POWER SONG SATURDAY!

SONG TITLE: Riot Rhythm

SONG ARTIST: Sleigh Bells

LYRICS: click here

MUSIC VIDEO: click here

WHY I LOVE THIS SONG: This song was on my running playlist in the summer of 2011. (Wow, time flies!) It’s so upbeat; I just love it! This band has quite a few good workout songs!

(Source: Spotify)

The race that started it all.

When I was amidst of finding out whether or not I had a sacral stress fracture a few weeks ago, I felt pretty down with the possibility of not being able to run the Mt. Summit Challenge. I was already signed up for this race way before the term ‘stress fracture’ even entered my mind. And once I was cleared to run again by my orthopedic, Dr. Aaron Mares, I was ecstatic that I was still going to be able to participate in this race. You see, the Mt. Summit Challenge is the very first race that I ever ran - my very first finish line, a life changing moment for all runners and walkers alike. The date was April 10, 2011. This race landed on my plate after being convinced by a friend to sign up. Not even thinking in terms of a race that is ‘one of the toughest races in Southwestern Pennsylvania’ (3.5 miles that climb over 1200 feet), I mailed in my application. Yes, mailed. I like the traditional standpoint of the race. I was finally going to have the chance to re-run the race that started it all.

I may be sporting propeller hair, but what I love most about this picture is that I’m smiling. Fear didn’t stand a chance that morning. When we received our cue to start, it’s the first time that I truly felt like a runner both inside and out. I was no longer the girl who could barely make it through the warmup in gym class. I was a runner. I was no longer hiding. I was completely exposed to the world as I pushed my way through the crisp, cool air.

The race started as a challenge between two friends, who were both talented runners. Rumor has it, that they were challenged by a group of guys to run the summit, from Uniontown. And they took them up on the challenge. Turns out it was in the middle of night and in February!

I know you may be questioning me as to why I didn’t just run this race last year. Last year, I was a week or so away from running the Pittsburgh Marathon, my first full. I, like many other runners, suffered from extreme taper madness. Paranoia struck me fierce, and I was convinced that my legs were going to break in 73 places if I were to breathe wrong. Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but you get my point. I didn’t want to take any chances in jeopardizing my performance on May 6, 2012.

It took me a little over an hour to get to Hopwood. I’m not typically one for driving far away for short distance races, but this race holds a special place in my heart. I met up with 2 members from the Steel City Road Runners Club, Kimberly and Clint, both of whom I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting until Sunday. They are both so incredibly nice, which I expected them to be. I felt like I already knew the both of them very well, even before meeting them in person. We all stood around praying not to be blown away by the gusts of wind and chatted until it was time to gather together at the starting line. Within the short amount of time that we were lined up, the wind picked up even more so than before. “Great,” I thought! Wind and a hill - the perfect scenario. It was time for us to show everyone what it truly means to be a Runner of Steel. I managed to run just over 1 mile before I started my run/walk strategy. My goal was to make it to the top without dry heaving.

Here I am running next to Kim - not exactly sure what point of the race this was. We pulled one another all the way to the finish line. I look like I’m either in deep thought or trying not to throw up.

It was definitely the headwind, but this meme is way too funny not to share. The conditions were windy, rainy, and chilly. That morning, we ran against the wind 100% of the time. Runners of Steel indeed.

When we finished, Kim and I congratulated one another with a cheerful high-five. We “MOUNTED THE SUMMIT!” I really wanted to beat my time from 2011 (45:57), but I ended up taking a smidgen longer to finish this year (46:38). I heard a lot of people talking about how it took them longer because of the weather conditions. There’s always next year! Kim and I already made a pact, “same time, same place!” :)

We stood around and spectated the finish line for a little bit as we waited for some of Kim’s friends to finish. As the goosebumps on my chicken arms began to multiply, I noted the same constipated look on everyone’s face as they ran up the final steep incline into the finisher’s chute. To give you all an idea of what we accomplished that morning, here is the course:

The elevation is comparable to a 7.5% incline on the treadmill.

It’s definitely a challenge, and I still can’t believe that this is what I chose as my first race back in 2011 and more so what my friend ‘chose’ for me. Apparently, this person had faith and believed in me. I’m just grateful that I found faith and belief within myself. And it left me wanting more. Here I am in 2013, 31 races later. Time sure flies.

