Category: Product Review

Shaking It Up

Disclaimer: I received Generation UCan Protein Powder 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’ve been looking for a good protein powder for about 6 months now. With all of my dietary restrictions I fall back on smoothies for lunch quite often however just fruit and veggies isn’t always filling. Sometimes I’m hangry within an hour and end up binge snacking on chips and fruit snacks which is never good. I’ve been looking for a protein powder to add some healthy bulk to my smoothies. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my posts about my orders from The Feed. I’ve tried numerous samples of various brands from them and also tried numerous samples of the bigger brands that seem to have a cult like following with no luck.

People, there are some bad tasting powders out there! Like running to the sink to spit it out no way I could choke this stuff down bad. And this is coming from someone who has had to drink some truly nasty medicine over the years for my litany of tests for my stomach condition. I thought I could choke down anything as long as I had a straw. Not true.

When the opportunity arose to try Generation UCAN’s protein powder, I figured why not. I had heard great things about both their hydration mix and their SuperStarch drink mix, which I still want to try since I fuel horribly for runs but that’s another story.

Now, one thing about the powder is that it is whey based, so dairy based. If dairy is a problem for you, you may want to keep that in mind. Technically, dairy is one of my 5 million restrictions. 😛 So why would I do that do myself? I can tolerate dairy in moderation which I’ve learned means I can handle it in one meal a day. Whey protein for the win! Whereas I’ve learned soy and nuts are not my friends.

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ucan-info

Ok, but what about the important part, how does it taste and did it keep me full? I received both Vanilla Cream and Chocolate to try. I won’t lie, I was a little scared to try the vanilla- I had a previous experience with another vanilla protein powder that tasted like dirt no matter what I mixed it with. Thankfully, I did not need to be concerned. I blended the Vanilla Cream with some Kefir, spinach, pineapple and peaches. The first couple sips were a stronger vanilla taste than I had expected but it was pretty good. Better yet- no snacking! Next day, the smoothie was even better and still no snacking. Yay! My stomach was also happy.

Now for the chocolate. I like the taste of the chocolate but I haven’t found the right smoothie mix for it yet. I love pineapple in my smoothies but I wasn’t the biggest fan of pineapple and chocolate. Granted the strawberry kefir could have been throwing it off too. I like smoothies because I admit that I don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables on their own but blending them up is a good way for me to stay on track. By itself it is fine but it is going to take some more experimenting to figure a good smoothie mix for me. While the taste combo of pineapple and chocolate may have been a little off, all the pluses of no hangry-ness and no stomach crankiness held. Sweet!

After months of searching, I finally found a powder I want to reorder! Surprisingly though, I think I am reordering the Vanilla Cream- it really grew on me! I hope my NutriBullet is prepared for the workout it’s going to get next year. 😛

I also have a discount if you want to try it-BIBRAVE – 15% off all UCAN products. I know I will be using it. 😉

What do you put in your smoothies?

Any special ingredients?

Breathe It In

Disclaimer: I received Earth’s Care Pain Relieving cream 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 am usually bruised in one place or another. I’m notorious for running into things and forgetting about it until I see the bruise. It’s a running joke in my family that we are notorious for hurting ourselves in new and inventive ways. We’ve all made a doctor’s visit or ER trip where the nurse just looks at us and says “you did what how?”. I also tend to be anti pain medication, my go to is usually an ice pack for every ailment. Migraine? Ice pack. Sinus congestion? Ice pack. Shin splints? Ice pack. But that’s also how I gave myself second degree burns on both my legs. But that’s another story.

So I figured I would give Earth’s Care Pain Relieving Ointment a try. All natural ingredients that I could actually pronounce? Score. When it arrived and it smelled like wonderfully, minty menthol goodness, well that was just a bonus. 😊

Of course, since I’ve had it, I haven’t bruised anything. It’s a new streak! However this stuff was amazing while I was sick. My back was aching so badly from coughing so much. The cream made sleeping a little more comfortable. Plus I like just taking the cap off and smelling it. That’s not weird at all, right? Until I quit coughing, this ointment and I will be very good friends.

I am sure my bruise free streak will end at some point. My shins will likely ache once I end this unplanned running break. Now I have something to help me instead of suffering in silence. Well, I was never really silent, I whine a lot. 😛

What do you do when something hurts?

Are you accident prone?

In the Buff

Disclaimer: I received a Merino Wool Buff® 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 admit I never quite understood how awesome a Buff® was until I had one, now I want more! Can I have all the pretty colors? Also, if you’re like me, the extent of your knowledge of Buff® was what you observed on Survivor over the years. #facepalm

Ok, so a little knowledge from the website- the Original Buff® is a tubular, multi functional piece of head wear. The Merino Wool version I received is a wind-resistant and lightweight layer made with 100% merino wool, it also has natural moisture management and odor control properties. It can be worn so many ways!! Full disclosure- I’ve only mastered 2. 😛

Ok, my thoughts. How have I run through winters without a Buff®? My ears are kicking me! My ears get so cranky in the cold! I’ve never been able to keep them warm enough before and not cut off the circulation to my brain. When I am not using it around my head to cover my ears, I love it around my neck. I don’t think I would have made it across the Golden Gate Bridge without breathing through my Buff® during my last half. I’ve become rather attached to it, it comes with me everywhere. I realized it’s in my purse every day! I’m looking forward to trying it at the gym. I am hoping it solves my dilemma between a headband and a towel that I inevitably always forget. 😛

The only drawback I’ve encountered is that I must be overly sensitive. I think it could be a little softer but I also find that’s something I am adjusting to the more I wear it. From what I’ve read, this opinion seems to be isolated to just me. Definitely not going to stop me from wearing it all winter long. I think it’s going take the place of my trucker and keep my ears covered, nice and warm.

