Happy Birthday, Bad Blogger

So today is my birthday. Happy birthday to me!  Even though it is my birthday, I realized that I've been a bad blogger lately.  I haven't had a new post up in over a week, so what have I been up to.  As I said it's my birthday.  Now I wish I could say that I'm holding a giveaway like I have seen other bloggers, but that's not in the cards for this year.  Maybe I'll figure out how to hold one on my one year blogoversary.  (That's a word....right?)  Now, I have promised you reviews and a couple giveaways.  And I still promise that those are still coming.  I am polishing a couple reviews and will be writing more coming soon, but for now I'm going to let you know what I been up to the past couple of weeks.

I have still been working on my #5am5k.  I am still holding true to that commitment.  I have also recruited my brother-in-law to run the Spartan Race with me next month. So, I have been working with him to try to train him for that race.  Who would've thought of me as a running coach?!  Certainly not me, but I find myself doing it still.  And in helping him I think I have also help myself because I was able to make it 8.3 miles yesterday in all. Now this is a long for my long run except for the half marathon that I ran December.  As I get closer to Tough Mudder I expect that I should be able to get to 9 or even 10 miles.  As I get to the end of October, even after the Spartan Race, I expect that I will be to at least get to 15 if not upwards of 18 miles for the G.O.A.T.z 21 mile trail run.  I am already getting nervous for Tough Mudder, but I don't know if it's more nervous or more excited.  Especially since I'll be running it with so many friends.  I do know that I'm really excited to run Spartan next month and extremely nervous for the G.O.A.T.z trail run.  I do know that if I can handle a 21 mile trail run that next year I think I may tackle Omaha marathon, or even the Lincoln marathon,  We'll see how I do with the 21 mile to see if the half marathon is more of my magic distance for now.

So, now that I have talked about what I have been doing and what I have coming up soon let's talk about the reviews I'm doing and the giveaways.  I know we all love giveaways!  I will be doing a review on Perky Jerky, Tiger Balm, Quest Nutrition "guilt free" pasta, GungHo energy, and at the moment I know that I am forgetting something.  The giveaways that I will be holding will most certainly be for GungHo and also for the Tiger Balm.  If I am remembering correctly I will be allowed to give away some GungHo to either 2 or 3 readers and the Tiger Balm I believe is also for 3 readers.  So be sure to keep a lookout for those reviews and giveaways in the coming weeks.

Until next time, keep those beat coming!

A Biena Foods Winner has been selected!!!

Thanks to all that entered, but unfortunately there can only be one winner.  And that winner is.......Bethany over at Frugal Running Mama!  Congrats on your win!  I sent you an email.  You have 48 hours to respond, so please claim quickly!

If you weren't a winner don't despair.  Not only do I have a jerky review coming up, but I also have an energy gel review with a giveaway coming up soon!  And that giveaway won't have just one winner, but THREE WINNERS!!!!  I also want to mention that I'll be reviewing a very low carb pasta from a surprising source.  So, be sure to keep a lookout for those posts.  I'll have the 1st two posts up in the next week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Let's talk snacks, my Biena Chickpeas review/giveaway!

I know, I know....you are asking why we are talking about snacks when you just want to have one.  Go ahead and get one.  I'll wait until you come back.  Got one yet?  Okay, well I'm moving on.

So, just under a month ago I had a company start following me on Twitter.  It was kind of funny because within the next day I was reading a review about them from another blogger.  So, I sent them a message to this fact and then responded saying that they would love for me to try some and review them for them.  Oh yeah, and they also mentioned giving some away to one of my readers!  So, bonus for one of you!  More on that later though.  The company is named Biena Foods.  They make a line of chickpea snacks.  I know some people are saying, "What's a chickpea?!"  Other names you might know them by are: garbanzo bean, ceci bean, chana, hummus, and there are a few others.  Now you know what I'm talking about?  Either way I'm going to let you know what I think about the chickpea snacks that Biena Foods makes.

Photo from the Biena Foods website.

As you can see from the picture above the snacks come in four (4) different flavors: Honey Roasted, Barbeque, Sea Salt, and Cinnamon Maple.  Now I was lucky enough to have tried all of the flavors. (Thank you Biena Foods!)  The way I would describe these awesome snacks is kind of like Corn Nuts. (Who remembers or still eats those?  Any willing to admit it?)  They have a similar base flavor except they aren't as hard.  So, they don't kill your teeth.  The Barbeque flavored ones REALLY remind me of the flavor of Corn Nuts, but not at the same time.  These snacks are a great source of fiber (6 or 7 g per serving) while providing some protein (5 g per serving) and keeping the calories down (120 per serving).  You can check out all of the nutrition information from them here.

The Barbeque and Honey Roasted that I took to snack on at work.

The Sea Salt and Cinnamon Honey as I snack on them at home.

Here is a "bite size" portion....roughly.

Between the different flavors I would have to say that the Barbeque is my favorite overall.  The Honey Roasted are a good one when you have that sweet tooth kick in.  The Cinnamon Honey can kind of help with that, but is a good way to change up the flavors.  And the Sea Salt are a great substitute when you need something salty and don't want to go grab a bag of chips.

And now....the giveaway!!!  The folks over at Biena Foods have provided the opportunity for you to get your very own pack of any flavor chickpea snacks from their lineup.  So, enter below and be sure to follow Biena on Facebook, Twitter (@BienaFoods), & Instagram(@BienaFoods) to make sure you are connected to them and get the most possible entries.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unfortunately the giveaway is only for US residents only.  Sorry, they don't yet ship internationally.

I've got 2 more reviews and a giveaway coming up very soon as well. Hints: Jerky & Energy

Until next time, keep those beats coming!

Mid Month Update and Giveaway Mention

I realize it's been a while since I've posted...again.  I have been working on my #5am5k run schedule and commitment and not doing too bad.  I have been running 4 or more days a week.  I ran yesterday morning and I even beat my current PR for the route that I have been taking.  I even changed up the route a little this morning and I added quarter mile to it...and I still finished 8 minutes faster than I had been finishing lately I have been fishing about 39-52 minutes and this morning I finished in just under 42 minutes.  So, I don't know if this morning I just had to drive to push that hard or if I just getting better but I will continue to try to work harder to improve upon this morning's time even.  I will continue my commitment but now instead of getting up at 5 A.M. thanks to the kids going back to school I have to get up even earlier.  So, now I am going to try to finish by 5 A.M.  However, I will still be calling it the #5am5k because it still fits.  So, don't forget to check me out on Twitter almost every weekday to see how I'm doing.  I am even tagging pictures that I take once in a while on Instagram with both #5am5k and #sight.  So, be on the lookout for those as well.  Today's #5am5k didn't happen thanks to heavy rain, so I get an extra hour of sleep.  But now I'm short a run so I will be visiting the fitness center at work and hitting up my friend the dreadmill and putting in some miles for a #runch today!

Biena All Natural Chickpea Snacks

Now let's talk snacks.  I have been trying these Biena All Natural Chickpea snacks (http://bienafoods.com/) and they have allowed me to hold a giveaway for all of my readers, and hopefully some new ones.  So, keep track of the next posting that I will be posting in the next day or 2 to read my review and get your chance at your very own Biena chickpea snacks.

Until next time, keep those beats coming!