Most people run or walk back down the Summit, and I would have, but I didn’t want to risk re-injuring my IT band after finally beginning to make some progress. One of Kim’s friends drove us back down, and we all said our goodbyes. I drove home and took a much needed nap! There’s nothing quite like running up a 3.5 mile hill with a headwind in the cold rain for fun! Call me crazy, but I can’t wait for 2014!

Chicken Salad!

-1 cup diced grilled (cooked) chicken

-1/2 cup chopped celery

-1/3 cup halved red seedless grapes

-1/3 diced red apple

-1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt

-2 tbs fat free or light mayonnaise

-1 tsp Stevia or other natural sweetener

-1 tsp Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning

-dash salt

Directions:

Mix cooked chicken with the yogurt, mayonnaise, sweetener, seasoning, and salt until well blended. Then mix in the celery, grapes, and apple. This recipe serves 2. You can either eat it just as is, or you can slather the concoction in between 2 pieces of whole grain bread. Me? I used Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Double Fiber bread. Before devouring this sandwich, I grilled each side in a smidgen of grape seed oil over medium heat.

POWER SONG SATURDAY!

SONG TITLE: The Mighty Fall

SONG ARTIST: Fall Out Boy ft. Big Sean

LYRICS: click here

MUSIC VIDEO: click here

WHY I LOVE THIS SONG:This is one of my favorite songs from Fall Out Boy’s new CD! The whole CD is amazing!

(Source: Spotify)

Quest Nutrition Bar Review & A Giveaway!

If you have a sweet tooth, I have just the thing for you! I recently have been given the opportunity to review Quest Nutrition bars. They were generous enough to send me a 12 bar sampler pack and an additional box of any flavor of my choosing. I chose Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough because I’ve read nothing but good things about their newly released flavor. I’ve been pushing aside this post for a couple of weeks because I wanted to make sure that I was able to try every single flavor before reviewing their product - only made sense. So here I am 1 bar away from needing to search for a support group titled, “Questaholics Annoymous…” Kidding! But in all seriousness, these bars are good. And by good, I mean mouthwatering good.

So much color! :)

Look at those melty bits of chocolate! Drool! The bars are firm, but chewy right out of the wrapper. But Quest Nutrition offers a handy dandy tip for those who are aiming to curb their sweet tooth. You can make your Quest Bars taste like a FRESHLY BAKED COOKIE! See the bottom of the picture below for more details! The above picture was snapped after testing their advice. They aren’t kidding! It really did taste like a freshly baked cookie.

You’re probably thinking, “how can something taste this good and still be good for you?” Check it out below! The nutrition profile is great! It’s what caught my eye in the first place! Read: Why Choose Quest?

Top 5 favorite bars:

1.) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - I could easily choose this flavor for the rest of my life and be a happy camper.

2.) Chocolate Peanut Butter - How can you lose with this combo of flavors? Especially peanut butter. It’s the greatest substance known to man.

3.) Apple Pie - All this bar needs is a serving of vanilla ice cream.

4.) PB & J - Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are my favorite of all sandwiches, so I was excited to taste this bar. I wasn’t disappointed.

5.) Banana Nut Muffin - The flavor was spot on, and you don’t have to worry about controlling the urge to eat an entire pan of banana nut muffins. Win.

Least favorite bar:

1.) Mixed Berry Bliss - It wasn’t really anything in particular, flavor wise. I’m just not a huge fan of plain fruit bars because I typically crave something more dessert-like when it comes to nutrition/energy bars.

This was way too funny not to share!

Guess what guys?! The people over at Quest Nutrition are being kind enough to offer one reader the chance to win their very own box of Quest Bars - the flavor is up to you! :)

Rules as requested by Quest Nutrition:

1.) You must follow their Twitter account: @questnutrition

2.) You must like their Facebook page: HERE

Rules as requested by me:

1.) You must follow my Twitter account: @fear_chaser

2.) You must like my Facebook page: HERE

To enter this giveaway, tweet to @fear_chaser a picture of you portraying their motto “STOP AT NOTHING.” Be sure to use the hashtag #chasefearQN - winner will be selected at random. Contest ends on May 3, 2013. Good luck!

And be sure to check out my story that was posted on their blog by clicking HERE!

**All opinions are my own. If you’re a company and would like me to review your product on my blog, please send an email to crouch.adrian@yahoo.com to discuss further details!