Review: Joos 3 Day Reboot Cleanse

The buildup 

I've been looking at several juice-based, 3-5 day cleanse programs lately as I feel like I sort of needed to reset things.  I generally eat healthily, but wanted to start 2014 fresh and pure as I embark on my "clean14" challenge. The key things I was looking for were to be organic and fresh. Too many nutrients breakdown over time, and pasteurization kills a lot of the good stuff for the sake of shelf life. That means many of the juice cleanses out there need to be used right after being made, some with daily deliveries of fresh juice.  As a result, a lot of the options out there are hyper-local and direct - no going to a chain grocery store to buy mass produced stuff. You have to live in the city where the company is based, and often get it from them or one of their partners.

Boston has some options (though not as many as NYC from what I saw), including Newton-based Joos. A bit of serendipity struck in that my wife got a Groupon offer from Joos as I was looking at them as an option. As these cleanses can be quite expensive, I decided this was the way to go. As this would imply, I paid for the Joos I'm reviewing here - no free/media sample action, so no risk of bias.

What it is & how it works
Joos works with many local businesses which act as depots where they can drop your order off. They have a very long list of depots (I counted 28) throughout the greater Boston area, so it's a good, convenient option. They also offer home delivery in several towns for a small delivery fee. The depots get product Mondays and Thursday, so you can get the Joos those days. What is a little confusing is that the info for their Newton HQ says you can pick up any day. When I inquired about doing so, I was told I could only pickup on Monday or Thursday. This discrepancy between their website and practices was an early indicator of things to come, but more on that later.

They offer several options, with three, five and seven day 'cleanses' which they call 'reboots' being the core product. They start at $149 for the three day, but there are lots of different options for how you go about it, with pricing easily getting into the low-several-hundred range if you go all out. This is pretty competitively priced, and cheaper than many NYC-based options I found.  I chose the three day. They also have these great little mini-muffin looking things called Joos Bites that are essentially little baked treats using the fiber discarded from the juicing process.

You get two types of Joos comprised of all different flavors. The types are elixirs (fruitier) and presses (green or citrus-y with chia). I'm actually not really sure what the difference between these two types is as they don't really make it clear. The documentation you get doesn't mention it either, but references Joos20, which you don't get. More on this later. Their website lists five flavors (Antioxidant Blast, Green Lemonade, Vitality Booster, Green Power, Citrus Refresh) of Joos, which I think you get (if memory serves), but I seem to remember getting more flavors. Since there's nothing in the documentation and I already recycled the bottles, I can't confirm that.

You have four 16 ounce Jooses a day - a morning drink that has chia (for energy), and then a mix of red (from beets) and green (kale, chard, etc) juices throughout the day. They generally say what's in them very clearly and boldly on the front, and the presses have nutritional info labels on the back. Oddly, the elixirs lacked this. More on that later.

Add to this hot lemon water, which is how you start each day, so five 'prescribed' drinks, plus all the water you want during the day.

Unlike all other cleanses I found, Joos is not a juice-only approach, as you eat a large lunch and a dinner. Both should be vegan. You can also eat at other times, but the guidance is to be plant-based (fruits and veggies). They provide two Word documents that provide guidance, philosophy and recipes to help you through it all. They gives you a table format of what to do when during the reboot program, and also gives guidance on how to continue on after finishing with their products. I actually didn't receive these two documents, but had their older, less clear document that needed a bit of clarifying from the staff at Joos for me to know what to do. More on this later.

My impressions
The top thing I hear from people in relation to juicing and juice cleanses is that they taste bad - undrinkably bad - and you feel like you have no energy all day. By the end of the cleanse, you're totally zapped.  I've also heard of a few that really strip stuff out of your body via frequent trips to the bathroom (the sitting kind of trips).

I have to say, the prevailing good impression I got from Joos is that it isn't like the stereotypical cleanse people are afraid of.  The juices aren't like fruit punch or anything, but they're definitely tolerable. I found the elixirs to be pretty tasty (you'd be surprised how good beet juice can be). I've had a lot of different green juices, and this was no worse than any of them, and probably the easiest to drink. The toughest ingredient to handle in a juice is typically raw ginger as it can be spicy and burning on the way down, which many of these have. Ginger does a lot of good in you, so it's worth it. Yes, it does make the juices bite more on the way down, but the team at Joos did a really nice job balancing things out.

Additionally, their Joos Bites are fantastic. It's really a clever idea to use the 'waste' product of juicing to give you a fiber-rich, super-tasty snack. They look like mini-muffins, and taste sort of like bran muffins with an overtone of veggies. They have vegan chocolate chips in them, though and there's no ingredients or labeling to tell me what they were specifically. Cacao nibs, maybe? I've had other vegan chocolate chips, and found these good but not as chocolatey, which is why I wondered if they are cacao (they're not as sharp of most nibs I've had).  Whatever it is, the things are tasty, moist, and addictive. Just be careful - since they're basically pure fiber (with some kind of gluten-free flour. I'd imagine it's something like fava-garbanzo or almond flour, but I don't know - um, yeah, more on this later).

