Product Review: Luna Protein Bar

Luna has done an excellent job with it's new Chocolate Flavor Protein bar! It is tasty and satisfying....a rare combo for protein bars! 

To be honest, it tastes like the brownies bits in a Dairy Queen Brownie Batter Blizzard! I tend to keep one stashed in case of an attack of the munchies. It fills me up without leaving me feeling guilty! 

Check the stats!

Serving size: One bar (45g)

Calories: 170

Total Fat: 6

Sat. Fat: 3.5

Cholesterol: 5mg

Sodium: 220mg

Potassium: 130mg

Total Carb: 21

Dietary Fiber: 3

Insoluble Fiber: 1

Sugar: 13

Protein: 12

Race Review: Nike Women's Marathon

I got the opportunity to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon this month in San Francisco with Team In Training. The Team Manager from Nebraska was absolutely wonderful. The travel was flawless, the accommodations were phenomenal, and the Team In Training Pasta Party was an amazing event!

The start of the race was rough. There were over 18,000 people running the half and over 7,000 running the full. The way they had pace groups lined up was awkward and it was difficult to hear announcers. It took 25 minutes to get to the start line after the gun went off, which considering the size of the crowd really isn't a big deal. Unfortunately, the crowd was a little too much at certain points on the race course. There were several sections of the race course where we were forced to walk due to overcrowding of the path. Many people were attempting to bob and weave through the crowd, even jumping on to raised walk ways.

The course was beautiful. We took a course that curved through Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and had great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The course was hilly but it was cool and overcast cloud conditions....perfect for running.

The finish line was incredibly disorganized. Once we crossed the line we had to come to a dead stop so some high school girl could scan our bib before  they handed us our necklace. Understandable, but there were 8 corrals with only one girl per corral.....after running 13 miles the last thing I want to do is come to a complete stop and wait for 10 other ladies to be scanned in and handed their necklace. It really isn't good for the body to come to a complete stop like that. Plus, the finishers area was ridiculously over crowded. You could not see where anything was located, you couldn't find water or a med tent, or anything like that. They really tried to cram way too much in to too little of a space. Then they had high school volunteers who had no idea what they were doing and no one giving any sort of direction.

The Team In Training area was much better. They had professionals running the area, amenities were relatively abundant, and the crow was much more supportive of each other. Plus, since this was a race specifically for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society we had extra perks! We had shuttle buses specifically designated to return us to our hotels, a finisher's area for us, and our own post race amenities.

I honestly had a great trip and I loved every part of being with Team In Training. The finishers necklace was incredible, but I am uncertain if I would do this race again. I think it is great race  for a woman to do, great girly karma, but the organization of the race left a bad taste in my mouth.

I will join up with Team In Training again...a truly amazing organization! Our next pairing will occur April 2012 at Nashville's Country Music Marathon! YEEEE-HAAAAW!

On The Fly Fuel Review

The world of endurance running has introduced me to a few things; toned legs, runner's trots, chaffing, the need for moisture wicking material, a runner's high, 26.2, and so on. I have got to experience some amazing things as a runner, whether they were pleasant (the finish line) or not so pleasant (the trots) 

Something that plagues all runners is on the fly nutrition. I have tried a wide variety of things....shotbloks, sports beans, gels, gummies, gatorade, cytomax, and on and on.

During my first marathon I chose to go with Luna Gummies and sportbeans.. Easy to chew, taste good, easy to carry. When my grocery store stopped carrying those, I did some research.

The results of my research:

I liked that taste of Shotbloks but the packaging makes them difficult to keep on your person, especially in the standard tight fitting running gear.

So I moved on to Gels. I tried GU, Powerbar Gel and Clif Shots

I decided to start with the recommended Chocolate flavors. I tried chocolate, java, and mocha.

The result:

PUDDING MOUTH

My son, a couple years ago, having his first oreo!

Not-A-Fan. The thick chocolate coats your mouth and won't go away. It plagues you for the rest of your miles. So I moved on to citrus, strawberry and "razz". 

The Results:

 Clif Shot's Razz is awesome...

 Why???

Because it really tastes like this...

Yes...a Jelly doughnut. It honestly tastes like the inside of a jelly doughnut. It doesn't coat your mouth and requiring the lip smacking that the others did. I actually LIKED this gel!

In my previous post (click HERE)  I mention I am a fan of the Clif Bar Company.

After trying their gels....that opinion is even more...."solidified" 

(pun intended)

Companies With Class: Luna Bar

Welcome to my first edition of Companies With Class, a review of fitness companies with integrity, professionalism, and high quality products.

First up...

LUNA BAR

If you check out the Luna Bar website you will find out that Clif Bar & Company started on a bike ride. The founder took a bite of an energy bar and thought , “I can do better.” Two years later, Clif Bar was launched and has since become a leading company in energy bars.

 The women at Clif Bar & Company were in search of a bar more suited for women — something just as flavorful and satisfying, but smaller and with fewer calories. They also wanted this bar to address the unique nutritional needs of women. In 1999, Luna Bar was launched. Click HERE for their website.

I got the opportunity to work with Luna Bar in September for Yoga Month. I collaborated with Yogamonth.org and set up a free Yoga Clinic. Unfortunately after all the set up yogamonth.org informed me that Nebraska was not in their "marketing territory" and therefore would not be sending out the Yoga Month giveaways to this region of the country. I had done a lot of advertising for the event stating I would have giveaways that included Luna bars.....so I kind of panicked. I decided to go straight to the source and ask for assistance. 

The response was impressive.

 First, I got a personal phone call from the head office ensuring me that Luna would support me in my endeavor! 

Then Beth Beson Tully, Clif Bar & CO. Field Marketing Manager, followed up with several emails to ensure things went off without a hitch. She even placed a handwritten card in my product supply thanking me for sharing Luna with the community!

The event went great and the Luna bars were a hit! I want to give a BIG THANKS to Luna Bar for standing by their principals and "sustaining the community". 

I hope to work closely with Luna and Luna's parent company, Clif Bar, in the near future!