for this

Source

and then when I come back from that, I’ll have about 5 weeks before I start training for THIS

Marine Corps Marathon here I come!!!

I MADE IT!!! I know for a lot of people, their dream marathon is Boston and I’d love to do that someday too. But, I know that qualifying for that is a super long shot. For me, my dream marathon is this one, the Marine Corps Marathon. The People’s Race.

My dad was a Marine and even though he and I are not very close, this part of his life is what makes me proud of him.

I entered the lottery thinking I’d have to do it a few years before I’d get in. I didn’t think it would happen the first time! My husband knew. He knew the instant I told him I’d entered. He said, “You’ve signed up for so much this year and because of that, you’re going to get this too.” Jajaja! I seriously have been doing a lot lately. Needless to say, having made it into MCM means my race calendar is done for the year lol!

I have so much to look forward to, I just can’t even believe this year so far 🙂

Weekend Shopping:

swirgear.com

It’s appropriately colored Marine Corps Red 🙂

–What is/was your dream race?

–What are you looking forward to this year?

The ENERGYbits giveaway is underway! Go here to enter and give these bits a shot 🙂

Trying New Things–Energybits Review and Giveaway

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Algae, Energybits, Fuel, Giveaway, Running March 20, 2014

It’s been a busy family week as we all get ready to travel to Ohio to visit family next Wednesday but I’ve been able to squeeze in a couple of workouts so that I could try this popular “fuel” called ENERGYbits.

I’ve been hearing quite a bit about Energybits from my runner friends and figured I needed to check it out. One of the things on my list is to try experimenting with fuel–something I don’t think I did an adequate job of training for my first marathon. So, here are my thoughts on this particular one.

Energybits is unique in that it is an all natural product made from 100% organically grown spirulina algae. If you know me, you’ll know that “all natural” and “organic” are not typically in my food intake vocabulary. Energybits also has zero caffeine or sugar. I know, I know! You’re probably thinking, “Helly, this is against everything you believe in!” Lol! While I love my caffeine, sugar, salt, and everything else bad in food that I eat, I do know that I should be sticking with stuff that won’t cause tummy issues when I run–which this product claims won’t happen.

So, before my Tuesday scheduled run, I took 30 of these bad boys (yes, 30!) 15 minutes before my workout started. I was definitely a bit incredulous reading that I had to take 30 pills, but, that’s what it said to do and as a teacher, I follow all directions.

One thing I did appreciate was that it suggests you swallow the pills and not chew them. Yeah, they’re not particular tasty (but they don’t have an after taste–whew!)

I don’t know if it’s truly a wonder pill or not, but I held an 8:38/mile pace for 6 miles that run. I knew I wanted to push myself because I didn’t want to run scared after my what happened last weekend. I had my SPIbelt with my necessities: Epi Pen, Phone, keys.

My run was a challenge but felt really, really, really good. I had zero stomach issues and while it was tough maintaining that pace (I hadn’t done a run like that in a while), I felt strong and I felt energized. I also didn’t feel hungry. I didn’t want to eat before my run (considering what happened on Friday) but with Energybits containing 64% protein, another one of it’s highlights is that it curbs your hunger.

I had to try Engergybits one more time. Before my Wednesday workout, I swallowed some more pills and was ready.

Typically, Wednesdays are track days but my run club had something different in store for us.

Uphill running pulling a tire…just another day in the life

Our workout was so fun! Because we were doing a lot of high intensity stuff, I really felt the Energybits giving me the extra oomph I needed. I’ve always been a little skeptical on products claiming to give you a quick burst of energy or push, but I did think the bits were doing something. I mean, I felt really good after both workouts. I wasn’t completely exhausted or worn down or starving and I really pushed myself both days.

Overall, I have to say I’m an Energybits fan. I like that it’s natural, I like that it didn’t leave a yucky taste in my mouth, I like that there was no “crash” after, and I like that it’s small and travel friendly.

I know your interest is piqued. If you want to try a sample of Energybits, you’ve got a few ways you can do it.

First, you can enter my giveaway for a FREE sample below and leave a comment on whether you’ve tried Energybits before or what other fuel(s) you’ve tried.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Increase your chances:

1.) Like hellyontherun on Facebook
2.) Like ENERGYbits on Facebook
3.) Follow hellyontherun on Twitter
4.) Follow ENERGYbits on Twitter
5.) Tweet about the giveaway
6.) Follow hellyontherun on Instagram

And cool update! I’m on Pinterest 🙂 You can follow me there too if you’d like to just for fun! (And ENERGYbits) 🙂

Don’t want to wait to see if you win? Enter the word BLOG into the coupon box at checkout at energybits.com for a 10% discount.

The fine print:
Giveaway only ships in the U.S.
Giveaway ends Tuesday 3/25 at 12 a.m.
I was provided a free sample to review but my opinions are always my own.

Shamrock Shuffle 5k Recap and Allergy Update

Posted by hellyontherun in 5k, Race, Running and tagged with 5k, Allergy, Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis, Running, Shamrock Shuffle, St. Patrick's Day March 17, 2014

First, HAPPY St. Patrick’s Day!!

So, I wasn’t sure whether to run my run club’s annual Shamrock Shuffle 5k yesterday. It was noncompetitive, unclipped, and just something fun to get all of us together. I figured, why not? I knew I didn’t want to be scared away from running after what happened on Friday so I felt this was a good way to ease back in. My husband was coming along and that made me feel a lot better about my decision.

It was an absolute perfect weather day. I mean, I was in a tank and shorts. (Sorry east coasters!) I’m not a dress up person when it comes to fun runs–I just can’t deal with unneeded accessories while I run lol. I do however, go all out during school dress up days! So I was just in some Swirlgear attire that had a hint of green.

I had my SPIbelt with my new Epi Pen with me and headed out. I had no idea what pace I was going although I had started my watch. I decided to not look or worry about it and just enjoy the run as best as I could.

The first mile beeped but I kept going. I was running with a run club friend and we were chatting the entire way. It was such a leisurely run that before I knew I it, we were done.

I stopped my watch and took my first look:

32:50
10:36/mile

I was not the least bit phased or concerned. All I wanted was to run and get some of the jitters out and this was the perfect opportunity to do it.

Since my last post describing what happened this past Friday, a lot of running friends have reached out and shared their own running allergy experiences. After doing some of my own research and hearing the stories of these runners (especially my buddy For The Love of Running), I think it’s the closest thing I can explain what happened is what’s called an Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis. This is a good article describing what it it and how it happens. There are different causes, but what I think triggered mine was eating and then running immediately after. I’ve done this before (I know, bad!) so I still think it’s strange but it’s the only thing that makes sense. I did absolutely nothing different during the run, did not wear anything new, did not eat anything different. I’m simply at a loss.

I did not feel a hint of what I felt on Friday during the Shamrock Shuffle 5k.

I’ll be seeing an allergist soon to try and get some answers. In the meantime, I want to continue running and not let what happened throw me off of what I’ve got going on.

–Did you race this weekend?

–How was your running week last week?