Lastly, the pricing is competitive to good, and they often do Groupons. Many three day cleanses I found start closer to $200 than $150, so Joos is very reasonable. That said, see the final section for my thoughts on the value.

Speaking of value, the idea of going to a vendor for a juice cleanse is something you need to stop and think about more broadly. A good juicer (like this outstanding Breville for $199 or the next model down for $149) costs about the same as commercial juice cleanses. That means once you do your first one, you're only in the hole the cost of the produce (maybe $40-60). But when you do your second, you're now ahead by $100 or so, and have 'paid' for the machine you bought the first time around. And you can have fresh juice any time you want.  I'm not really reviewing the value of Joos's offering on these economics but rather under the idea that you chose to go with a prepared option, and Joos stacks up well in that arena.

However, if we're talking about having someone else make it, Whole Foods has been putting juicing bars in many locations (we have two within 15 minutes of our home) that sell three sizes of juice, with the largest being an (almost) $8 24 ouncer. They have a lot of flavors and will make custom juices from their bountiful, organic produce inventory. If you are willing and able to go get it made there, know what you want in each juice, you would save about $53 over a three day cleanse. Relative to this option, no prepared cleanse stacks up well, but you need to ask yourself if the hassle is worth it. To me, I wanted to just have it taken care of and highly portable. Was that worth $53?  Probably something around that, so I'd give Joos another check mark here. You'll have to decide that one for yourself. With the Groupon, that price difference all but went away, so it was definitely worth it.

My depressions
I like what Joos stands for, what they're trying to do, and how hard they've worked to setup easy ways to get their product all around Boston. My biggest issue with their product can be summed up in one word - clarity. Or, better yet, lack of clarity.

Website
Their website is beautiful, but not helpful enough. It doesn't have a clear "Product" page to learn about what elixir or press juices are about (or what the difference is). They didn't have a clear schedule for how to use their product when I got it (they do provide this now, but it's still not on their website - more on that in a moment). I wanted to look at depot locations to do a pickup, but "location" wasn't a page. Instead, you have to go to the ordering page to see the locations. That's not a huge deal, but I bought a Groupon, so I wasn't going to order, so it didn't occur to me to look there to see their locations.  None of this is earth shattering, but it would be much nicer if things were more intuitive.

I spoke with the CEO, Lauri Meizler, and she informed me that they have a new site in the works, and it addresses these types of things, which was great to hear. I'd add that Lauri was great to talk to, clearly passionate about the space, and really took all of my comments and thoughts to heart (and made some immediate changes based on my feedback, so I knew she was being genuine and not just trying to smile and nod while ignoring what I shared).

Getting the Product
Intuitiveness aside, there was a bigger issue.  In the list of depots, they mention their office in Newton where you can pick up your Joos any day after 6:30am. I happened to be off from work on a Wednesday for an appointment near there (about a week after I reached out to them to get my Groupon redeemed), so I requested picking up my order there and then. Here is where things sort of broke down. I was told that deliveries only happen on Mondays and Thursdays. I responded saying that I wasn't asking for delivery (home delivery or depot pick up are the options, and I was talking about depot pick up), but wanted to pick up in Newton on that Wednesday, which fits the options listed on their site. I was again told that deliveries are only on Mondays and Thursdays.  OK, I didn't feel like arguing about it anymore, so I settled on a Thursday in Boston near my office.

Two days went by with no response.  I chased, and heard back quickly that I was scheduled for Thursday, November 14th at the location I mentioned.  I was told the Joos would be there after a certain time, which was fine.  I moved a meeting so I could pick it up, walked over to the depot, asked for my Joos, and the receptionist couldn't find it.  I called the number I had, and got no answer.  I left a message, and got a call back from the very nice lady I had been emailing with. She claimed not to know anything about my order, but she'd look into it for me. I reminded her that we had been emailing back and forth (I mentioned that I'd be doing this blog review, which I had told her in my initial email). I got a call back a little later stating that she realized she had put me in for the wrong date (despite confirming the right date back to me).  She apologized profusely and genuinely, and proceeded to go over and above to get me product the next day - she said she'd have a batch made that day, pick it up herself that night and deliver it the next day, which is what happened. Unfortunately, the Bites wouldn't be available until Monday (see the next section on product life), but that was ok. I wanted to do the cleanse over the weekend, so I could still do it this way.

I know this is in the 'depressions' section yet sounds positive. It is. They messed up. That happens. The question is what we do when we make mistakes, and the team at Joos really stood by their product and me as a customer, giving of themselves personally, outside of hours, to make things right. I really want to commend them for that. Also, Lauri informed me that they are going to change the text around that Newton depot or change the pick up options so the two align.

