Hi!  Sorry I keep disappearing.  Who knew the end of your senior year in college could be so…busy?!  Well, it has been!  Anyway, I’m back!  And I’m pooped!  Because Russ and I ran our second Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run 10 Miler!  This race is the best race out there- so flat, SO MANY SUPPORTERS, and one straight shot to the finish- no running there and back!

After a really fun day in the city yesterday (more to come on that tomorrow), Russ and I went to my house to bake cookies with my mom.  I went to my room and there were TWO packages for me from the good people at Vega Bars. 

Of course, I have no self control and ripped into these bad boys as soon as I opened the box.  Russ and I shared the Vega One Bar, which is a meal replacer bar.  We tried the chocolate peanut butter flavor and I liked that it was super chocolately, but not super sweet.  Does that make sense?   It also has enough “oomph” to actually be a meal.  As someone that NEVER misses breakfast, but struggles to find time for lunch, this type of thing is perfect because I can carry it with me, eat it quickly, and it doesn’t have a bunch of funky ingredients.  Win, win, win.

I was sent a bunch of their bars to try, and no better to test ’em out than before a ten miler, no?

Before the race, I snacked on the Vega Sport Energy Bar since I figured it would be light enough to not cramp me up while running, but also give me enough energy to get through the ten miles.  I was right!  I liked this flavor (Apple Cherry) because it wasn’t too sweet.  I am not a huge fan of bars that taste like they should be a dessert, so this was great! Perfect for a quick snack before a run or any workout.  I mean, it does say “sustain” right on the package, so perfect to sustain a good workout!  And an extra bonus, all of these bars have recognizable ingredients that I can pronounce, so I knew they would fuel me in a good way!

Getting to the start of the race was almost a fiasco, but not quite.  We tried to catch a taxi, but the driver stopped and then sped off!  How rude! Anyway, we crammed our way onto the most crowded subway I’ve ever encountered an got cozy with some guy’s armpit. 🙂

Once we got there, we had just enough time to drop our bag, wait in the incredibly long lines for the bathroom, and head off!  300 porta-potties for 40,000 runners!  It was the perfect amount of time to get ready for the race.  We definitely learned that lesson last year!  Anyway, it was really exciting because my dad came out to support us!  I was so excited that he came and made it a lot easier to get through the miles.  I set little goals to get to each stop where he was waiting.

Russ and I went into the race without any expectations for an awesome time and just wanted to have fun.

We figured we would finish in the 1:45 time and take it really  slow, but with everyone cheering, we ran faster than expected!  We were coasting miles 1-7, but my knee started to throb around that time.  I knew if I stopped, it would get worse so I pushed on and followed Russ.

I’m telling ya, we were passing the Mile 9 sign before I knew it.  This race FLIES BY!  We kicked it for the last 1/2 mile (but not too fast that we missed a good photo op) and finished in 1 hour and 31 minutes.  Not great, but not awful either and we had a lot of fun doing it.  I wolfed down a soft pretzel and a shot of coffee.  After that, we grabbed our stuff and headed to the bus for a ride to the subway.  Talk about the smelliest bus ride, ever 🙂

Thank goodness, the subway was free for runners, since we didn’t have any money!  We took two subways to get back to Russ’ apartment, but on the way home I had ANOTHER Vega Bar- this time, it was the Vega Sport Protein Bar.  I’ve said it before, but I’m not really a fan of protein anything because it’s usually gritty and/or chalky.  I was hesitant to try this bar, but I packed the Chocolate-Coconut flavor for some post-race fuel.  It was a little gritty, but the chocolate flavor was strong, and after an endurance event, it provided adequate protein to re-fuel.  I liked the chocolate flavor, but would save these for really tough workouts, as they do pack quite a few calories, but definitely no more than other protein bars!

It was such a FUN race and it makes me feel so proud to be a part of this city and see all the support and love that everyone has for one another.  This is the City of Brotherly Love for a reason, right?  I literally ran all  ten miles with a HUGE grin on my face, happy to be running and a part of all of the excitement!

I’m glad Russ and I had the opportunity to run this awesome race for a second time and I’m already looking forward to next year.  I think I’ve had my fair share of Vega Bars for one day, but rest assured that the Vega Snack Bar will make its way into my busy day tomorrow!   Dark Chocolate Mixed Nuts & Sea Salt?  My kind of bar! I’ll report back!

I’m getting ready to tackle an enormous amount of homework, but before then, I’m going to make myself a banana protein smoothie and drink a lot of water!

Disclaimer:  I received Vega Bars via Fit Approach in return for a review on the blog.  As always, all opinions are my own.  Thank you for your support!