The Mail Lately - Getting Ready For Zooma

I love getting mail.  Like really love it, I always have.  I don't know why except that it's a trait I picked up from my father.  The man enjoys his daily walk to the mailbox more than the average person.  MFR on the other hand hates mail and doesn't understand why I stop daily (usually with my hands full) to empty out our tiny mailbox in the stairwell.  I am sure if it were up to him, we'd check it once a week and that would only be after a complaint was filed.

Since Amazon Prime became a thing I started this blog and have hooked up with some pretty cool races and companies, the daily mail delivery has gotten even more exciting.  I get a little too enthusiastic for Nuun shipments, race swag, issues of RunnersWorld etc...  Thanks to being a Zooma Napa Valley Half Marathon ambassador, the daily deliveries lately have been off the chain (that's a saying right?). If you like cool companies, races and sponsor swag, you should apply to be a Zooma ambassador for a race in your area.  Here is a sampling of things I've recently received from their awesome sponsors:

CytoSport/Muscle Milk:
Talk about the hookup.  When three full size boxes showed up at my office, I thought there was a mistake or all of my wine clubs decided to ship on the same day.  Instead it was just Muscle Milk showering us with product love.  After a workout, I crave Chocolate Milk like no other. My fridge is now stalked full and it's becoming a post run ritual to immediately grab a muscle milk (and a Cherry Limeade Nuun over ice) and down it while I am stretching.  With 25 grams of protein it's a great replenisher.  I am looking forward to trying the Cytomax flavors and gels as well.

Vanilla, citrus, choc, choc light, energy chomps, replenishers for days

Zooma Shirt & Hat - Also from Muscle Milk

Feetures:
I had heard a lot about Feetures but had never tried them before.  I am a convert.  Although I never really had a sock brand I was loyal too, I do now.  They are so comfy, perfect thickness and they don't rub AT ALL.  Plus the neon color palate is right up my ally.  They also sent us a cute drifit shirt, some chapstick and this adorable handwritten card.

Feetures Socks!

Sporting my shirt and yellow socks at Nov Project last week

Altra:  How many races actually send you a brand new pair of running shoes?  Zooma does.  Altra sent each ambassador a pair of their Intuition 1.5's.  After some weird foot pains and embarrassing pictures with those horrific five fingers, I was over the whole "barefoot" running phenomenon.

But I'd heard some great things about Altra so figured it was worth a try.  It's a zero drop shoe that is said to keep your foot it's natural, healthy position.  Bonus, it doesn't look like a creeper aqua sock/foot condom.  The zero drop advantage is meant to improve your form and get rid of heel striking.  If you're interested in a neutral shoe or are injury prone, Altra has a good approach to building up to the zero drop.  They are flexible, cushioned and come with insoles in order to gradually build up to a neutral stance.  Altra also has a great Run Better series which gives you tricks on how to improve your form.  I don't think they will be replacing my Launch's anytime soon but I plan to rotate them in to help improve my running form.

Ultimate Direction: UD sent us their Handy10 handheld water bottle and the Meow running belt.  I am a purist runner and don't like carrying things or having additional weight strapped to me.  I usually don't even take my phone unless I want music or it's really early morning and I am scared of stranger danger.  I do have an exception for carrying water when I get over 15 miles and the only thing I am willing to take is a handheld. You won't find me running with a fullsize waterbottle or hydration belt.  I've ran 3 long runs with the Handy 10 and it's great.  I usually put my credit card and two gels in the pocket and it's super light.  It's not big enough for an I-Phone so I am not even tempted.  I did make an exception and wore the Meow belt during Big Sur and RNR Half since I needed my phone and additional fuel.  It's comfortable and didn't ride up which is impressive considering my lack of ass-ets to hold it in place.  I am still not a huge fan or running with something around my waist but if you don't mind it, I'd give this one a try.  Both items are part of the Jenny Collection which were designed by women runners for women runners.  It's also more stylish then most the options I've seen.

On top of all that, Athleta has been supporting the Zooma group by hosting VIP shopping trips and group runs all over the bay area.  A huge thank you to Zooma and all the sponsors for spoiling us ambassadors.  I am sure to go through major mail withdrawal after June 28th.  

Rumor has it that Zooma Napa has less than 200 spots available so if you're thinking about it, get signed up! All of these companies will be at the expo/race (where Carla Brinberg will be speaking) so you can even try them out for yourself.  You can still use the code NAMB10 for 10% off.  If you are running, make sure to check out the Zooma facebook page for local training runs around the bay area.

MIA: Life Lately

I've been MIA for a few weeks and instead of making excuses, I'll just say that I've been busy and the blog has not been a priority.  I don't want to word vomit every day missed so here's the gist.

I ran Big Sur Marathon.  It was an incredible experience and so much more then running a "normal" marathon.  It was also really hard.  The last six miles were some of the most difficult and painful miles I've ever ran but it was so worth it.  TriTreats did an awesome recap that I am going to try to duplicate so check it out for the full play by play and pictures.  If you get a chance to run Big Sur, do it!    Remember they sold out in 57 minutes last year, I have a feeling a lottery for registration is in the not too distant future.

Other non-sweaty highlights of the past few weeks:

Watching these guys in the playoffs - every other night!

Kentucky Derby party in Portland

Vegas for MFR's birthday where I treated myself to a little Britney action.

And saw my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephews

More country concerts: Tim McGraw & Kip Moore

18 holes of golf in Half Moon Bay - I golf now because the views look like this.

