Race Fueling

I did my first ever ten mile run the past Saturday.  Around mile six, I could feel my stomach growling!  I was not sure what to eat for breakfast before the run.  I wanted to eat something to fuel the run, but not to much that it would upset my stomach.  I decided on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I decided against my usually morning coffee because I did not want to much in my stomach.  It seems like the PB&J was not enough. I chose PB&J because it had a good mix of carbs, protein and fat.  I had several gel packs in my SPI, but could not take one of them during my run.  I did take one right before, but while running I did not feel up for a gel.  I have been thinking about what to eat during a run that would be portable enough to put into my SPIbelt to fuel my next long run.  So far, I got:

Luna Bar

Banana

Granola bar

Do you have any other ideas?  What do you carry with you to fuel your long runs?  What do you eat before a long race?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

***Congrats to Kim, who won the Shakeology Giveaway!  If you are interested in Shakeology and did not win, please e-mail me with your shipping address (amysmith7@comcast.net) and I can get a sample right out to you!

***Blogorama starts in 2 weeks!  I have a great giveaway lined up for you.  There will be 200 blogs linked, all doing giveaways valued at $75+. 

Electrolyte Recommendations

On my race calendar, I have two longer races planned—a ten miler in three weeks and a 10k at the end of September.  The ten miler is a local race put on by my local hospital.  It is a timed race, but is also small and friendly to beginners. The race is run along a rail trail. Many of my daughters former nurses will be there running, which is what got me interested in this race to begin with.  My September race is a much larger race.  It will be run on the streets of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.  It is a Caribbean themed race—complete with Caribbean music and costumes.  Sounds fun? Check it out!  With these long races coming up, I have been trying out different electrolyte replenishment options.

On my run today, I experimented with GU Brew, an electrolyte replenishment tablet.  Today was a long run day for me.  I did a 10 K (6.2 miles) in just under 80 minutes.  Not a PR, but I was happy with it.  The GU Brew comes in a plastic cylinder and has twelve tablets in it.  The tablets are about the size of a quarter.  I unscrewed the lid off of a bottle of water, cracked the tablet in half, and put each half in the bottle.  The mixture lasted me though my whole run, but I have to confess, I was not a fan of it.

I have tried a few other electrolyte drinks, Gatorade and PowerAde. I am not really fans of these either.  I feel like the taste of both is over powering and not refreshing while to drink while I run.  I chose the GU Brew because they say the taste is light.   I will agree that the taste was light, but still not refreshing to drink while I run.  I guess I am a water only girl. 

That leads me to a question for you—are there any electrolyte drinks you recommend that I have not tried yet?  I have been trying some other non-drink electrolyte options, and will be doing some reviews (and giveaways!) of them soon.   Or am I destined to be a water drinking only runner?

So—for the Luna Bar giveaway!  The winner is runningonwords!  Please e-mail me your name and address so I can forward it to Luna.  Congratulations!   (amysmith7@comcast.net)

More giveaways to come--stay tuned!

I would love to get to know you!  Facebook friend me!

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

Turbo Fire!

I just finished a sixteen week cycle of Turbo Fire. Turbo Fire is hard core and very challenging, but I have really enjoyed it. Chalene is very motivating. It seems like whenever we hit a partially challenging part, Chalene says something that picks me up and keeps me going till the end! I have been a fan of hers for many years now, since I tried my first Turbo Jam DVD.

Over the sixteen weeks, I have done all of the workouts several times. Included in the Turbo Fire system is 10 workouts. The “Fire” workouts are intense cardio classes, ranging from 30 minutes to 55 minutes. The DVD’s also include stretching, toning and sculpting. The genius of the Turbo Fire series is the HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts. These HIIT workouts range from 15 to 25 minutes. Yes, they are short, but affective. Chalene promises that the HIIT sessions burn nine times more fat than a regular aerobic workout. I can believe it! The HIIT workouts are just that…high intensity! After a brief warm-up, the intensity builds quickly. The routine is one minute of high intensity, followed by a minute of low intensity cool down. They are hard work, but doable.

The program comes with an eating plan and a workout schedule. I have not been following the included eating plan, as it is to restrictive for me. I really like the workout schedule. It seems to alternate Fire classes with HIIT classes, with a little stretching and toning mixed in.

I am very happy with my Turbo Fire workouts. The foot work is fun, but not to challenging--even for someone as clumsy as me. It’s like going to a dance party every day in my living room. Chalene keeps it fun and she makes the time fly by. I am not sure if I am going to do another round of Turbo Fire next, or move on to ChaLEAN extreme.  The best thing about Turbo Fire—I have lost about 25 pounds since I started!  You can do it too!  Here is a link to find out more and to order Turbo Fire for yourself.

My Beach Body home page

A dream is a wish your heart makes......

--Amy

Don’t forget to enter the Luna Bar giveaway!  Its ends Saturday!

Blogorama is just one month away!  Stay tuned.

What do you eat?

