nuun

Product Review: NUUN Rest

4 Comments

Disclaimer: I received Nuun Rest to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

NUUNREST_HEADER_IMG

Hydration is key during a workout, long run, race, and in general if you’re going to be active and sweating. There are a few products in the market that can help you hydrate, but none better than Nuun (pronounced “noon”). Now, hydration aside, Nuun is now tackling the second most important aspect of training: Rest!

Continue reading →

Race Recap: Hot Chocolate Run 15k Philadelphia 

1 Comment

RECAP_HCPHILLY15K

There is something exciting about race day, and there’s nothing better than sharing that excitement with friends (and family)!  This year’s Hot Chocolate run was made even more exciting by not only getting to share it with my family, but this was my first race with fellow BibRave Pros!

Continue reading →

Just Announced: BOCO Gear And Nuun Team Ambassador!

Leave a comment

Have you ever associated a brand with a good time, maybe an awesome experience, so when you see that product or brand it brings back an outpouring of amazing memories?! Can you say the same for your sense of smell or taste? Certain things just take you back, right?

This may sound silly of me to admit, but honeysuckle reminds me of my childhood, when I had summers off from school and was just having fun being a kid. When I get a whiff of honeysuckle it floods my brain with awesome memories and gives me an endorphin rush and relieves the stress of being an adult.

Would you believe me when I say these two brands (BOCO Gear and Nuun) offer me the same overwhelming sense of assurance?

BOCO Gear is based out of Boulder, CO and when I think of Colorado I think of the amazing adventures my Brother and I shared driving across the US. It was an epic road trip I’ll remember forever, I even had his Colorado license plate tattooed on my leg!

You might be asking yourself; what does this have to do with running?

Here’s why: during that trip during overnights at hotels, I would lace up and go for a run in a new state, a new town, and a place that was utterly unknown to me. It was euphoric to say the least, catching a runners high in uncharted territory is crazy good.

Fast forward to the Ragnar Relay and I found myself in a similar circumstance. I was running off little sleep in an area unknown to me, but at the same time was catching a buzz off running in a new and exciting place. Call me crazy but it was a flood of emotions I’ll soon never forget.

At the completion of Ragnar I spotted the BOCO logo on an hat that just called out my name. Call me crazy, but that BOCO Gear hat just opened the flood gates on my memory banks and every time I place it on my head, it takes me back. When I’m rocking a BOCO Gear hat, you know I’m living in the moment and soaking in as much experience as my brain will allow. Since Ragnar I’ve purchased 3 more BOCO Gear hats, their fit, quality and feel really appeal to me as a reputable and dependable brand. Among so many things that’s why I’m proud to join the 2019 MVP Team of Ambassadors!

I was first introduced to Nuun right before the Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15k. My Mom said she saw some at the race expo and decided to give it a try. As a World Champion Dragon Boat Crew Member, I take Mom’s word when it comes to hydration. So I remember I popped the tab in my water and letting it fizz away into tasty goodness.

That was my first ever race I had registered for following my epic weight loss of around 60 lbs. and it was my first experience running a 15k. The crowd and the excitement of race day in the City of Brotherly Love was beyond memorable! I recall almost every moment of that race and remember how overwhelmed I felt, and yet oddly empowered seeing the miles go by. You always remember your first race, and I’m so happy that Nuun was a part of such a great time.

Every time I taste Lemon-Lime Nuun it reminds me of the excitement of running and the enjoyment this community brings.

Cheers to a new year and new opportunities!

Hot Chocolate 15k – Race Recap

1 Comment

Before we start, can I tell you how much I love this race? The Hot Chocolate 15k is just an awesome race all around.  The only complaint is finding a parking spot around the city, but hey, par for the course.  This year I hit another PR, beating my previous runtime by around 8 minutes.  I felt strong the entire race, and get this – NO MUSIC.  I decided to ditch the headphones and listen to myself breath, and it was an amazing experience.

Running without music really heightened my other senses and I felt like I was sincerely listening to my body.  It also afforded me a chance to really take in my surroundings and hear what was going on around me.  Life can be pretty crazy, and it’s almost sad to say this, but you never know what’s going to happen at an event like this.  There were over 5,000 participants in the 15K, plus spectators, staff, and volunteers – it was crazy busy!  So being alert and knowing my surroundings was extremely comforting.  Another comforting sight was seeing the sheer amount of awesome volunteers, police, fire, ems, and sanitation crews.  Major kudos to the men and women of the Philadelphia Law Enforcement, First Responder, and Public Works Departments.

The first half of the race takes you from the Philadelphia Museum of Art toward Center City and then loops you back around to cross over the Susquehanna into Fairmount Park.  You run up Martin Luther King Drive and catch the wonderful sights of Boathouse Row.  It’s an amazing sight and such a beautiful landscape.   The Philadephia Hot Chocolate Run is an Out-and-Back Course, so once you run the entire length of the Park, you turn around and come right back.

I didn’t carry much on me during this year’s race, last year I carried Sport Beans and two water bottles with Nuun in them, this year a single Stinger Gel Flask and one Orangic Honey Stinger Waffle was just enough.  Heck, I even forgot to eat the waffle until the very end!  The entire race was enjoyable, it wasn’t until mile 8 that I noticed some discomfort.  I’m not really sure what triggered it, but I decided to check my heart rate at mile 8 and noticed I was at my max threshold (red area for those Garmin users).  Maybe it was a lack of glucose in my bloodstream, but I just felt a little off.  I decided to walk for 1 min, and see if my heart rate would drop back to my Anaerobic zone (Orange) or if I could manage to calm myself my Aerobic zone (Green).  I chugged the rest of my gel flask and nabbed a Nuun water from the last aid station – I checked my watch and saw that I had managed to bring my heart rate into a comfortable zone, so I picked the pace back up.  I finished feeling pretty good with my average pace around 9:30 min/mile.  Could I have gone faster? Maybe, but let’s save that for next year!

Finish Time: 1:29:41