How do you stay warm on the run?

What is cold for you?

Taking Directions

Disclaimer: I received a session with Ekiden Coaching 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’ve said numerous times that I tend to have knee jerk reactions to training plans. I turn into a 5 year old and say ” I don’t wanna”. Or a rebellious teenager- “you can’t make me!’. I’ve posted pictures of my training plans before and they are usually full of color and corrections and look like a 5 year old used them as a coloring book.

That said I’ve always wondered how I would respond to a coach. Would reporting to an actual person hold me accountable? Would I get out of my own way and actually commit to a program that could make me a better runner? I was curious but I figured the odds of me finding out were slim to none as most options I saw could break the bank. And my bank is pretty broken as it is. 😛

Enter Ekiden Coaching.

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When I was given the opportunity to try their coaching services, I jumped at it. What better chance to see how I would do? Ekiden is fairly new to the scene and founded by Peter Duyan with Head Coach Mario Fraioli. I checked out the website, looked at their backgrounds and read some articles in Competitor by Mario. I was excited to get started.

The process started with a very in depth questionnaire that asked about your running habits, preferences and quirks. It also asked about your nutrition level and if you had any injuries. Once it was submitted, I waited to be matched with my coach. Once I learned that I had Coach Jenny, we set up a time for a phone conversation to go more in depth about my running level and upcoming race plans. This was also when I had the realization that I had a lot of races in the coming weeks. Oops. Jenny also let me know I may have bit off a bigger bite than I should have. Yes, Coach. This was also proved true when I had to bail on the Run The Runways 5K. 😢

From there the coaching plan is uploaded to the Ekiden site on a weekly basis. The site links to Strava and for every completed workout, you get a blue dot. Missed workouts show a red dot. You are sent a weekly text on Sundays with a link to the week’s workouts. A daily text at 5PM told you the next days workout. You can communicate with your coach via text message or on the Ekiden site. Text messages are my jam, sweet!

So how did training go? I really liked it! Every workout was something that I could or should be able to physically do and it was very easy to understand. I didn’t have to do any math or fancy equations to know what I was supposed to do. I’ve had a good mix of easy running and speed work. The speed work was great (remember Float?). It pushed me out of my comfort zone just enough. I never would have planned a long run with a fast finish end of 6 miles but I came close to pulling it off! My left leg has been giving me fits but being honest, it hasn’t been happy since halfway through marathon training. That said, Coach Jenny has been a great resource with that- I can text her when it hurts and we can adjust the plan. It helps to talk it out with someone so I don’t just panic on my own. The accountability portion of having a coach is kind of awesome. I call myself Slacker for a reason so having someone check in with you is a great way to stay on track. Even a day when I was feeling super crappy and knew I couldn’t handle a run, I went home and did a few miles on the bike. I can say without a doubt that I would not have done that had I not had a coach and a training plan.

So would I do it all over again? I actually have a week or 2 left on my plan right now but I think I would do it again. Personal plans can be as low $49 a month and I think a 3 month plan would be a great fit for me next year- I may finally buckle down to train for a sub 2 half… or maybe a second marathon. 😛

I also have a discount for you- use code BibRave16 and get 1 month of free training when you purchase 3 months. Dang it, I could use that next year!

Looking for more information? Check out the Ekiden website or read these Pro’s reviews-

Christine
Angie

Have you ever worked with a coach?

Do you like training plans?

Outside of my Box

Disclaimer: I received Luvo Inc. 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!

Food is my weakness, my Achilles heel- guilty pleasure, comfort food, way to celebrate, when I’m sick, when I’m bored, yadda yadda. I know I have a dysfunctional relationship food, I’ve mentioned it here a few times. I have a very angsty post on the back burner too but that’s not the point right now. Laziness is also a weakness- I eat out way too often. I try not to think about how much money I spend on food. Side note- I did set up my online banking to track pizza spending once—holy crap!!!!!!!!!!!

I am trying to change things up though so when the opportunity came up to try Luvo Inc, I thought about it. I liked the convenience but was concerned about the food. I have so many diet restrictions I have troubles remembering what is what. Then there is the fact of how picky I am outside of the restrictions. But I spent some time perusing the website and decided to go for it. Good time to step outside the box right?

So, first things first- I went with a few of restrictions but not all. So the items I received had no soy, no nuts, no fish and I no dairy? I think, not sure about that last one. Not too bad right? I received-

They looked equal parts yummy and scary. There were a few things in each meal that I was little stymied by, I won’t lie but I was looking forward to trying them. They are super easy to cook- place the bag in microwave to steam, let sit for a minute, cut open and slide onto a plate. Done!! Want to know something sad? I use my microwave so rarely, I couldn’t figure out how long to cook the meals! It got worse when I tried to use the work microwave that is about 12 years old! 😏

Once I got past my ineptitude with the microwave, I discovered that I really like the meals I got to try. The Red Wine Braised Beef is my favorite. Well, except for the brussels sprouts, I can’t stand brussels sprouts. 😛 It was also my first time eating Polenta. Sadly I had to google what it was first but I like it! I only wish the meals were a little bigger. I felt really good about my dinner choice though!

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I liked that the meals were all natural and better for me than my usual dinner choices. They were super convenient and took very little time to prepare. Plus, they look pretty on your plate so I felt like I actually accomplished something. They have an Orange Mango Chicken and Chicken in BBQ Sauce that I would love to try.

Do you cook every night?

How often do you eat out?

Have you tried Luvo?