Listed Product Life
While the effort to make things right was great, some things were a little odd with what I got. Since you can't pick it up before you'd need to drink your first one, I asked when I should start the cleanse (they don't give any guidance online or in any of their guidance docs). I was told to wait until the next day (start Saturday).  Recapping the dates, this means the juice was made on the 14th, delivered on the 15th, and I'd start my three day cleanse on the 16th. The juice is best fresh, and has no preservatives or pasteurization, so it doesn't have much of a shelf life. I knew that, but I was really surprised to see that the elixir's were marked as "Best by 11/16/2013".  As in the day I'm supposed to start drinking them?  As in, 2/3 of the reboot would be with product past its "best by" date? The presses were marked December 5th, so there was no issue there.

That said, I didn't notice any flavor issues with the product and didn't get sick from it, so I'm sure it wasn't spoiled.  However, what I'm concerned about is the vitamins and other nutrients were not as potent as they are intended to be, which does matter. In speaking with Lauri, she informed me that they're very conservative on their "Best By" dates, so the juice really was fine. I figured that was the case.

The Bites are really the only thing that lack much of a shelf life. The Joos itself keeps for several days (or nearly a month for the press flavors). I don't recall a "Best By" date on the Bites, but their limited shelf life was made clear to me when we were straightening out the issue I had in getting the product (that's why they couldn't be delivered until Monday as they are only baked twice a week).

Product Description
As I mentioned, the Bites have no description or nutritional info at all. It's not the end of the world for me, but if I was gluten-intollerant (I only found out they are gluten-free after I had them), had a nut allergy, etc, then it would be something that concerned me.  I didn't really care about fat or sugar content, so it was more about what it was I was eating, which really matters to some people.

The elixirs also have no nutritional info, and the chia drinks don't even list chia on the ingredients list, but you can see them floating in there.  The caps have the word "CHIA" stamped on them at least. Lauri told me that labeling is being addressed as they've only recently launched this new line of flavors.

Guidance
The biggest issue I had is the guidance document they sent me. It is really long (16 pages), including background on Joos, why you should use the product, what a reboot is (their term for cleansing), and many pages of really useful, clean-eating recipes.  You could almost describe it as a brochure for the company. They advocate a 21 day clean eating program that begins with a reboot, so they provide guidance to help you get there. Unfortunately, the document lacked guidance on what to do with the Joos itself during the cleanse. I realized that the document is actually out of date as it references their old product and reboot program. That explains a lot. Lauri took my feedback on this, and split the document into a recipe guide and a more general guide document that now includes a clear table of what to drink or eat when. It still has a lot of info that can just be a lot to take in or get through when all you really want or need a simple, clear "do this, don't do this" list.  There's a lot of philosophy and background that's interesting but isn't truly necessary in this context. It's the difference between what and so what.

Luckily, they are very responsive by phone or email (including on the weekends), and offer lots of advice and guidance.  After reviewing what I had picked up and being totally clueless as to what to do, I called them up and was given a rundown of how to structure my day on the reboot. I love to see that they now include a simple table on what to do do when. Easy, clear, instructive.

Results
This is a tough one to comment on.  I generally eat cleanly, but I'm not vegan or vegetarian. I was hoping to clean out my system, and was prepared for some major gastric issues. It's good that I didt have any, but I didn't come away with the feeling that I was lighter (not weight-wise, but sort of in terms of my energy and health).  I'm not sure if a) one actually should expect to feel this from any cleanse (the online anecdotes from lots of cleanse vendors suggest you will, but who knows), b) I was already clean enough so there wasn't enough of a shift for me to feel it (I doubt that given years of eating stupidly), or c) I screwed up something major and stopped the product from working. I would discount c because I did what I was told on the phone and what matches the new instructions they set up, eating from their food guidance in the long document they sent when I was told I could on the phone. Perhaps that guidance is totally wrong, but I doubt it as the advice is healthy, clean, vegan food - sort of the whole food equivalent of what I was drinking. I ate raw and cooked veggies plus fruit, ate organic (I do this anyway), and cooked with little oil and no sauce. The only seasonings I used were cayenne, cinnamon and ginger, which are fine according to their document and at least cinnamon and ginger are in their drinks (cayenne may be, I just don't recall).

Something they mention in their document is using a Vega shake if you're an athlete to get extra protein. I am an athlete and do drink vegan protein shakes daily (1-2). I don't use Vega products as I don't like their ingredients or nutritional profile, so what I use should be even cleaner. To me, though, supplementing your cleanse with a protein shake, no matter how vegan, raw and organic it may be, seems counter-intuititive at best, and counter-productive at worst. It's an engineered, processed food. How can that fit in here? I ended up only having one on days one and two, and then completely skipping it on the third day to see if that made me feel any cleaner. It didn't seem to matter.

I do wonder if something like the shakes, and eating cooked food counteracts the way a cleanse is meant to work. I'm not educated on these things enough to know, but it is something I'm curious about. When I looked into various juice cleanse options, Joos was the only one who talked about eating while on the cleanse. The team behind it is super knowledgeable and committed to this space, so I feel like I can trust them, but it is curious that no other cleanse I found works this way. When you add that to how I didn't feel during (light headed, gastric issues) or after (not necessarily rebooted), I wonder even more.

