Saturday, January 21, 2012

Product Review and My son Mini Urban jaming

We have some stuff falling from the sky here in Southern California.   It is wet.  It makes headline news every time it comes for a visit and makes people loose their brain especially when they drive.  Yep, it is RAINING.   Not a storm, just rain.  People go nuts here when it rains.  I would love to see them in a real Quebec Snow Storm!  Well no I take it back, I don't want to witness that,  it would be a disaster. 
All right so rain...It kind of is messing up my plans for the weekend.   I wanted to do my long run this morning but 10 miles in the rain...yikes...I am a wuss, yes I am.  I prefer the long run to be DRY.   So I decided to wait and see if the rain would stop, well it is 10 am and it is still raining.  Today it is the opening game for Will basketball season at 11 am.  Of course I am going to that,  training run don't come before my kids games.  Tomorrow we are going to Santa Monica to see OVO, Le Cirque du Soleil!  I cannot wait for that.  Did you know that Le Cirque du Soleil is from Quebec?  We have to leave the house at 11:00 am for that.  Of course tomorrow the forecast is showing nothing falling from the sky here.


So I don't know what to do about my long run.  Go in the rain this afternoon and maybe get sick....not the greatest plan...go tomorrow am before leaving for Santa Monica and be tired for the show...Go Monday?

I am between 2 Half Marathons so not really following Hal Higdon's plan like I usually do.  I have ran 10+ miles for my long runs every week for the last 9 weeks.  I feel good about that.  I have 2 long runs between last week's Half and Surf City.   I don't want to get injured or sick. Surf City is important to me, it is the last of 3 races for the Beach Challenge for me.  I will not go over 10 miles between now and Surf City.  My foot has not been hurting this week and I want it to stay that way.   How do you deal with half marathons that are 3 weeks apart, do you give yourself a week to recover and lower the mileage for the long runs or do you keep it up?

A couple weeks ago I was asked if I would be interested in trying the PureFit nutrition bars.  I looked them up first to make sure I could actually eat them.  (For the newer readers, I am on a very strict diet because of GI issues I have, more on that and my weight loss here and here).  So it looked like I could give those bars a try.  They sent me one bar of each flavor they have: Almond Crunch, Berry Almond Crunch, Granola Crunch, Peanut Butter Crunch and Chocolate Brownie.


What is special about these bars?
  • NO Hydrogenated Oils
  • NO Animal Products - Vegan
  • NO Cholesterol or Trans Fatty Acids
  • NO Wheat or Gluten
  • NO Artificial Sweeteners
  • NO Hidden Carbohydrates
  • NO Sugar Alcohol
They are all 220 calories except the Chocolate Brownie that has 210 calories.
They all have 6-7 grams of fat and 24-26 g of Carbs and 18g of protein.

 This is what they look like

I tasted all the flavors except the Peanut Butter one because well I don't like peanut butter but I had my husband/assistant taste that one and compare it with Choc Brownie.

 So for me the most important is that I can eat the food without having GI problems like stomach ache or acid reflux.  I did not have any problems with those bars BUT I can only eat maybe 1/4 of it per seating because of the texture of it.   They are thicker then the bars I usually eat.  I needed to drink a lot of water with them also to make them "go down easy".   My favorites are the Berry Almond Crunch and the Almond Crunch, both very tasty, the Almond Crunch tastes just like Marzipan.  I did not care for the Granola Crunch, thought it was too bland.  The Chocolate Brownie tastes like dessert, too sweet for me and also that one is a no for me because chocolate is not good for me but if you like chocolate that one is for you!  Bill tasted the Peanut Butter Crunch and the Chocolate Brownie and he preferred the Peanut Butter Crunch.  He said it tasted good but that he needed to drink a lot of water with it.  So my conclusion is that those are best for after a run  for me.  I could not use these as fuel during a long run or a half marathon.  I kept the left overs in a ziploc bag and they were perfect the next day.

Now an update on the "Star of the week" situation! See previous post here if you have not clue what I am talking about!!

I am happy to report that Mini Urban was good to go on Friday and this time I was even allowed to come for his "Paper Jam" presentation and I got video of it!!! Here he is: jam and giggles!!
This is so fun for the kids, they get to share their favorite things and have the spotlight for a week. 
Ben 10 Book

Will got to come and say something nice about his brother
Jonathan with his buddies
*** I ended up braving the rain and the wind and went for 4 miles!
I think 8 tomorrow before heading to Santa Monica.


 

7 comments:

Kate Geisen said...

Jacob went through a stage where he loooooved Ben10. I'm thinking you are a running machine and could afford to miss one 10-miler...but I'm a gigantic slacker who hasn't run 10 mi since November!

Annet and Kirk said...

cute video and neat guitar!

XLMIC said...

So helpful to have that info about the bars. Going down easy is pretty critical for me.

That video is awesome!

Kathy said...

Ahh rain in California - must be freaking people out!! I love a run in the rain - but a long? Sounds like some serious soggy work!!
Have fun at OVO!!

Unknown said...

Ah... how cute! AND... we got to hear your voice! YAY! :)

Hope the rain goes away... although I'd take that over the ice we're having there!

Christina @ The Athletarian said...

I was wondering about those PureFit bars! Great review!! Awesome pictures of the kids too!

Man, I would love to live in California! No rain?!?! Sign me up!

Jenn said...

Ha ha! Love the video. We do get to hear your voice briefly-fun! You sound like Celine Dion. Maybe you should make us a video singing a Celine song!! Hint

I've never tried PureFit but I'm not a huge "bar" fan. Great review though!

OH-and I NEVER miss my kids games if I'm available (sometimes I'm in different cities with individual kids) but the kid I'm with ALWAYS has mom at the game. Running or training will always have to be secondary to this aspect of my life! You're a great mom Caroline! As always, love reading about your family AND your running:)