A Case of the Runs

UPDATE, 6/10/13 -- Giveaway is over, and the winner is #2, Stu!  I'll message you with the code. Keepin' it real here: There didn't seem to be a lot of entries for this one, though I did check other blogs with similar giveaways with that similar issue.  Believe it or not, I actually pass up on a lot of giveaway and review opportunities... mostly because I'm busy but also because I try to only host giveaways that interest my target audience, so... noted for the future! ------ Happy National Running Day!  Looking back, I've actually hosted a giveaway on this runners' "holiday" before.  I've even done something new and different on this day before . So today, I decided to do both of these things again.  It has been quite a while since I've actually run during a morning workout.  Something about the one-hour commute to the gym/work really sucks something out of you, ya' know?  But on this June day with the gloomy clouds in the sky,...

UPDATED 10/24/12 -- Giveaway is now closed .  The winner is #8, Heidi !  I will email you, but if you miss it, please contact me. ------ Sure, I avoided running a lot during the icky summer, but now that it REALLY can't be much longer before cooler days (it IS October, after all!), it's time to get out there again.   Just because it's cooler doesn't mean you should put the sunscreen away, though.  I've mentioned this quite a few times on this blog, but once you've seen a piece of your skin scalpel-ed off for a biopsy, you will probably not want to "go without" very often at all. I recently got to try a new line of Coppertone sunblock spray, which claims to actually "move" with your skin so that it offers better protection. What did I think of it??  Well, it definitely had a better smell than most spray-on sunscreens I've used, and I really didn't think it felt icky, which is kind of surprising.  It dried on really wel...

UPDATED 10/5/2012 This giveaway is now closed.  The winner is... lucky #7, Jen !  I e-mailed you... but if you miss it, please e-mail me at my G-mail address. ------ Do you ever find your lips chapped and burned after long runs or races?  After a long bout in the sun from my half-marathon last month , I certainly found my lips paying the price for a few weeks afterward. I am usually pretty good about protecting my lips.  I tend to develop random reactions to most lip products (balms, lipglosses, etc.), so I sometimes "go without" just because I can clear burned lips from the sun faster than I can burned lips from chemicals. But if you're not among the sensitive crowd, here are some new ChapStick products for you to try.  This gift pack also contains a cute cosmetics bag and a large ChapStick beach towel. ChapStick® Sport Ready Designed with the Active consumer in mind, ChapStick® Sport Ready offers advanced, on-the-go hydration f...

UPDATE: 7/24/12 First of all, I loved some of the comments you guys left.  Gotta try that rubber band thing sometime! The winner is #33, Katie at Wish and Whimsy !  I will contact you, but if it misses you, please e-mail me your address! For everyone else... Even though you didn't win the giveaway, CORE Foods wants to give you a chance to try CORE Meals too!   SAVE 20% on a single sample pack of CORE Meals at  our online store .  Use Coupon Code " acaseoftheruns" after checkout.  This discount expires 8/8/2012! ------ This post has been sitting in my Drafts, for a long time, but I'm super excited about it because I REALLY love this product!! I've tried and reviewed many, many bars in recent times, but CORE Foods bars are truly something different. You might think I'm a pig, but when people claim that something "keeps me full for hours!," I end up disappointed when, after an hour, I'm hungry again....

UPDATE: 6/21/12 -- This giveaway is closed, and the winner is #43, Jacqueline!!  I will contact you, but if you miss it, please e-mail me! ------ I'd like to credit in advance "The Ukrainian" who helped me stage some photos for this post. =) Perhaps because I don't dress well when working out, I was offered the opportunity to try some fun pieces from the Rebecca Michaels summer collection. Since I complained about my issues with headbands staying on my head, I also got to try their Violet Love headbands.  "The Ukrainian" didn't hesitate in throwing one on, and I think he said he looks like Rambo in it. Anyway, I'll start with my experience with the headbands .  They are very soft and actually look SUPER cute on!  They also cover a large portion of the top of your head, so those little fly-aways don't come drooping down.  Or is that just me?  My hair is normally cut in layers, so I do experience this quite a bit. Unfortun...

It's giveaway time! On a long run recently, I took a couple packs of Sharkies Organic Sports Chews  with me to keep me going on a hot day.  I got through those 15 miles  eating these, versus normal gels.  I've been opting to eat chews over gels in my running nowadays because I just find them more palatable and easier on my stomach for some reason.  Plus, they do pack a few more calories, which is a good thing in this case. I normally associate cute little chews with candy, but these actually contain natural electrolytes.  Plus, they were light to carry and very tasty, too!  Each pack is about 140 calories.  The only downside I found to the sport chews is that they stuck to my teeth a tiny bit more than my normal choices, and the packaging gave me a fight at times.  This could easily be solved by conslidating them into a baggie pre-run, or eating them BEFORE running would be much easier than during. Want to win the prize pack below?...

UPDATE: 5/4/12 -- This giveaway is now closed.  The winning comment is #5, Kenley !  I will contact you, but if you miss it, please e-mail me.  Thanks to all who entered... more giveaways are on the way! ------ I'm going to talk about weight here. Of food. I thought I'd spare you details of my not-so-great progress in my " equilibrium " (aka, to lose 10 lbs) goal.  I actually haven't used my scale in a couple of months, somewhat out of fear.  I'm pretty sure I've returned to my starting point from last November, not like I was having a huge loss, but it's hard for me to move anywhere in the downward trajectory.  Some days, my clothes don't fit well... and then some days, they seem to just fine.  And when I went wedding dress shopping, I didn't really have issues with how I looked, so I'm not really inclined to check my (lack of) progress. But it's less about appearance rather than how lackluster my runs and other fitness en...

