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

Jogging stroller mama.

I broke down and did it: I bought a jogging stroller.

I am now that runner.

How strange.

I never had one when Conal was a baby and I haven't had one for the first 10 months with Niall. But now, here I am. The owner of a jogging stroller. Or running stroller. Whatever. I have one of those things.

And I, um, well . . . I love it.

Sure, I've only taken it out for two measly runs and pushing a 21lb baby plus the stroller up the hills of my 'hood is tough. But, I still love it. Love that I have now opened myself up to a whole new world of running the three mornings a week that Conal will be in school. Big stuff, I know.

And check out how happy my little guy is about it:

Ready for a run!

The best part? This frugal runner picked up the in-great-condition Jeep stroller for $50 at a consignment sale.

It looks like it was hardly used so, yeah, good for me. 

It's a whole new world. 

Fellow jogging stroller mamas: Got any tips, tricks, favorite (local) places to run?

Have a great day!

~ Felice

PS: I have been meaning to mention that I have a new book review up at BlogHer. This one is for The Kid by Sapphire. It's the sequel to Push, the book she wrote that was made into the movie Precious. Interested? Check out my review . . . the book was tough. To say the least. 

I could get used to this.

Yesterday I met up with a bunch of friends for an 11 mile run and it was one of those runs that made me wonder why I haven't always been spending my Saturday mornings running with friends. I just love it.

Now, I've always been a solo runner and I enjoy running alone very much. But these long runs that I've been doing with friends have been something else altogether. Something great.

I ran the first 4 miles with Karyn and we chatted away about all sorts of things. We ran those in just under 36 minutes but it felt like 6; the time passed so quickly. At 4 miles, we reached Karyn's car and she headed home. I looped back to meet up with Janis, Bridget, Amanda and Tami. I fell in with the group and we started chatting and soon enough Amanda and I were running along together, talking and talking. At the turn-around point Amanda and I fell in with Tami and Janis and then we picked up Bridget who turned around a little bit before we did. She was having a tough time and Amanda ended up running the rest of the way with her, which was nice.

I ran the last 4 or so miles with Tami. She and I went to the same high school (she's a few years younger than I am) but we're just getting to know each other now, through our running. Needless to say, those last 4 miles sped by -- just like the rest of the run did!

All told, 11.72 miles in 1:50:49 -- 9:25 pace.

The pace of the run is inconsequential. What mattered was the company and the company rocked. I could get used to this! I love these long runs with friends. Love them.

Now all we need is to find a route with a little less traffic. Too many trucks out there yesterday. Yikes!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

~ Felice

Socks, the 'mill, fun.

First things first: We have a winner! The lucky lady who soon will be running in a week's worth of socks is . . .

Suzy from Running on My Time!

Congratulations, Suzy! 

Now, some of you may know that Suzy is a friend outside of the blogging world and she has won other giveaways. Don't think I rigged this! As much as I like Suzy, I'm all about fairness so I used random.org to pick the winner and Suzy was it!

Local friends -- just goes to show that you shouldn't be afraid to enter! You gotta be in it to win it . . .

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In other news, Owen fixed our treadmill so I am now ready for icy, dark evenings! Let's just hope that, since it is only mid-August, those icy, dark evenings don't come too soon.

I'm running long with a bunch of friends tomorrow. Can't wait! I don't know exactly when it happened but at some point I became the kind of person whose weekend fun includes waking up early and going for 1 to 2 hour runs. The me of 15 years ago would be horrified.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Go horrify your younger self!

~ Felice