Catching up + a GIVEAWAY! (giveaway over)

So I've been a bad blogger (again) and haven't posted in a week.  I have to admit that I was slack with my running last week, but I'm ready to jump back in and get it done this week.  This time change is really going to screw me up on the weeknights I have runs scheduled.  I may have to resort to stopping at the trail on my way home from work to get my runs in since the sun will have already started to set by the time I get home in the evenings.  Gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

So last week I registered for the Gobble Wobble 5k on November 11th.  I wanted to do a Turkey Trot but we'll be out of town for Thanksgiving so this was the next best thing.  And I can't remember if I already posted about it, but I'm signed for for my 2nd half marathon!  On March 17th I'll be running Publix Georgia Half Marathon.  I also found a 10k to run while in Hawai'i!  I decided against the biathlon since I'm not very comfortable swimming in the ocean, so I'll be running the 21st Annual Seabee Run on Ford Island.

I also signed up at my local running store, Big Peach Running Company, to participate in a Mizuno test drive of the new Wave Rider 16s on November 19th.  I currently have the 15s and have fallen in love with one of the 16s, so to have the chance to try it out is awesome.  They're also hosting a haiku contest, and the winners get a new pair of shoes!  Gotta love that!

Saturday J and I went on a search for my next pair of running shoes.  I've had my eye on these for awhile but wanted to try them on first before we bought them.  I have not been able to find them in any store!  We went to Fleet Feet Johns Creek and, while I didn't find the shoes, I did make this purchase - 

I cannot wait until February when I can put this on my car!!!  I also bought a small round "Run" sticker that I put on the back glass of my car.

Yesterday I got exciting news...I was one of ten winners of an invitation to Mizuno's Mezamashii Run Project from The Faster Bunny.  From Mizuno's website - The Mezamashii Run Project is an effort by Mizuno to help create a more euphoric running experience — a more "brilliant" run — for more runners everywhere. The word "mezamashii" means "eye-opening" or "brilliant" in Japanese — it's a word that captures the euphoric feeling of a brilliant run.  I love my Mizuno's and can't wait to get my hands on another pair!

A few weeks ago Stacy from http://www.larabar.com/ sent me 4 samples of bars to try out.  Last night I enlisted the help of J to sample the bars with me and give me his opinion on them.  The idea for Larabar began in spring 2000, and they hit the shelves of stores in Winter 2003.  What started out as 5 flavors grew to 20 flavors, as well as two other types of Larabars - Uber and Jocolat, the first pure organic chocolate food bar.  

While looking at the wrapper, I noticed that the base ingredient for the bars are dates (which I really enjoy).  There are no more than nine natural ingredients in each bar, and most are kosher, vegan free, gluten free, dairy free, soy free and all natural.  There are a few exceptions and you can read about them here.

So onto our review.  First we tried the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor.  I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, and this bar didn't have a super strong PB flavor, but I would have liked to have a little more peanuts in it.  We gave our pup, Guinness, a bite and he approved.  Second, we tried Pecan Pie.  I really enjoyed this one as it had tons of pecans and almonds and it gave it a really nice flavor.  Cherry Pie was next and my favorite.  The cherry flavor really stood out.  I love cherries and this bar did a great job of showcasing them. J was not a huge fan of the cherry pie - he found it to be bitter. Finally we tried Carrot Cake.  It had the most ingredients out of the four bars we sampled, and while it was good I felt it had too much going on. J liked the flavor of this one, but Pecan Pie was his overall favorite.

Have you ever tried Larabars?  Would you like a chance to win a 16 mixed pack of them?  Enter my giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will run until next Sunday night, and I will announce the winner on Monday morning.  Good luck!

Until next time,

Jen