It's been a fun couple of weeks.  I am looking forward to a few weekends at home before it picks back up in June.  On tap this weekend is running Bay To Breakers with 100,000 other crazies. I haven't done this race since I was in high school.  Looking forward to the all the madness.

Some Quick Things

Besides a short run and yoga class, I've taken the last week and a half off to let myself recover properly post marathon.  I am already anxious to get back running.  Despite my lack of sweat; I do have some random updates to share.

I am participating in the Zooma photo a day challenge via Instagram.  Each day has a different theme and they are giving out a pair of Altra running shoes every Friday. I've missed the past two days due to work travel distractions but I'll be back with a vengeance for today's hydrate theme.  Nuun anyone?

Speaking of Nuun; they are being pretty awesome lately.  New product launch - Nuun Energy.  I bought the sampler pack and will be reporting back soon but considering I love Nuun and caffeine, it's sure to impress.  Also, they are giving away a team entry to (the sold out) Hood To Coast 2014.  It's no secret that I love me some HTC, we're going on year 7.  The downside is it's a pain in the ass to get into and it's expensive, so Nuun has solved that.  Details are here and you have to enter by Monday March, 17th. 

Nuun Energy

I finally got a new pair of running shoes yesterday. Sticking of course with my one true love/worlds best running shoe, the Brooks Launch.  My old pair were about 300 miles past their prime and about 200 days bast their ripeness.  They got me through three Sub- 2 Hour half-marathons, a half marathon PR and a marathon PR.  Launch purple/silver ya done good. It's the end of an era but it's time to move on to the caribbean/silver/coral (aka the only color they currently have in my size).

Welcome Home

While I was purchasing these bad boys, I saw on the Brooks blog that they are requesting race medals which they are going to build a massive runner shaped statue out of at their new building in Seattle.  Details are here on how you can become part of Brooks history.  I've already sent my Mountains To Beach medal in.  And when I say "my" I mean MFR's since he also did that race and I can't part with any of my hard earned medals so I used his "duplicate."  He'll never even notice.

Although I've been laying low on the workouts, I have been following along with the Lorna Jane March Ab Challenge.  It only takes me a few minutes each morning and I can already feel a difference.

Finally February stats:
Running: 84 Miles
Spinning: 29 Miles
Weights: 45 min
Yoga: 1 Hour

Not stellar but it was enough for a marathon PR so I'll take it.

NWM: Week 9 & Current Favorites

Week 9 looked like this:

Mon - Lunch spin class (50 min class - 14 miles)
Tues - Trackmill (1M jog, then 6 x 1000 (5:15) at 10K pace, with 200m (1-min) jog recoveries, then 1M jog), followed by 15 min of weights and streching
Wed - Unplanned Rest Day
Thurs - 10 miles - avg. 9:30 min/mile (first "long" run back)
Fri - Rest Day
Sat - 18 miles - avg 10 min/mile
Sun - Rest Day
Totals: Ran 34 miles, rode 14 and one weight session

It felt good to finally get back to a normal training week after the never ending saga of sickness.  My long run was good until the last 2-3 miles where I hit the wall and walked/jogged my way back up the the hill.  That brought my average way down but I was okay with it.  It just felt good to get the mileage back up.  I was a responsible adult this week and not only stretched but also foam rolled after every run.  I might actually get through this training cycle in one piece.

A few things that I am loving right now:

Salted Caramel Gu:  I can't get enough of this stuff.  It's no secret that I am not good at taking in nutrition while working out.  Gu has always been my go to just because it's the fastest thing I can take down while trying not to upchuck.  I have to take it with water and I can't do any of the fruity/sweet kinds.  Prior to this, Peppermint, Vanilla and Espresso were in my rotation but they have all been blown out of the water by this adorable Yeti.  Not only can I stomach this, you I might even say I like it.  You won't find me snacking on it anytime soon but I do carry 3 with me on every long run.  Why there has not always been salt in Gu is beyond me but it's a game changer.  It's a seasonal offering so stock up while you can.

 

Fitbit Force:  I don't actually own one of these yet but I am coveting MFR's at the moment and it appears someone finally got this fitness tracking device thing right.  I never bought into the Nike Fuelband because I don't like that they have their own points system the accuracy isn't great so I was skeptical when everyone started talking about Fitbit but I am a convert.  It's so simple to use, everything syncs with your phone via bluetooth, it holds it's charge for weeks and I love the dashboard they use.  Not to mention you can compete with your friends which is the best motivation.  It's definitely worked for MFR, he'll get me to go for a walk with him at 9pm just so he hits his 10,000 steps for the day.  The fastening clasp could use some work but otherwise I hope to be purchasing one of these in the very near future.  Also it's a local San Francisco company which makes it that much cooler, the smalls are currently back-ordered on-line so I may just go knock on their door and beg for one.

Strava:  Speaking of cool fitness technology companies based in SF - enter Strava.   I've been using Strava for awhile now for cycling but I've recently had a resurgence of love for this APP. Aside from the treadmill I've started using it while running too.  It's so accurate and I love being able to compare yourself to others who have ran the same route.  My dad is training for a half marathon and asked me to "coach" him from afar.  I downloaded Strava onto his phone, started following him and now I can keep tabs on all his workouts without having to call and ask what he did that day.  Now I just text him, "you've been home for 2 days and I don't see any activity" and "tomorrow step it up to 4 miles."  He'll thank me later.  Also a Strava group was just put together for all the Nuun ambassadors which has been really fun to track. 

Does anyone else have a Fitbit?  Do you love it?