Esprit de She 10K Race Recap and Cocogo Review

On October 2 I ran the Esprit de She 10k race.  This race was an awesome evening run (it started at 7pm) at the super pretty Mesa Riverview Park, which is adjacent to the Cubs Spring Train facility.  I had never been to this park before but it looked amazing and now that the weather is nicer, I cant wait to go back to play!

The park playground

This was a really pretty fishing lake we got to run around twice during the race.

The Esprit de She race was a super fun girl power race (I LOVE girlie races!)  They had race packet pick up a few days agead of time at one of my favorite local running stores Athleta where I ran into my fellow RunEat Tweet'er Kristin and we of course left the store purchasing super cute matching running skirts!  What can I say, she's got great taste in running clothes?!

We also got our swag bags with our super cute race tanks!!  I love mine and so wish that other races would give out tanks instead of technical t's!  Another fun swag item, was that all participants get a 12 month subscription to Self magazine!  This race for sure gets an A+ in my book for awesome freebies.

Ok, so now on to the race.  The Esprit de She was a 5k and 10k course with the 10k'ers just doing 2 laps.  Some runs may not like this setup, but I actually appreciated knowing exactly what to expect for the last half of the race.  The race allowed strollers, so I took ran with Brayden in the Bob.  It was a perfect way to practice for our first half together next week!

After some music to pump us up and the national anthem, they had us 10k runners tart 5-10 minutes ahead of those running the 5k.  Since I had the stroller I was supposed to start at the back of the pack, but I was lucky enough to sneak up front to start, because honestly, I think it is more annoying for all the people that I am running behind to constantly here me yell out "Stroller coming up behind, thank you!"

 So after barreling down weaving around some runners I settled into what felt like a comfortable pace for me about 3/4 mile in.  I looked down at my pace and gasped 8:03, way too fast for me.  I am someone who runs at 9:30 pace and calls that fast!  My internal dialogue was something like "Amy, you are going way too fast, you need to slow down or will boink at the end"  "But wait, this feels ok, Im not tired, I'm not struggling, I feel gooood!"  "Ok then, here's the plan, Amy.  Just keep running at this pace until you need to slow down."  And keep running I did, all the way to a big fat almost 15 MINUTE PR from the last stroller night 10k run I did back in mid May.  So crazy, right?

Immediately after the race.  I was sweating up a storm, but so happy!  I almost cried happy tears at the end!

So what attributed to my crazy huge PR?  Well for one thing, the course was SHORT!!  Almost a half mile short.  I had several friends running the race too and all of them tracked the race at about 5.8 miles too.  Still, this was by far the FASTEST time I had ever one a race or ran this distance in so it is still a HUGE personal victory for me!

The official race results on the left and my own timed distance results on the right.

I also loved the crowd and fellow runners support!!!  I was lucky enough to be running this race with a couple of my RunEatTweet AZ'ers, Corine and Kristin and seeing them several times on the course was super motivating for me!!  

Me, Kristin, and Corine

Also, the crowd and fellow runners support was amazing!  I played my music out loud from my phone so didn't have earphones in and I must have heard "You are so awesome!" screamed at me at least 100 times that night!!  Even a group of 10 year old boys on skateboards yelled that to me, which made my night, haha!

The after party for Esprit de She was super fun!!  They had a beauty bar where they were doing complimentary hair braiding and mini manicures, they had a station where we could plant flowers in cute little pots to take home, and they had tons of free wine sampling with custom engraved Esprit de She stemless glasses.  Such a fun night!!

Since I had little Brayden with me, I sadly did not get to partake in any of the complimentary wine tasting, but I was super excited that I brought along one of my Cocogo packets to have post race!

I don't know if it was the real fruit hydration, or the coconut water that is used to make cocogo, but this drink really hit the spot after my hard run!!  It was not too sweet at all and didn't irritate my stomach like a lot of other electrolyte drinks do!  I appreciated the portability, how it was easy to just stash one of these single serve mix-in packets in my jog stroller.  I also loved the fact that they were only 37 calories!  I don't want to be drinking in tons of calories post run, when I'd much rather EAT those calories, lol #runnerproblems :)  The other thing I appreciated about these is that each packet contains 500% of my daily allowances of Vitamin B12 and I have been hearing a lot about lately how that particular vitamin is great for boosting your mood and energy levels!  Huge score!!

This last Sunday I met up with my RunEatTweetAZ run group for a big group run and I brought my Cocogo with me again.  I ran 10 miles at 8:58 pace which is a HUGE PR for me (again!  my legs have been so fast lately!!)  

Again, thanks so much to Corine for pacing me during the run!!

Usually after I do a long hard effort run I get a MASSIVE headache for the rest of the day.  I think its because I'm usually dehydrated.  So I chugged some of the cocogo after this hard effort run, and no joke, I did not get a headache later on, not even slightly!  Loved that so much!

I will continue to drink the cocogo, especially after hard runs, I love how it doesn't upset my stomach, how it gives me a good energy burst, and helps hydrate me post run so that I don't develop a dehydration headache.

Interested in trying cocogo for yourself?  You can use discount code RUNEATTWEETAZ to save 10%!  Score!!

NuttZo Review and Giveaway

The awesome folks at NuttZo recently sent me a Peanut Butter Jackpot!!!

I'm sure runners everywhere I drooling now!

As a busy mom of a preschooler, I am always on the go and as a runner, I am always hungry!  This is why I loved the NuttZo To-Go Packets, especially the 70% Peruvian Dark Chocolate one, because, CHOCOLATE.  This one tastes amazing and only has 1 gram of sugar! Last week we had a lunch birthday party at McDonald's to go to immediately after preschool and there was no way I was putting that garbage in my belly!  NuttZo To-Go to the rescue!!  I tossed a couple of packets into my purse and was able to curb my appetite for a couple more hours.

#peanutbutterselfie  We were stopped at a red light, don't worry!

Since I workout in the morning I need something that is filling, nutrient dense, and easy.  My newest favorite breakfast is Organic NuttZo Seven Nut & Seed Butter and Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter spread on a piece of Dave's Killer Bread toasted with a side of fruit!  Seriously so good!!  I had it every morning last week  :)

The PERFECT post workout breakfast!

I love the Seven Seed Butter because it contains flax and chia seeds mixed in in addition to the other nuts.  These two nutrition powerhouses are things I know I should eat, but don't know exactly how to incorporate them into my meals, know what I mean?  Like any good runner, I have large bags of both chia and flax in my pantry, barely used, because I either forget to add them to a recipe or don't know how!  This NuttZo Seven Nut & Seed Butter takes all the guess work out for you, which, for someone like me who is not all that confident in her culinary skills, appreciates very much!!

Want to try some Nuttzo for yourself?  The awesome folks at Nuttzo are giving away a big old jar of my favorite NuttZo Seven Nut and Seed Butter and 24 To-Go Packets to one lucky winner!!  To enter, head on over to the Run Eat Tweet AZ Facebook Page and give the post a LIKE and tell us what you'd like to spread your Nuttzo on!!

*This giveaway is not associated with Facebook in any way.