To buy or not to buy
This is something to take in pieces.  First, let's assume you aren't going to buy a juicer, and you don't want to go to Whole Foods or some other juice bar every day for fresh juice, get mason jars to store it, and keep it chilled. Then let's assume you live in the Boston area, which about 315 million of you don't.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can focus on whether you should get a Joos reboot since you're now officially in their addressable market. I know I wrote a lot of 'depressions' above, but I think that 90% of it can be addressed by an updated website, better guidance and clearer product labeling - all things they're working on.  So let's assume that the product is really clear, the way to use it really clear, and you want to do a cleanse that you buy ready to go.

In that situation, I would say Joos is a very strong contender. As much as eating and using protein shakes seemed odd to me, I think it made it something anyone can do.  Just drinking four 16 ounce bottles of juice plus some water doesn't sound feasible to me. And it's not that I can't commit to doing things for my health. If you've read my blog or followed me on Twitter, you know that I am passionate doing so many things for my health and have stayed committed to them for a long time now. Given that, what good is a cleanse you stop doing before the first day is done?

We have to be realistic in our path of being healthy. There's nothing unhealthy about what Joos structures in their program, it's just a question of how extreme or intense it is. This is probably why they really advocate a full 21 day approach. The reboot isn't meant to strip your bowels clean of years of bad eating. It's meant to literally reboot you onto a new path of healthful eating habits. Remember the old adage that you need to do something for three weeks for it to become habit.  Guess what 21 days is? Follow that another three to four weeks after doing the reboot, and you have shifted your eating habits. That's something I can really get behind. That's how you enlighten.your.body.

Q: How do I stick with it? How do I do what I know I should, but just don't do? (Part I)

Q: How do I stick with doing what I know I should? I am pretty good about exercise, but I eat things I know I shouldn't. I just have to make myself do it, right?

A: It isn't about making yourself do anything, or it won't last. You have to find a way to do it without having to force yourself with tools like discipline and will power. Forcing yourself means you view it as a chore. If you view it as a chore, it won't last.  The key is finding your real motivation.

Discipline and will power mean you have to make yourself do it. I'm talking about finding something bigger that drives you so you aren't forcing yourself, but rather you want to do it and enjoy doing it. 'Enjoying' and 'wanting' may sound foreign in the context of eating right and exercising, but that's the point.

For me, it was a culmination of things that hit a couple of years ago when my wife got sick and I realized I had put on much of the weight I had lost when I was younger and basically felt miserable physically and about myself. Our young son was watching all of this. That isn't what a child should see as health role models. It literally flipped a switch in my head and drove me in a way I hadn't been driven before, not even when I lost 65 pounds when I was 17.

Now I do it because I genuinely love it and don't like not doing it. I don't have to push myself. I see myself in a totally different way, and fitness isn't something I have to do, but something I want to do and is intrinsically tied to who I am. Before, the best way to describe it was a chore.

No one wants to do chores.

The same goes for eating right, which is where many people would benefit from focusing. While there are probably a few key things you can change in your diet that will have dramatic effects, if you don't find that thing that makes you want to do it, you'll fall off the wagon when temptation arises.

What will motivate you to come at it differently? That's a question you can only answer for yourself. I can help you do that, but ultimately, it has to come from you to really shift things. Figure it out, and you will enlighten.your.body.

Clean 2014

I like to give myself major, overarching goals for each year (#4 from my 10 Principles is to set goals, both near and far - this covers the 'far' part based upon which you set your 'near' goals).  My first time doing it, my goals were around the makeup of my body (lowering my weight and body fat). The second time, I focused on what my body can do (running a certain number of races of a certain distance within the year).  I used both of those big goals to build a series of steps to get there.  For instance, my second year goal was to run five 5Ks in a year. I setup my training and found races to get me there. I actually didn't technically do it since I did one 5K, one 5.6K, one 10K and a half marathon which was good for 21.1K.  I more than did the distance (41.7 vs 25), but just didn't do it as I had said I would, which I'm more than ok with.  I also did a century ride as I picked up road cycling, and climbed the three tallest peaks in New England in three days.

So the question is what to do next year.  I could set another goal of completing some specific thing, like doing a marathon (on my mind, but I think it'll be 2015, though I have an ultra-marathon relay race and a half marathon planned already).  Rather than continuing the same type of goal as last year, I decided I'd challenge myself differently, and want to invite all of you to join me.

I challenge myself to live cleanly.

I already eat pretty healthily, but I want to take it up a notch, and take a stand publicly.  I've found that going public about things makes it much easier to see you to your goals.

So what do I mean by 'clean'. For me, specifically, it means no coffee, no soda, no processed foods.

I've found myself dependent on coffee, and completely lethargic and grumpy (to put it nicely) when I don't have it. That is not ok at all. I'd love to go the next step and say, "no caffeine," but I don't want to cut out green tea or other things that have caffeine as they have other benefits.  Coffee is definitely the main way I get it, and I don't get relief from feeling run over by a bus if I have other kinds of caffeine, so it's definitely most important to cut out coffee.  No dependence here!

