12 Mile Treadmill Training Run & Power Bar Energy Gel Blast Review

So, I woke up today and had a 12 miler ahead of me. Hubby also had about a one hour run on tap and we had a family gathering about 40 mins away from home in the afternoon. He ran in the morning while I cleaned up around the house, did stuff with the kids and got them ready. We spent the afternoon with family outside, in the garage. We weren't prepared, so many of us didn't dress appropriately. The forcast was for low-50's today, but it was windy and turned out to be quite cloud-covered. Everyone was chilled. We got home around 5pm and I still had a 2 hr run ahead of me. I decided to put Little Dude down for a late nap, Little Diva in front of the tv (she was outside all day and playing with my little cousins, so I didn't feel too guilty) and hubby was ready to zonk out on the couch. It's amazing what the weather and cold can do to a person. I hopped ont he treadmill around 5:30 pm.

I had made my own version of G2 (low-calorie Gatorade). I've gotten sick of sticker-shock from the individual G2 bottles they sell and even the packets they now sell similar to Crystal Lite. Hubby buys the huge powder packets that last us a long time. Now, they last us even longer because I do about 1/2 Gatorade and 1/2 water. I consumed both bottles, a Crank Sports e-Gel (which I love!) in Cherry Bomb flavor (like a chocolate covered cherry!) and a pack of the new powerBary Energy Gel Blasts in Raspberry flavor.

I cranked the 1980's box-fan that I enherited from my parents and watched almost two hours of realtity tv (MTV's Teen Cribs, True Life and then Ruby on the Style Network).

I like the Crank Sports e-Gels because they are bigger than other gel packets, which also results in consuming more calories. But, I love them. 150 calories in a 1.9 oz packet. I get a bigger burst of energy obviously.

This was my first time trying the PowerBar Energy Gel Blasts. I wasn't sure what the consistency would be like or what they really looked like from the package. Here is what one looks like and one that is bitten into. They are gummy like the other chewy products out there right now, but have a "liquid" center which was good. But they aren't really "squirting" with fruit flavor like the picture shows. But, they were yummy, easy to chew and gave me a burst of energy. 190 calories in the pouch and there were 9-10 pieces in the pack. I tried to take two about every mile or so, after the third mile. This way I don't ever "lose" energy and feel too incredibly faint. I would try them again.

Anyhow ..... back to the run .... our treadmill automatically shuts off at 100 mins which is such a pain. Duh, I realize to "normal" people this would sound completely insane!!!!!!! But, since I had a 12 miler planned ... I had to keep going!! :-)

So, I planned to stop at 10 miles and got it done in 90:03 (Gosh, I really hate that my treadmill flashes back-and-forth between distance and time. It really does drive me crazy.). Not too shabby, eh?!

I drank some G2, and headed upstairs for a quick potty break and then started her up again for the last 2 miles. I tried to crank it a little, just to get done and my stomach was starting to upset me. But, I plowed through the last 2 miles in 17:12.

12 miles on the treadmill -- 1:47:15

After workout "glow" ... gotta love that feeling!

My post-run refreshments: Ice Water and Diet Mountain Dew ... mmmmm ....