Now eating: PR*Bars! (review and contest)

There are some nutrition/energy bars that I like and some that I really, really do not. I love Larabars, for example. But chalky bars? Or bars that are tough to chew? Nope, don't want anything to do with them.

My new love? PR*Bar Personal Record Nutrition Bars!

I was invited to try out the bars earlier this summer and I gave them a tough challenge: To fuel my long runs as I train for my half marathon in September. I've eaten the bars prior to my last 5 long runs and I can say with confidence that PR*Bars are awesome!

My first experience with the PR*Bars was a little over a month ago. I woke up about 2 hours before my scheduled long run and ate a double chocolate bar. I mean, double chocolate . . . how can you go wrong?

You can't.

Double chocolate is great. But so is the chocolate peanut and iced brownie and yogurt berry. All good. Tasty, even.

What I like about the bars is that the inside is almost creamy with little crunchy bits that keep it interesting. They seem to digest quickly and they did not give me a bit of stomach trouble when I was out on my runs. I ate the bars before runs of 9, 10 and (almost) 12 miles. On each occasion I ate the bar 1.5-2 hours before my run, followed it with a banana, coffee and water, and felt very well fueled when out running. I never felt heavy and never got any cramps or stitches.

There is a whole bunch of science behind these bars but I am anything but scientific. So, I'll let you read about that stuff here and here. All I know is that I like these bars and they work well for me pre-long run (and, truth be told, as a hearty snack, too!).

You can order the bars from the PR*Bar web site. They go for $19.95 for a box of 16 of the regular bars and $21.95 for a box of the granola bars (that I did not try).

Hey, it's a contest!


Those granola PR*Bars are new and to celebrate the launch of the new flavors, PR*Bar is having a contest. You can get in on it by liking PR*Bar on Facebook or tweeting the answer to "What's Your Flavor?" telling the twitterverse what flavor PR*Bar you would most like to try. Use the hashtag #prbarsrock.

PR*Bar will choose 10 Facebook fans and 10 tweeters at random to win samples of all of the new flavors. So, get going! This is a fun contest you definitely want to win! (And, it ends on Monday, August 29th so you should hurry!).

Good luck!


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I've got a 14 mile run on the schedule for tomorrow morning. Yes, I'll be fueling up with a PR*Bar.

My family and I were supposed to be on our way to the Jersey shore for the week but Irene has changed those plans for us. The whole island where we were going has been evacuated. We're hoping to salvage some of the vacation next week but that might not happen. My biggest hope right now is for the safety of all the people in the hurricane's path. Fingers crossed that Irene weakens!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice