June 10

Last Saturday I was finally able to run! It had been raining here in the Sunshine State and I was forced to take a break.  Saturday I had a 6 miler planned.  My plan was 3 miles easy zone 2 and to fartlek the last 3 miles = negative split!

It was great! The first 3 miles went by slow, but they were good and I had great company and that always helps!!!  The last 3 miles went by super fast!!!! I take energybits before my runs and I could definitely feel them working with me Saturday.  Every time I sprinted, I stayed at a consistent 6:04 min/mile pace effort for a little less than a quarter of a mile. Consistent being the key!!!!! At fartlek #2 I thought to myself, maybe I went a little too quick the first time? But no! I did great! 5 fartleks later I had accomplished something new! I pushed myself to a new limit and I was happy about that.  I had given a friend a sample of the bits and she later said to me that they had worked for her as well.  Whohoo!!! Yay for putting good things in our bodies!!!

Today's run was a nice and easy 3 miler.  At first, my legs felt heavy which was weird cause the only soreness I felt was on my hip flexors....especially the right one. Damn hip flexors! They're a bitch to deal with!  But, we negative split our run again. Whohooo!!! I have always loved negative splits, I think it's the smart way to run. I am just amazed at how easy they are starting to become, even in the heat and humidity of our Sunshine State.

I have 20 days left and then NYC Marathon training begins!!! I can't wait!!!! Running is my constant, regardless of what's going on in my life, running is there. The road is there, just waiting for me to hit it and I am so thankful for that.  Tomorrow we do hill repeats!!!

Coming soon to a blog near you!!!

On April 24 I entered the NYC Marathon lottery. On May 29 I found out I was in! Holy crap! I got in on my first try!

There was something special about Thursday's run.  It was just surreal to think in a few weeks I will be out there training for the NYC Marathon! Haha!

So, get ready! I will share my training, my thoughts, and our inappropriate conversations. Lol! My friends and I have been running together for a while....there's no inhibitions anymore. This is what marathon training does to friendships, they become stronger with time. We deal with each other when we are tired, when we are happy, when we are cranky and hungry and when we are rejoicing in our runner's high!!

You will get to meet the characters in my life. For privacy concerns, I will just called them Crazy Runners 1,2,3,4 etc (CR1, CR2, etc). Our setting is the Sunshine state. Our main idea is to share training tips and workouts and all the crazy stuff in between.

Training starts soon, so stay tuned! This will be a blast!

ENERGYbits....WHAT?? ALGAE?? SpiruWHAT???

I had a friend host a virtual 5k. When I got the medal I found a promo card for ENERGYbits.  The promo card said 100% NATURAL ORGANIC GREEN ALGAE, ENERGIZE YOUR RUN NATURALLY. Hmmm....what the hell??? I love researching stuff, so I began looking into it.  I had been looking for a way to get away from gu's and chomps and all that artificial sugary stuff and this seemed like a good thing to research.

Their website (energybits.com) claims it is best used for:
1) increasing energy
2) increasing endurance
3) increasing mental health vitality
4) high protein snack
5) curbs hunger
6) meal replacement
7) balancing blood sugars
8) lowering blood pressure
9) reducing fatigue

I found them on Twitter, asked for a sample and they were gracious enough to send me one! Yeah! Excited!! A sample!! Whohooo!!! In the meantime, I just kept researching and finding that this might be just what I've been looking for.  As a marathoner, triathlete and run coach I am always very aware of what I put in my body. I had departed from gu's and chomps, but still had the honey stinger waffles during my long runs along with pretzels and mints.US Olympic athletes use this to fuel their workouts? Definitely worth a try!

So, how can this help us endurance athletes? Here's the science behind this:

"Spirulina can help protect athletes from the symptoms of overtraining by supporting the immune system. Spirulina can also help to improve athletic endurance.
Studies have shown that spirulina boosts the metabolism and helps the body burn fat rather than carbohydrates when exercising. Spirulina supplementation also reduces the amount of oxidative stress sustained during athletic training, and helps increase antioxidant activity within the body in the period immediately following a workout or training session. By boosting the metabolism and protecting against oxidative stress, spirulina supplements can increase athletic endurance.
Spirulina boosts endurance by helping the body to metabolize fat. This reduces the body’s dependence on carbs for energy, which helps to keep energy levels higher throughout the duration of the workout and can contribute to increased athletic endurance. Spirulina’s high levels of antioxidants prevent the accumulation of toxic free radicals in your muscles during exercise; accumulation of toxins in the muscles is one of the primary causes of muscle fatigue during exercise and training."
(http://www.3fatchicks.com/how-spirulina-supplementation-affects-endurance/)
  

Then I read that, "spirulina supplementation induced a significant increase in exercise performance, fat oxidation, and GSH concentration and attenuated the exercise-induced increase in lipid peroxidation."
(http://superhumangear.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/spirulina-for-more-endurance/)

Well, at this point I couldn't wait for my sample to get home!!!! Voila!!!!! Here it was!!!! I got my sample, which is approximately 75 bits (2.5 servings, yes one serving is 30 bits). I took my one serving and off I went to swim practice. It was AMAZING! I wasn't gasping for air after 1700 meters in the pool, I felt fine, maybe too fine, completely focused and relaxed. I swallowed 10 bits at a time, it was easy, quick and convenient. Their tins fit everywhere!! YES!!! I can totally take these on my runs!  I have not chewed them yet, but I do know that if you chew them you have to drink some water to wash the green away.

Next day, I ran #poweredbybits. Awesome run! My buddies couldn't keep up, when they were feeling tired I was going strong! 

So, let's see from what they claim in their website I have concluded the following:

1) they DO increase my energy, in a good way. No jittery feelings or crashes cause they only have one ingredient, spirulina...not sugar or caffeine. A+ in my book!
2) I have yet to take them out on a double digit run....will get back to you later there.
3) Regarding mental health vitality...I do feel more alert. I take 30 bits before I go to doctor's appointments with my son or his chemotherapies and I am alert and understand everything they are telling me. 
4) they are 64% protein, that's a fact! no argument there!
5) curbs hunger...yes, they do! I do feel that when I have my 30 bits before my morning runs, I tend to be less hungry during the morning. 
6) meal replacement...I'll never use them as meal replacement because I like food too much. However, we do spend long days in hospitals and they have helped kept me at bay.
7) and 8) balancing blood sugars and reducing blood pressure...well, I haven't gotten tested for that
9) reducing fatigue...yes! for sure! 

I am sharing my experience with my fellow endurance athletes and my 20% discount code (RUNSMART) which you can use at any time, cause these are not cheap. This is a case of you get what you pay for!  They are $115/bag and each bag has 1,000 bits = 33 servings! So, when you do the math it's really not that expensive AND you are putting good stuff in your body, not crap! But, remember you can always use my discount code (RUNSMART) at checkout.

I am running the ING NYC Marathon this year and I can not wait to be powered by bits during my training and marathon day!!!! I will blog about my training and nutrition, so stay tuned!!!!!!!