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A few days after the Adventure Run, I got a phone call letting me know that I won a case of Verve! energy drink from entering a raffle at the race. The product rep Donna was nice enough to drop it off for me at the office where I work.
Verve! is marketed as a healthy energy drink… a more nutritional alternative to Red Bull and other products. According to the promotional material, Verve! has the same amount of Vitamin C as 2 oranges, the same amount of Vitamin E as 9 avocados, the same amount of Iron as 3 stalks of broccoli, the same amount of Vitamin D as 55 eggs, and so on. The energy boost comes from 80 mg of caffeine as well as a combination of several natural sources of energy like guarana seed and taurine.
Verve! comes in 8 oz cans and 3 oz shots. Both sizes have regular and sugar free options. I have the regular 8 oz cans.
Yesterday I finally got around to trying my first can of Verve! I made a face after my first sip and Troy asked if it tasted bad. But the face was actually because of the carbonation. I don’t really like carbonated drinks (other than the occasional root beer) so right away that was sort of a turn off. But the taste of the drink itself wasn’t bad. The main flavor is mangosteen. I’ve heard of mangosteen before but can’t say that I’ve ever tasted it. The overall impression I got was a sweet citrus taste with a hint of tropical flavor. Without the carbonation, Verve! would have been a nice juice drink. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no aftertaste.
So did it work? Well, I think the caffeine definitely gave me an extra kick of energy. I felt really good with no problems breathing during the run. If only my legs had cooperated with me I could have probably kept going for another three miles. The downside is that the caffeine kept me up most of the night tossing and turning because I couldn’t fall asleep. I’ll save the rest of the Verve! for morning/afternoon workouts.
If I was a regular drinker of Red Bull or another energy drink, I’d be willing to switch over to Verve! for the claimed nutritional value (none of the product statements have been evaluated by the FDA), although I’d probably go for the 3 oz shots instead since they’re non-carbonated. But so far I’m not interested enough in Verve! to actually want to go out and buy more.
One interesting fact is that it’s a local product. The main office is in Scottsdale and the distribution and manufacturing facilities are in Tempe. Right now it seems like it’s only being sold by individual distributors through a pyramid scheme, but I haven’t actually looked for it in stores. For more information, visit Donna’s website at http://www.purevemma.com/.
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I haven’t posted in a few days because I haven’t been working out. I’ve been sick and needed some rest. It actually started while I was in Schaumburg, but I thought I just felt weird because I was away from home. Then I got home and took my temperature and it turned out I had a fever. Luckily it cleared up after taking Tylenol for a couple days, but I spent most of the long weekend sitting at home playing video games.
Troy and I did get out for a little bit yesterday afternoon. I didn’t feel like exerting myself too much, so we went for a long, slow bike ride and covered both sides of Reach 11. It was hot. Thank goodness for water packs. It’s nice to know that I can sit on my bike for about two hours straight without much discomfort. On the last bike ride I was feeling a bit like my seat was too low. So yesterday I tried raising it an inch or so and I think it felt better. I’m still having trouble with my overall form on the bike though. I seem to lean too much on my wrists. I’m thinking about getting professionally fit at DNA Cycles. I’ve been hesitant to do it because it’s $75, but it’s starting to seem like it would be worth it.
Today I went out for a short run. I was debating between running laps around the neighborhood or going to the track. In the end I decided to stay close to home which ended up being a good idea. I had to make a quick pit stop after one mile. I guess I was too well hydrated today. My legs were tight so I only did three miles, but at least it was something.
I can’t believe it’s already the end of May. Where did the time go? I’m not feeling very well prepared for the duathlon. So far I’ve only gotten one brick workout in and I was really hoping for more. My bike speed is also slower than I’d like. As I’ve said before, I know I can finish. And I know I’m not going to be placing or anything, so the main goal is to just do my best. But it would be nice to not be last in my age group. Troy and I are driving out to Anaheim this weekend for a baseball game so I’m going to take the opportunity to check out the bike course and see how flat it really is. Then after that it’ll be time to start thinking about what I need for my transitions. I guess one good thing about being a newbie is that I don’t have to worry about switching shoes. I’m just going to bike in my running shoes.
I think I’m even more worried about RnR Seattle than the duathlon. I haven’t really gotten in any long runs since the Havasu Half. And I realized today that RnR Chicago is only about a month after Seattle. It’s time to start planning! If I can just stay healthy, that will definitely help. I’ve got to figure out the right balance between enough and over training.
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Breakfast: homemade oatmeal with eggs
Snack: three strips of dried mango
Snack: one Eggo waffle with nutella, 20 plantain chips, bite of pizza
Dinner: egg noodles with sesame oil and soy sauce, bok choy, two fried eggs
Dessert: junior mint cupcake
Exercise: 17.28 mile bike ride in 2:01:18
Breakfast: McDonald’s hash brown and Jamba Juice 12oz chunky strawberry
Snack: spiced taro chips and three strips of dried mango
Dinner: Times Square Pizzeria – steamed clams and garlic bread, 1/2 slice of pizza, baked eggplant and spaghetti
Breakfast: two Eggo waffles with peanut butter and strawberry jam
Lunch: hot soba noodles from Whole Foods
Dessert: chocolate peanut butter cupcake
Dinner: six potstickers
Breakfast: Paradise Bakery banana and chocolate chip muffin
Lunch: Lean Cuisine roasted chicken with lemon pepper fettuccini
Snack: Trader Joe’s boysenberry dried fruit bar
Dinner: Subway 6″ sweet onion chicken teriyaki on wheat with Swiss cheese and spinach
Snack: five strips of dried mango
Silly Lisa... 