I also find that I feel much worse (physically and emotionally) when I put junk into my body.  Junk doesn't mean treats, but processed foods that are more manufactured than made.  Foods that aren't so much food than a series of chemicals brought together and put in a container by machines. I don't eat much of it, but I do eat it at times, and I never feel good after.

The last thing is no soda.  I actually tried to do this in 2013, but started cutting myself slack on airplanes, and then when driving long distances and then when eating out at a restaurant.  I don't need it, and it isn't good for me, so enough.  No excuses, no exceptions.

As an aside, I would have added "no alcohol" but I've been doing that already.  I was never a big drinker, and decided it was pointless to have a couple of glasses of wine a year (what I had gotten down to), so I might as well just keep it out of my body. I wasn't having enough to get the benefits people talk about from wine, and doing so would concern me about the other things I'd be asking my body to deal with (sugar, toxins, etc).

I am actually going to start this now rather than waiting until 2014 to start. I don't need to put off the health and mental benefits for another couple of months.  Today is the fourth day I've been 'clean' by this definition, and I'm definitely coming out of the dark with the coffee dependency, which is great.

So, will you take up the "clean14" challenge?  What will your challenge be to yourself?  Will you start now, or wait until 1/1/2014? Take a long look at your life and how you fuel it, and find places where you can and will do better for your happiness, your health, and the example you set for your friends and family. Join the "clean14" challenge on Facebook and use the hashtag "#clean2014" on Twitter to share your challenge and how you're doing.  It's a great way to enlighten.your.body.

Why Do I Look Creepy? Mo' Awareness for Mo' Health

I look creepy.  Creepy and weird. And I look this way on purpose. Why? Because of Movember. Movember is a global initiative to raise funds and awareness for men's health issues.  We do so by growing a mustache over the course of November, and using that awkward, public display as a way to get people talking and interested in the issues.  Here's a quick bit of facts from the folks at Movember:

Movember is the global men's health charity encouraging men to grow and women to support the Mo (moustache) for the 30 days of November.  Through the power of the mustache awareness and funds are raised for men’s health to combat prostate and testicular cancer.

In the US, programs directed by the Movember Foundation are focused on awareness and education, living with and beyond cancer, and research to achieve our vision of an everlasting impact on the face of men's health.

Movember started in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 with two guys who wanted to bring back a past fashion trend - the moustache. That year, 30 guys participated but no money was raised. In 2004, amazed by the fun they had and the conversations that were sparked, four of the 30 original members came together to make their Mo-growing an annual, official charitable endeavor by adding an important cause – prostate cancer.  That year, 450 participants raised $43,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Movember came to the US in 2007, with 2,127 participants raising over $740,000. This year, there will be official Movember campaigns in 21 countries.

Globally, 3 million participants have raised more than $446 million to date.

There are other, similar activities, like Septembeard and No Shave November, but having a beard doesn't get people to look at you and ask questions like having a mustache does.  Not by a long shot.

On a personal level, I found myself in many situations where the awkwardness of having a Mo’ couldn’t be avoided. Some people might shy away from growing for this reason, but I took it as a chance to address head on why I have a Mo’ and educate people about the cause. That’s the whole point. This isn’t a small item you wear, a 5K race you run, or an email you send asking for money for a cause you care about.  It’s something front and center you literally have in people’s faces every day. You can’t help but educate people on the prevalence of prostate Cancer and why they should get behind me, my awkward look and Movember as a whole.

I went to a business school to give a presentation mid-Movember last year. There was no getting around my Mo’, so I decided to put it into my presentation to add a bit of levity and the opportunity to educate the audience on Movember. Someone had suggested I shave before giving the presentation so I don’t look unprofessional, but what looks unprofessional about giving of yourself to a worthy cause? A simple explanation of what I’m doing moves ‘unprofessional’ into a feeling that I am doing something good, which no doubt improves people’s professional image of me. Add to that, more than half the guys who walked in the room for the presentation weren’t just guys but were fellow Mo’ Bros, and it was definitely for the better that I hadn’t shaved.

On a much more personal level, I have a young son, and he also got into it with me. We talked about it every day – he’d help me take my daily progress photo, and often jumped into the shot with me while puffing out his upper lip to try to get his Mo’ to show (he was three, so it wasn’t going too well).  He’s already committed to growing one this year, but I’m afraid he’ll be stuck wearing a fake for a few more years. He had literally been talking about it since the summer to make sure we were ready for it when Movember 1^st came around.  More importantly than his ability to grow facial hair is the fact that he is aware of the cause, engaged in it, and sees that being charitable matters and can be fun and engaging. I’m proud of how it’s taught him about giving back of himself.

Ultimately, that’s what Movember is about. Sure, we raise lots of money for a very good cause. Sure we have some fun with it. But the key is really how you can’t avoid talking about it with others, and that awareness is how we’ll ultimately make the most progress.

I'm proud to be the global team captain for my company, which now has nearly 100 members (vs just under 40 last year), and we've already raised over $10,000 (we should double or triple that by month-end). And it's a lot of fun with people really engaging in it.  If you're interested and able, think about supporting my fundraising/creepy-looking efforts here. I'll share my final picture via Twitter at month-end, so be sure to follow me to see how it turns out. What you see shaping up is more of a block of marble from which I will sculpt the final Mo'.  I have big plans for it.

Sometimes, you have to be willing to laugh at yourself and let your serious side down to enlighten.your.body. What are you willing to do?

Lessons from my 4th Race (1st Half Marathon)

Yesterday, I completed my first half marathon, the Ashland Half Marathon (there's also a 5K so it's official the Ashland Half Marathon & 5K). I say first because, by definition, it was, but also because I plan to do at least another (I'm already signed up for the Runner's World Heartbreak Hill Half in June - join our team by selecting "newbodies" if you're doing it!). It was a pretty emotional lead up as I've been battling a few different injuries, and had to switch my shoe plan at the very last minute with no real testing of the shoes I was to run in. For anyone who runs in races, you know that you don't mess with your race plan last minute, and you definitely don't use something you've never used before the race. I had run in these shoes before (Adidas Adipure Gazelle), and liked them, but have had issues with them lately, so I was nervous. They also don't really have much cushioning at all, so if I had to back off from toe striking, I was putting my knees at risk of injuries from heel striking without any shock absorption.

I'm getting ahead of myself...this is my fourth lessons from a race, so be sure to read the first (actually a series of 3 posts), second and third.

Race day was a beautiful New England Autumn day in historic Ashland, MA.  The Boston Marathon used to start in Ashland, and they built a part (called Marathon Park) complete with plaques to commemorate the fact. This was where the race started and ended.  It had rained at about 5 AM, so the ground was slightly wet (another thing my shoes aren't great at dealing with).  674 attempted the Half (577 finishers), and another 454 went for the 5K (408 finishers) - all grouped together at the starting line. I was lucky to get a spot about 4 people back from the start, which made for a much better beginning than in any other race I've been in where I've had to contend with lots of people in front of me that I needed to weave my way through (I don't like running in a crowd, so I try to break out and find a good slot in the first half mile).

In addition to lots of spectators and race officials, racing legend Bill Rodgers was there.  He won Boston and NYC four times each on his way to winning 22 marathons globally. Pretty cool to see him.

I should just say, having a quality race organizer and race management company makes ALL the difference.  Hats off to the entire organizing team for the Ashland Half and to Race Menu, who managed the registration, course, timing, logistics, etc. I've done a few races that have had professional race management companies on the job, and it's night and day. The courses are the right length, the mile markers are in the right places (almost always - RaceWire and CitySports, I'm looking at you!), and results are posted quickly and correctly. I've been in two events that lacked real race management, and they ranged from ok by a bit janky (results posted as a PDF image a few days later) to dangerous (courses wildly off to the tune of 40% extra distance). Race Menu did a great job, as did the race organizers. Kudos and thanks.

Getting to my experience in the race itself, I've never run this far before (I should have, but injuries prevented my training from getting that far), so I had a mix of not knowing how I'd do and the idea that every step after 8.99 miles (my previous longest run) was going to be a PR. That actually was a pretty cool motivator as the race went on because I felt accomplishment with each passing stride. It allowed me to relax a little on judging my pace or performance (though I was happy with both).  As for the unknown of whether I could do the distance, I wasn't really all that worried barring the idea of an injury (which could happen at any point in any run, so I wasn't more or less concerned here, per se) since I'm generally very confident in my cardio-respiratory abilities.

The course was pretty hilly, and I was concerned about this going into the race since I don't get much hill training in my running routes (my longer runs are commutes to work, which tend to be across pretty flat terrain). That concern definitely played in my mind more than it should have. I found myself thinking about upcoming hills too much, and in an unhelpful way with thoughts like, "I'm at mile X.X, I think the big hill starts soon!"  Or, "Wait, why am I climbing now? There isn't supposed to be a hill at this point!"

The main hills were at mile 5.5, 7 (the highest climb), 10.5 (short, but very steep) and 12, with undulating hills in between.  From 7 to 10.5, it was a gradual downhill, so I figured I'd be able to deal with those last two pretty well since I'd sort of be rebuilding for 3.5 miles. Turns out after 7, I realized that the hills were a good thing. I, being a forefoot striker, run them differently than most of the other runners. I also had done a little research on Chi running, and employed that approach to get up the hills to beautiful effect.  I shortened and quickened my stride (pretty dramatically, actually), which lowered my effort considerably. It also used my muscles (and hit my now thoroughly blistered feet) differently, so it was sort of a rest for the main tools I was using in the race. I at least kept my pace while others lagged and burned out.  More importantly, the successful way I was dealing with the hills gave me a ton of confidence to keep going while also not spending my energy.  I actually had more trouble on the downhills because of my blisters, and found myself wishing for them to end or to turn up again.  Crazy, I know, but I was longing for the hills.  This feeling got so strong that I literally didn't even know I had crested the last hill.

