What have I gotten myself into? It’s 105 degrees and it’s time to start 18 weeks of marathon training!

I signed up for the Tucson Marathon with my running group, RunEatTweetAZ.  It takes place on December 6 in Tucson, AZ and it will be my 11th full marathon!

I found myself in a similar predicament last summer when I signed up for the Detroit Marathon. It was in late October, so I started in mid June. At first,  I really struggled getting up and out the door to get my long runs in. If you don’t start by 6am in phoenix in the summer, you are toast!  I ended up joining 2 running groups – one to help me with my weekday runs and one to help me with my long run.  It worked!  I had some accountability to make sure I got out there early. I won’t say it was fun.

Here are some pics from training last summer...

I developed a few bad habits along the way.  I really pampered myself for making the sacrifice to be out in heat. I started taking a bunch of walking breaks. Pretty much every mile I would stop and drink water and Gatorade. For some reason I can’t run and drink successfully at the same time.  This translated into me needing to take walk breaks during the second half of the marathon. You can read about my Detroit experience here. It certainly wasn’t due to heat (it was about 30 degrees), but I realized that how you train is how you’ll race.  Hoping to push myself harder this time around.

Once again, I’ll be using the Hal Higdon Intermediate plan.  My goal is to beat my best time, which is 4:24.  I purposely chose a downhill race to improve my chances.  And I have lots of friends from RunEatTweetAZ joining me, so that’s got to help too, right? 

If you’re looking for a downhill race later this year, you might want to consider joining us!

Use RET10 to save 10%! #RunEatTweetAZ

We’re all familiar with Clif Bars, but did you know that Clif has a new “Athlete Series” of products including the Organic Energy Food line?

I was curious to see if having something that seems more substantial than a gel during a workout would have any  impact on performance, so I agreed to give them a try as a CRO of RunEatTweetAZ.

I received 2 samples of each flavor. Right now there are 4 flavors, 2 sweet and 2 savory:

• Banana Beet Ginger

• Banana Mango Coconut
  

• Sweet potato sea salt
  

• Pizza Marghereta
  

They are all around 100 calories.  Very, very simple all-natural ingredient list.  Pretty much what’s in name of the product are the only ingredients.
I was skeptical of the Banana Beet Ginger. I’ve had energy drinks with beet, and found that flavor to be completely overpowering.  I was pleasantly surprised that the banana took on the predominant flavor, the beet was more in the background, and the ginger provided this mild spiciness.  I tried it at the end of a run

Next I tried Banana Mango Coconut. This was heaven. I took it in the middle of a 4 mile run when it was 85-90 degrees outside.  It seriously  tasted so good and there was even the texture from the coconut.  Immediately my wheels were turning on how this would be an amazing smoothie.  I did not notice any extra energy after consuming this, but boy was it good! It had 240 mg of potassium, which is another great thing for running out in the heat.

Later that same day, I made a smoothie with banana beet ginger, almond milk, vanilla protein powder a banana and ice.  Delicious.  The vanilla mellowed everything out but that gorgeous beet color remained. Really refreshing.

I was also quite curious about the savory flavors.  I tried the Pizza Margherita flavor and honestly can say I would not buy that flavor.  It seems dense and just not something I’d want during a run.

I do plan on picking up more of the sweet ones. Really good for some variety, and all-natural ingredients you can feel good about.

Want to score some for yourself? Head on over to RunEatTweetAZ facebook page for a Clif Energy Food giveaway!

Connect with Clif:
Facebook: Facebook.com/Clifbar
Twitter: @clifbar
Instagram: @clifbarcompany

"Disclaimer: I received a pair of Plantronics Back Beat Fit Wireless Headphones 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!"

I was anxiously awaiting these Plantronics Back Beat Fit wireless headphones and they arrived while I was on vacation. I could not wait to try them out! They made Runners World Top10 list of headphones for runners! I have been using regular headphones for long runs and races for awhile now, with mixed reviews.  They either fall out once I get going, or with my arm swing I get caught up on the wires. Ugh.

Setup

I am not a very gadget-savvy person, so I was very happy with how easy they were to connect to bluetooth and get started. I use I Heart Radio and it connected right away.

First trial run - outside

I got out for a 6 mile run and was so happy that they stayed in (didn’t budge a bit), and had fantastic sound!  So crisp and clear. And I could still hear all the ambient noise of a car approaching, etc.  The only hiccup was .25 miles in it lost the signal. I got it back right away.  Doesn't it look cute with my new Buff USA headband?

Second trial run - inside

Since I was out of town on business in hot,humid St. Louis, I chose the treadmill instead and grabbed my headphones for the run.  Again, big plus here not being tethered to my phone.  Love that!

The settings take some getting used to – they are really tiny and I found it easier to just adjust the sound or playlist from my phone, since I like to hand carry mine (weird, I know).  It did come with its own armband, but I prefer to hang onto mine.

It was not necessary to download the Plantronics Back Beat Fit app in order to use this.  The headphones are so light, you barely know they are there!  You can read more about all their features and where to buy them here

Want to win a pair for yourself? Join #bibchat this Tuesday July 21 at 8PM CST. BibRave will be giving away 3 pairs during the chat!

"Disclaimer: I received a pair of Mizuno Wave Enigma 5 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!"

When the package arrived, I was very anxious to try out these hot-off-the-press shoes from Mizuno Running that not not yet been released to the public. I could not wait to get them out for a test drive. The Enigma5 is their newest model. It's a neutral shoe with tons of cushion.

Day 1:    2 mile run

I took the shoes out on a different course than I normally take, all street.  The shoes are very cushiony, which I love, but they also seem tight, and I do not have wide feet.

Day 2:     3 mile run

On the second day, I went for a 3 miler out in my neighborhood and had one of my fastest times I’ve had in awhile.  Although they are a little loud striking the ground, you get used to it after a while.  I ended up with negative splits, which made me jump for joy!

Day 3:     5.25 mile run

This run started out on the road for a few miles with my running group, but I broke off and did several miles of dirt trail.  Everything felt great!

Day 4:      4 mile run

Today was another street day, everything felt just as soft and stable as day 1. I definitely recommend this shoe for it’s cushion factor, which is hard to find.  However, I recommend going up an extra size or getting a wide width to compensate for it’s narrowness which causes tightness. On a side note, I discovered that I think they make my feet look small, which is always a plus!