Review: Power Ice

Yesterday after work I headed out with the Athens Running Company for one of their (back-to-) regular Thursday evening group runs. They did these for a while, then stopped, but now they're back! I've been struggling with motivation towards the end of this Run Streak, so I figured a group run was a great opportunity to ensure I went more than a mile on a hot, hot evening, and to avoid the treadmill at the same time. Success.

However, running at 6:30 in the afternoon also has its challenges - namely, that little thing called summer. You know, 90+ degrees and 90+% humidity. Gross. Count me out, mkay?

Maybe I should have stuck with the treadmill. Lucky for me, I got some frozen treats to make this heat-ridden time of year a little more bearable. We all know I'll run for anything frozen - popsicles, ice cream, ice-pops, daiquiris... you name it, I'm game.

Yes, that includes running to Baskin Robbins.

At any rate, my super awesome new friends at Power Ice sent me some samples to try a few weeks ago - I was super excited to finally try them because they've been taunting me in my freezer. I got to try two sweet flavors - Lime Kicker and Orange Blast. I've never been a fan of anything artificially orange, so I'll say that first as a disclaimer.

But these things were tasty! They recommend eating one 15-20 minutes before your activity and as soon after as possible to aid in cool down. I ate one on the way to meeting up for the run, and one as soon as I got home... 

So why is frozen so good for you? Does this mean I get to go eat ice cream before and after I run? Well I can't afford such things but I would love to inhale a BR double-scoop cone every day. Since I can't, I'll stick with these for now. 

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And best yet, these guys have only 30 calories a pop, aren't laced with caffeine and are gluten-free and kosher. Sounds like a good deal to me. 

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And now... lucky for you, they've let me decide to do what I want with my awesome stash of Power Ice. While I'd love to hoard them for myself, I decided to split each pack and send you your own 6-pack (three of each flavor) to try for yourself! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Giveaway is open through midnight on Wednesday, July 3. One winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. Opinions are my own, but I hope you like these as much as I did!

Even if you don't win, PowerIce is offering all of you a discount code for 10% any order through July 19th. Feel free to share however you see fit! Discount code is Sporty10 and you can order at Power Ice! 
 

 

Weekend Wrap Up

First and foremost... 

So many thank yous to our service men and women, who probably don't hear thank you enough and deserve to have more than a day of our gratitude. To those who have served, to those who do currently, and to those who will: thank you!

I love weekends. Long weekends, to boot. This weekend was no different: Saturday morning, I headed out for our weekly group runs with the Athens Road Runners. I'm loving this group more and more - new connections, new folks, and an extra little motivation. For the first time in awhile, I ran the long route (there's usually a group that splits off and does a shorter route) and had a blast with Nina - we even yard saled along the way! Stupendous.

Post-run at Jittery Joe's.

After that, I made my way to Publix for some supplies for Saturday night's OMG SUMMER celebrations - our friend Amanda was celebrating summer (weren't we all?) being that she just survived finished her first year of teaching high school math.

Did anyone call for cupcakes? Highly recommended after running 6 miles.

Molly and I made our way to Cumming for a little summer celebration, complete with grilling, beverages, and these shenanigans:

Have you ever played before? I sure hadn't and I am hooked! So much fun.

Sunday consisted of eventually rolling out of bed (and by 'eventually' I mean, really, we were up by 9) to get packed and ready to go TUBING! My favorite part about summer. Sadly, all the photos are still on the (awesome) waterproof digital camera that Amanda's got, so for now, you get our tubing preparations:

I think we're prepared, don't you?

Sadly, still sunburned. Womp.

And today it's been chillin', cleaning house (thrilling) and generally enjoying having an extra day to myself. Nothing better than a three-day weekend.

To all of you that raced this weekend, congrats on some seriously awesome accomplishments! Especially to the kick-ass Sandy who just knocked off 16 minutes from here marathon time and achieved her dream sub-4! She kicks serious tail. I'm bummed I didn't at least go do a 5K this weekend or something, but also really grateful! Enjoyed some much-needed downtime.

What did you do all weekend? Did you race? And have you ever played Cards Against Humanity? 

Runner's World Run Streak

If you recall, last summer I participated in Runner's World Summer Run Streak (I reactivated last year's page so you can check it out again!) - a challenge that has you running at least one mile a day, every day, from Memorial Day to Independence Day. That's 39 days to get in at least a mile! Totally do-able, totally awesome and super fun.

Last year, my ventures in this challenge had me running a 5K or two, running on a cruise ship, and running in the world's largest 10K on the Fourth of July through Atlanta. It was pretty spectacular. In 39 days, I ran 80.88 miles, something that at that point I was really proud of. I wanted to use the challenge as a way to ensure I'd stay active and accountable over the summer so when I jumped into a training plan in August, I knew I'd be ready. I'm also apparently an advocate for a little self-torture, being that summer in the South is no freaking joke.

Running on a cruise ship is not as fun as you would think.

This year, I'm back it. #RWRunStreak, here I come. No specifics in sight, as I plan to still run naked for most of it, but I have one goal in mind: surpass last year's mileage. 80 miles in 39 days? Done. I know a mile route to and from my apartment front door, so this is pretty easy peasy even running sans-Garmin. I think it'll be fun to participate in a challenge like this, where it's solely about seeing what you can put out each day, whether a mile or more, and that in itself is a feat, where it doesn't matter if your mile is a 15-minute mile or a 7-minute mile. Last year, I was able to improve my mile time and went from an 8:26  mile in week 3 to an 8:09 mile in week 5;  now in a mile test I'm busting out 7:30s. How much changes in a year! I'm excited to see where this takes me.

I have no races lined up as of yet for June, even no 5Ks (the horror!) so this truly may be 39 days of just... running. What a concept, Megan.

Peachtree Road Race 2012.

Are you participating in the challenge? Do you have a goal in mind?

You can get some really awesome badges (like the one on top here) and even a Facebook cover photo from Pavement Runner. Join the streaking!

Happy Friday and Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends! I'm off to sleep in, get a little running in and most importantly, going tubing on Sunday. Aaaah, sunshine, tans and beer. Happy weekend indeed!