I'm the one under the yellow triangle

The course is downhill from that last peak, so you can build some good speed coming into the finish. I kicked as hard as I could, but I was definitely not able to give it my all due to my blisters, and how I had been compensating for them (which lead to a lot of pain in my left ankle and the middle of the outside edge of my right foot).  Still, I was in full sprint for the last 100 yards, and felt amazing.  I came through the finish, stopped my watch, and realized what I had done.  My goal was to break 1:50. With my injuries, I said to myself that the only thing I really wanted was a sub-2:00 finish, and pushing harder might lead to a DNF.  The slowest pace I could run would be a 9'06" to still break 2 hours.  I had been watching my pace occasionally, and was running sub 8-minute miles for the first half of the race.  As the blisters got worse, I trended back toward 8'10".

If you're good with math, you know where this is going. If not, then know that I beat both goals. I finished in 1:46:24 by the chip time, and 1:46:28 by the gun (gotta love a spot near the front of the starting line - see the yellow triangle in the shot of the start above). I placed 113th.  I had a dream time of 1:45 before I got injured, and I'm quite sure I would have nailed that if I was totally fine and in the right shoes. Rather than feeling like I could have done better and missed my real goal, I look at that as knowing that I did what I had dreamt of doing.

As I've said many times over, I got a great lesson in the power of the mind here. The first three or four miles were mentally tough as the unknowns were out there (hills, distance, injuries).  As my body got into a groove, and I started to see how I could tackle the hills so well, time and distance stopped mattering so much.  As I broke through to PR territory for longest run ever, I was totally unaware of how long I had been running, and totally unphased by how much more distance I still had to cover.

That felt amazing.

So I ran for nearly two hours, and it felt indistinguishable from running for a tenth of that time.

Where do I go next?  I have a Ragnar Ultramarathon Relay in May, and a half in June. I'm very seriously debating doing the Chicago Marathon in October since I'll be well on my way with training for Ragnar and the half.  Whether I do it or not, the lessons I unlocked for myself, and the very deep way I unlocked them have really helped me get to a new level of enlightening.my.body. How will you unlock your potential and enlighten.your.body?

Preflections on a milestone I'm heading toward

In less than 48 hours from now, I will have finished my first half marathon. I say 'less than 48' because that means I will have done so in under 2 hours, which has been my backup goal time.  My original goal was sub-1:45, but I've been plagued by various tendonitis issues and a deep pain in my left femoral head.  While most of it has resolved, I'm left with one remaining injury and an insufficient amount of training.  The question is whether it's truly insufficient in the grand scheme of things, or just relative to what you're supposed to do for such a race.  I've not yet run longer than 9 miles in one go, which is really the only piece of it that concerns me beyond whether any injury flairs up enough for me not to even be able to walk to the finish (I could walk the course and still get in before the cutoff, but not likely if my remaining injury is really bad).

Stepping back from the cloud of injury and what it has meant for my training, I'm able to look at what I'm about to do, and feel a growing sense of pride.  I call this post a 'preflection' because it's like I'm reflecting on what I'm about to do rather than what I've just done. I'm using this as a chance to center my mind on the goal, on the idea that any time will be a PR since I've not yet covered this distance, and even if I have, I've never done it in an official race.

Preflecting allows me to see that, and also to ignore the deviation I've had to take from the prescribed training path, or the notion that you have to at least have run X miles before doing a half.  I know that my cardio-respiratory abilities are sufficient to get through the race.  I know that my muscular endurance is sufficient.  The only true variable is my mindset, and I know that is something that can be controlled.  I've seen it first hand, whether climbing multiple mountains back to back despite a major fear of heights (and horrible weather), or going from doing a 100K bike ride to it being a surprise 183K and feeling perfectly fine the next day (save for numbness from sitting on a bike saddle for 6 hours).

I have it in me. Nothing else matters, nor should I let anything else matter.  I will be PRing. I will have a finisher's medal. And, most importantly, I will feel amazing.  I will enlighten.my.body. Now it's up to you to enlighten.your.body.

Review: ENERGYbits

UPDATE: I am not supporting this product due to a decision they've made on their marketing during the Olympics. I feel it's offensive and demeaning to women. The product works, but I feel you should support good products from good companies. I'd pass on these.

the buildup
ENERGYbits are a spirulina pill that you down to get a load of protein (64% protein) and nutrients with basically nothing else to help power you for exercise and contribute to your health.  I've had my eye on them for a while, and have been really curious to try them as I myself have added spirulina to my diet for its various health benefits.  I was lucky enough to be offered a free trial for the purpose of this review.

what it is & how it works
Spirulina is an algae that is a 'super food'.  Not to over-use an over-used buzz word, but spirulina is a nutrient-rich plant that grows naturally in the ocean but can be cultivated hydroponically and organically, which is how ENERGYbits grows theirs. It is loaded - loaded - with various nutrients and vitamins. It also happens to be high in protein for what it is. Word in the healthy eating scene is that the protein in it is more bio-available (available for your body to absorb and use) than protein from many other sources (nuts, meat, soy, etc).