The other day, a friend I and were discussing losing weight and our training plans.  I was telling her that I have lost about 30 pounds since the beginning of the year.  She told me she had not lost much and then said “Amy, what do you eat?” 

That got me thinking.  Am I eating the right things to lose weight, but also eating enough to have energy to train and recover properly?   I looked over my food journal and discovered some very interesting thing. It seems I eat mostly the same things every day.  I am not sure if this is good or bad, but I am very much a creature of habit.  I like having things planned out.  This is what I repeatedly found in my food journal:

Oatmeal

Brown rice

Fresh veggie

Salad

Chicken

Shrimp

Yogurt

Almonds

Luna Bars

Fresh Fruit

Shakeology

I eat a packet of oatmeal every morning, usually the sugar free kind.  I tend to eat smaller meals throughout the day, so having quick, healthy snacks is very important.  For snacks my go to’s are yogurt, almonds, fresh fruit, Luna Bars, and Shakeology.  Right now, I am really hooked on Chobani Greek yogurt.  I love how thick and creamy it is.  The 100 calorie packs of almonds are also super convenient.  It is very easy to over eat nuts, but the 100 calorie packs prevent that.  We always have fresh fruit at my house, usually apples, bananas and whatever is on sale that week. The fiber is fresh fruit is filling, while the sweetness is satisfying.  Luna Bars are also a great option.  They make you feel like you are cheating, but with about 180 you can’t go wrong.  My new favorite is Shakeology!  I drink it almost every day when I get home from the gym.  It has protein for muscle recovery, plus it has a whole days’ worth of vitamins, so no need to take a multivitamin.  The best part is that is tastes like a Hershey’s chocolate milkshake.

 For lunch and dinner, my go to’s are usually salad with chicken or a stir-fry.  I love to just through a lot of ingredients, whatever I have in my fridge, into a pan and see how it turns out.  I usually start with chicken or shrimp and then choose a sauce.  My favorites are teriyaki or Italian dressing.  I let the chicken or shrimp cook, and then add my fresh veggies.  Some of my favorites are broccoli, carrots, snap peas and squash.   I usually add a bit more sauce with the veggies.  I cook in chicken broth to add a bit of flavor and usually add some garlic.  To finish up, I sometimes I add some brown rice.  Everyone in the family loves my stir-fries and I love that it is healthy for everyone. 

What do you think of my list?  What do you eat?  Do you have any pointer on how to eat better? 

A dream is a wish….

--Amy

Don’t forget to enter my Luna Bar giveaway!

Luna Bar Review and Giveaway

Anyone who knows me knows that I am totally addicted to Luna Bars!  I love them!  They are a perfect pre and post workout snack.  Lauren at Luna Bars found out how much I love them and asked me to try out four of their new flavors and tell you about it.  I tried out:

Luna Chocolate Chunk:  This Luna Bar reminded me of a classic granola bar, and tasted like one too.  It had lots of yummy chocolate chips in it. 

Luna Chocolate Dipped Coconut:  If you like Mounds bars—you will love this one!  It has just the right amount of real coconut and lots of chocolate.

Luna Protein Chocolate:  My new favorite!  It tasted just like a candy bar!  I prefer the texture of the Luna Protein to the regular Luna bars.  The Luna Protein have a more candy bar texture, they are smoother and less chunky than the regular Luna bars.  The texture of most of the regular bars is more like a granola bar.  The Luna Protein Chocolate tastes great, and the extra protein is perfect for recovering from a long workout. 

Luna Protein Mint Chocolate Chip:  This bar was very similar to the Luna Protein Chocolate.  The texture is candy bar like, but with a minty after taste.

What I like about Luna Bars is that they are made for women.  They know that as women, we have different nutritional needs.  That is why they make sure every Luna Bar has calcium, folic acid, vitamin D and Iron.  Luna Bars also contain nine grams of protein and three grams of fiber.  The Luna Protein Bars have even more protein, about 12 grams per bar.  Not bad for around 180 calories each?  And at around a dollar a bar, you can’t beat it! 

The best part of my Luna review is that Lauren at Luna Bars wants one of you to try the new flavors for free!  That’s right; I am doing a Luna Bar giveaway!  To enter the giveaway, you must be a follower of this blog. Here are the ways to enter the giveaway:

1)      Go to the Luna Bar website; check it out and comment below with a fun fact about you found about Luna Bars. 

http://www.lunabar.com/

2)      Like Luna Bars on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/luna

3)      Share this page with your Facebook and/or Twitter friends.  (To do this, click to the right where is says “Share this on Facebook” or “Tweet this”.)

Each blog follower can enter the giveaway up to four times (checking out the website and comment below, like on FB, share this page on FB and Twitter.)  In your comment below, be sure to tell me how many entries you get.  You can enter until 9 PM Eastern time on Saturday August 6th, and then I will choose a winner!  Check for a new blog post that evening to see who the winner is!  Lauren at Luna will be sending the winner a Luna Bar prize pack!  Good Luck everyone! 

A dream is a wish….

--Amy