UPDATE: 1/31/12 -- The winner of the prize pack is #4,  RunningLaur!  Please e-mail me your address, and I will arrange to have your coupons sent to you! ------ To clarify, the giveaway is NOT for spring rolls or fish sauce.  Read on for more details.  Sorry if you are already disappointed!! =P Lunar New Year / Tet  is among us (started yesterday and basically lasts 7 or 13 days, however much you want to party in your neck of the woods ;P), so I thought I'd celebrate the Year of the Dragon by doing a little giveaway and sharing a recipe for vegetarian spring rolls, Vietnamese style. The idea spawned from these Nasoya egg roll wraps that I was given the opportunity to try.  I liked that they contained no MSG.  Although I'm not sensitive to that stuff (I pretty much ate it by the barrel-ful as a kid and still came out OK, ha ha), a lot of people are. You will need: - 9 egg roll wrappers (may vary based on how much filling you place in each) ...

UPDATE: 12/26/11 -- Winner is #4, Krissy !  Please e-mail me for your voucher! ------ I'll preface this by apologizing to the dudes... this giveaway is aimed toward women.  Of course, if there is a woman in your life that could benefit from this giveaway, you can enter on her behalf if you wish... just make sure if you win, she winds up with it in the end! Leading Lady specializes in full-figure and nursing bras .  I don't fit in either of these categories (not sure how that makes me feel.......).  However, I will say that if I ever need to nurse a kid, having a sports bra that can open up like so would be VERY awesome. A bit about the company: " Leading Lady is a premiere intimate apparel company dedicated to creating comfortably functional, remarkably affordable, stylish and easy-to-wear bras, camis and sleepwear. A family owned and operated business, Leading Lady has been expertly tailoring nursing and full figure bras for top brands...

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away... ...just kidding. But today marks five years since I started this blog in a small student government office at UCLA . This is what I looked like five years ago.... My blog pre-dates many things, including: finishing and graduating from college the death of my high school track coach , who is one of my inspirations all but two of my races my first marathon starting graduate school finishing graduate school meeting/dating my boyfriend ("The Ukrainian") my first trip to Las Vegas most of my jobs driving my car (I've had a license for 8 years but have only *really* driven for 4) I'm sure there is a lot more I can say about how things have changed over these past five years, for better or worse.  I have come out a much more knowledgable person, surrounded by those who did not judge me into oblivion.  Your true friends, folks, are those who are still with you after the journey. Not to say that this journ...

UPDATE: 7/14/11: Winner was selected by Random.org .... #19... Kelly!  I'll be contacting you for your address soon! ------ I jumped the gun a little bit before finishing school to read, when I was sent this book to review by Kara Goucher, one of my running idols .  Here is my review (I also did one for Healthy Tipping Point ): ------ This book is geared toward beginner runners.  It begins with Kara's story of how she got into running and then gives tips for new runners from how to take those first steps to how to deal with those initial "pains" (I think we all know what I'm talking about!). But I did learn from this book, which I couldn't stop reading until I polished it off in two evenings.  She talks about some mental games one could play to get through rough spots during training.  She also offers some training programs for half- and full-marathons that only require 3 days of running.  I might have more time to train now that I am slightly les...

UPDATE 7/5/11: Due to some conflicts, I needed to select another winner. Random.org selected #4... Madison!!  Please e-mail me with your size and address. Whether you run on treadmills or trails, marathons or sprints, up hills or wading in mud , this day is for you. Go out there and run (if you can) on this National Running Day .  I know I will! And while you're at it, enter this giveaway! If you're curious about minimalist running shoes, these may be for you!  Skechers Fitness Group designed these lightweight ProSpeed shoes that encourage mid-foot striking, reducing injuries.  Men's: Women's: These shoes look pretty sweet, huh?!  If you'd like to try something NEW in your running, do one or more of the following by Tuesday, June 7, 11:59:59 PM (at which the giveaway will close, and I will choose ONE winner via Random.org ). 1) Follow this blog and let me know in the comments. 2) Follow me on Twitter (@nobel4lit) and let m...

UPDATE 5/16/11: Random.org chose a winner (12): Penny ! Please e-mail me your address, and your frame will be on its way! ~~~~~~ My first public track and field race was the 100 meter hurdles. I wasn't well-trained in hurdling, but they needed bodies and volunteered me since I had the most experience of the lot. Things went pretty fine until I nicked hurdle #7 with my trail (left) leg. Needless to say, hurdles 8-10 were awful after losing my momentum like that, and I had to overcome the voices in my head in order to finish. My first road race was the Laguna Hills (Saddleback) Half-Marathon in 2006 . That was nearly five years ago. My first marathon was the Los Angeles Marathon in 2007 . I remember how monumental a feat finishing a marathon seemed back then, and I'm a little bit bummed that I will never get that feeling of mystery back. But since I continue to run marathons and can always use the inspiration, I am glad that I was able to memorialize it in this form....

Update 4/25/11: The winners (as chosen by Random.org ) are... Kristin and Glenn !!  Please send me your mailing addresses to my G-Mail account Nobel4Lit2. ------ I have seen countless Japanese infomercials about a certain green drink that somehow improves the quality of life for the people who provide testimonials.  And I'm not just talking about a few sentences... they go through the hardships and life stories of these people.... no one suspecting that they are actually watching an infomercial. Well, this is MY version of the long testimonial.  I received a bunch of Sun Chlorella samples, and being the running, STRESSED, stomach-sensitive, and stressed person that I am..... vowed to try them ALL. This line of products boasts fiber, prebiotics, chlorophyll (from freshwater algae -- hey, it works for plants!), protein, and veggie content.  Even though my eating habits have improved a LOT, I can always use something to balance out my diet in times of ST...