Cinco de Miler 2019 review

May 14, 2019 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 4 Comments

Disclaimer: I’m reviewing Cinco de Miler as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

This is the first race I’ve done truly for fun and not for competition. And for this type A, competitive runner that was tough! But I have not had that much fun in a race in a long time, so I’m glad I did 🙂 I think the reason I had fun is because I agreed to run the race stride for stride with one of my good friends, Ben! He had just run the Illinois Marathon the previous week and I have just started seriously training, so there was no reason to run a fast, competitive race for either of us. I also do not think I was capable of a fast, competitive race at this point anyway. 😛

We lined up in corral A and agreed to keep our 5 mile race pace around 8 minute miles. And that is exactly what we did! Although it was technically a negative split! Mile 1 was 8:00 minutes and by mile 5 we were at 7:27, but this is because we saw my husband and the inflatable piñata that signified the finish line. The course was flat and fast along the lakefront path, although there were some spots of flooding from the recent rain. The volunteers were nice and helpful, especially with the spot on the course around mile 4 where we had to veer off the lakefront path. Post-race we were offered beer (although not me because I forgot my ID). And there was a mechanical bull, but I was too afraid to try it. It looked really fun though! And the breakfast buffet had tacos galore. I was thinking about tacos when the photo above was taken (not really, but I am that happy when I am running or thinking about tacos 😉 ).

Overall, the Cinco de Miler was an awesome race! The race day weather could not be beat, either. The race course is flat, fast, and it’s a rare distance, so it is an (almost) guaranteed PR (unless you didn’t race it like me). The post-race party was very festive, with the music and mechanical bull. And they had breakfast tacos, enough said! 😛 They also have free race photos and who doesn’t love that?! It is a race that I plan to run again, but to actually race the next time 😉

Did you run the Cinco de Miler this year or in previous years? What did you think?

Product Review: CTM Band

April 22, 2018 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 6 Comments

Disclaimer: I received the CTM Band to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I am not exaggerating when I say that the CTM band has been a life saver and welcome addition to both my and my husband’s training/recovery tool box. 🙂

No other tool that I have at home has brought me as much relief from tightness and soreness (especially with my quads and IT band) as the CTM band. And trust me, as a former collegiate runner with a storied injury history I have tried many, many tools. The stick, the trigger point foam roller, a regular foam roller, a tennis ball, you name it…I’ve likely tried it. The CTM band is the closest at home tool to providing me the relief I would get when I’d go to a Physical Therapist and get the Graston Technique done. The upside of the CTM band: less painful, less expensive, and similar results (sweet, sweet relief, looser tissue, improved range of motion). Check out their website to learn how to use the CTM Band for different injuries, sore spots, and areas of your body.

And I’m not the only one in my household that loves the CTM band! During this marathon training cycle my husband was experiencing the worst quad soreness he has ever had and after two days of suggesting he tried my CTM band he finally caved (he’s running the Illinois Marathon). It was life changing for him! The next day his soreness was a lot better and felt like he had better range of motion during his run. Now he regularly uses the CTM band before and after running. I often have to fight him to use it first if we run at the same time! 😛 I’m even packing the CTM band for our race next weekend (marathon for him and half marathon for me). I think he just needs his own 😉

I also think you should try out the CTM band! Especially because I have a sweet deal for you: the code “CTMBIBRAVE” gets you 20% off your order! So try it out and let me know what you think! 🙂

Finally, don’t just take my word, see what other BibRave Pros have to say about the CTM Band:

I’m an Ambassador?!

December 11, 2017 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 6 Comments

Guess what?! I’m a 2018 BibRave Pro! What the what?!😱 I’m still in disbelief that someone besides my mom, sister, and husband think I’m cool enough to promote running! Cue the the tears of joy… 😛 So, what exactly is a BibRave Pro and what is Bibrave?!

I’m glad you asked! Until this fall, I was wondering the same thing… I kept seeing people using the #BibRavePro and #bibchat on my Instagram for their training runs and races while decked out in orange Bibrave gear and assumed it was a running clothing brand or something…but then I did some research and saw it was a website dedicated to race reviews. I also reached out to one of my favorite running bloggers who is a second year BibRave Pro: Connie at Constantly and asked her what it was all about. She highly recommended the Bibrave website, told me about the product review and free race opportunities AND encouraged me to apply to be a BibRavePro! I am still shocked I was chosen! 🙂

Bibrave reminds of the website Rate My Teachers , but that might be the teacher in me making the comparison. 👩🏼‍🏫🤓 On Bibrave, you rate the races you’ve run based on a variety of factors such as course scenery, aid stations, difficulty, and swag. It is similar to the concept of Rate My Teachers where you look at reviews to decide if you want to switch to a different teacher for next semester or write an awesome review for a good one (which, P.S., is much appreciated coming from a fellow teacher :P). On Bibrave, you might look at reviews when deciding if you want to shell out the big bucks for a new race or you might write a review to share your experiences during a race, either positive or negative to help out fellow runners. It is a really cool concept!

I cannot wait to have all of you join me in 2018 to review races (from 5k and beyond), products, and to form an awesome running community of runners all over the United States and world! 🙂 Please follow along on my BibRavePro journey here, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Also, check out my discounts page for some race and product discounts. 🙂 Finally, please let me know if you have any questions about this blog or about being a BibRavePro- I’d be happy to help out!