It's highly absorbable and rich in nutrients your body thrives on. What it isn't is tasty. Spirulina has a very 'green' flavor, as the marketing material ENERGYbits sends out says.

The product comes as little tablets, and they recommend taking 30 of them 10-15 minutes before your workout. I made the mistake of taking a bite at one point, and was left with the very 'green' taste for a couple of hours (not the few minutes that the marketing material mentions - swish all you want, them suckers stick to your molars like cement...very gross tasting cement).

A key thing that the team at ENERGYbits tried to stress to me is about the quality of their product. Spirulina quality varies greatly by how it's made (or harvested), when it's dried, etc. Ocean-harvested sounds natural (like free-range or grass-fed livestock), but actually it can be less ideal since the spirulina is exposed to pollutants in our oceans from trash or the Fukushima nuclear fall out (spirulina is native to Pacific waters). ENERGYbits grows their product organically and hydroponically, and dries it when they're going to make the pills, so it stays fresh longer. They also recommend refrigerating the tabs (not necessary, but better if you can), and trying to consume them within 3-5 days of pulling them from the fridge.  You get a bag of them, plus a little tin that you can put a serving into to take with you so the main stash can stay in the fridge.

They have four varieties, spanning energy, recovery, vitality (really immunity strength) and weight loss benefits.  I have the original ENERGYbits that are 100% spirulina. Some of their products add to or replace the spirulina with chlorella (another algae).

my impressions
I definitely didn't like taking them (I did them 5 at a time since I figured trying to swallow 30 at once would be problematic), but that was over within a minute. What I found on my run (6 miles in just over 50 minutes with a pre-existing injury) was that I wasn't lacking for energy, nor was my energy ever spiky. I have used Gu, Recovery Beans and Honey Stinger Gummies, and definitely notice how the energy 'comes on', but then fades.  I wouldn't usually need to take something for a 6 miler, but I wanted to test the product, and I have been dragging lately.

For reference, my injury is thought to be tendonitis in my left big toe, but I'm finding my joint is full of blood when I take my shoe off (inside - my joint is blue - not outside with blood staining anything), and my skin is all leathery.  I think my shoe is rubbing on the joint way too much, and its gotten to a point where it's really injuring me. It feels like a stress fracture, but it isn't (I've had x-rays and been checked).  Anyway, enough about that, but you can imagine how that might be impacting my performance.

Setting aside the impact of my injury, I definitely had the energy I needed to keep up. I had some negative split action as I warmed up, rather than the flat splits I usually do with a morning run like this where I don't use any energy.

Aside from the energy delivery, I was also really curious about how my stomach would do. I have friends who are triathletes who talk about the issues you face when you have a stomach full of water and Gu after going for hours. With something like Gu, you need to keep sucking the stuff down every couple of miles (if you follow their advice), and my own use has backed that up since the sugar-based energy runs out pretty quickly. Since I didn't find that with ENERGYbits, those 30 tabs were enough, and then my stomach wasn't stuck processing all kinds of sugars, and thus my blood supply didn't have to be directed toward digestion.

So I'd say my stomach was ok from this.  That said...

my depressions
I often end my runs and get a stomach ache. It generally passes after an hour or so. The day I did this run with ENERGYbits, I was a bit nauseous all day. That could have nothing to do with the product as my allergies were kicking up and I felt kind of miserable in general. I'd have to test them again to know if it was the bits or not. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt here, and assume it isn't them, so maybe rather than calling this section "my depressions" I'd call it "my potential concerns".  I have a standard review format I'm trying to stick with, though, so here we are with depressions.

UPDATE: I used them again yesterday before some speed work, and was totally fine. I'd say I'm sure that the energy bits had nothing to do with how I felt after my first use. Unfortunately, they couldn't make running on the treadmill non-soul-crushingly-boring, but they did help me keep my energy levels consistently where they needed to be.  I cranked a quick run slightly quicker than I usually do - and that's with my foot injury, so good stuff.  I was aiming for two 7-minute miles, but did 2.1 miles at 6'42". I tend to run in the low-to-mid-8s, so this is a quick pace for me.

to buy or not to buy?
So, what's the verdict. Pending confirming whether they caused my gastric issues (which I'm doubtful of), I'd say I'm very positive on them.  I'd be curious about a longer run or something like a century ride where you could be out there for 6+ hours (depending on speed and course).  You may need to re-up.  But I really did like how even the energy was. It was nice not to think about it or crave it.

That's really what fueling strategy is about. Find the fuel that works for you to keep you going without feeling weird or spiky, and let the exercise enlighten.your.body.

As you saw in my update at the top, while I'm good with spirulina, I can't recommend ENERGYbits to people because of some really demeaning marketing they're doing. Call me prude, but it's not about that, the slogan they're using is just offensive to women and reminds me of college days with guys trying to get girls drunk to have their way. What on Earth does this have to do with a natural energy product? Nothing.