This past weekend I went on an amazing whirlwind of an adventure in the form of participating in The Relay, a 199-mile run from Calistoga to Davenport (near Santa Cruz.)
Thanks to the fabulous connections of several members of my Eat Blog. Run team, we ended up with some pretty spiffy sponsors who made our trip that much sweeter. Thanks to them, we had transportation, nourishment, and rest.
Our big sponsor was GM, who graciously provided us two "red jewel" Acadias for our trek. Three fabulous GM reps took us out to dinner the night before the race to carb-load and to learn more about both the Acadia and slightly-smaller-but-packed-with-features Terrain. Our team was easily the snazziest on the road. Most of those other teams rented white vans. Our team was definitely visible in our "red jewel tintcoat." Of course our crossovers were even more visible as we drew all over them, giving shouts out to our sponsors and providing tally marks for important things like U-turns, bathroom breaks, and number of compliments we received on our sparkle skirts.
Speaking of sparkly-awesomeness, Team Sparkle provided our skirts, plus those lovely ladies (Carrie & Kelly) purchased matching knee-highs from Target for us all. Also in the "attire" category, I need to shout-out to RoadID even though I purchased my own stuff here. I've owned a RoadID wristband and shoe pouch ever since I heard about the company from Bill. Then at the Tiarathon I was intrigued by his Firefly belt. After all, we had to shed layers and pinning / re-pinning race numbers can be a hassle, but if the number is on the belt, it is not a big deal to just put the belt over the outermost layer of clothing. Since I knew I'd be running in the dark for The Relay, I also picked up a Firefly Supernova wristband (an LED that blinks super-brightly,) some reflective ankle straps, and then some reflective tape that I didn't use because my entire outfit was reflective by the time I was done. (I purchased a Nathan reflective vest and Brooks "nightlife" reflective pullover.) In terms of other pieces of clothing, I love my lululemon clothes: from sleek, comfy technical tanks, to my purple vest w/ hidden pocket big enough for my course maps, to my running tights whose pocket is exactly the right size for my cellphone without jiggling, I've found success with lululemon.
Our adventure began at the Country Inns and Suites of Sunnyvale. I was grateful for their extreme hospitality: when I arrived in my room, I was shocked to see it was stocked with water, Gatorade, Olade, bananas, and apples. We happily brought this stash of food and drink with us on our trip.
I had never heard of Olade before, and grabbed what I thought was "lemonade" but it was actually ginger. Surprisingly, I loved it. The ginger was the exact perfect thing to calm my nervous stomach. I will definitely keep ginger Olade in mind as a race option. Olade is organic, electrolyte-enhanced, and has no added sugar.
Our official beverage sponsor was Owater. (What is it with all these drinks that start with "O"?) I hadn't heard of Owater either, but I am grateful that they provided us so many different flavors and types, since tummies can be quite fickle during races. We had both unsweetened Owater and pure-cane-sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup!) enhanced Sport Owater. My favorite turned out to be coconut. Check out the ingredients in the different types of Owater - it is all-natural, electrolyte-enhanced, and has no high-fructose corn syrup. Good stuff!
In the photo above left I am scrunching my face because I just took a big gulp - and saw my photo was being taken - and didn't want to totally spray the camera. I had just finished my leg, so was attempting that breathing-hard-while-drinking thing that doesn't always work out. My awkward look is in no way associated with the taste or consistency of Owater. After all, I then chugged more Owater throughout the day and night... Yum!
I am not exaggerating when I see I see cases upon cases of coconut Sport Owater in my future. Thank you, thank you for introducing me to a sports drink that isn't a neon color. (I'm willing to bet kids and adults following the Feingold Program could drink Owater without a problem.)
Staying hydrated is important, but so is actually eating. We each received handfuls of Luna bars and Clif bars for our protein and happy-tummy needs. I had also brought along a couple packets of Luna moons. It was certainly convenient to be able to grab a bar or energy chew from my bag when I knew I needed something in me. My favorite is the white chocolate-macadamia.
After running, I appreciated the Crocs flip-flops provided for us. I had my own set of Crocs flip-flops that I had received last year at BlogHer, so my feet were indeed happy. Although it was too late to get Team Snuggies, I purchased my own Snuggie at my local drugstore in anticipation of wanting to cozy-up after my legs. Indeed, when the shakes set in, the Snuggie was welcome relief. I used my Snuggie as an extra layer when we slept under the Golden Gate Bridge, too. For our next relay, I hope we can go all-out with matching (maybe even embroidered?) Snuggies. THAT would be Team Spirit! And yes, we promise that we won't attempt to run in them.
Thank you to all our fabulous sponsors for making our trip a success!
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Disclaimer: I was not obliged to post about these companies at all; however, I definitely wanted to acknowledge their huge part in our adventure. Where there are Amazon links they include a little code that will kick back a couple cents to me if you purchase anything. The RoadID link has a code in it that will give you a discount (if you are one of the first 20 to use it) but I don't receive any sort of commission. The words above are my own and have not been edited or seen by any representative of the mentioned companies prior to publication.
