Thursday, May 26, 2011

Zack gets Vibrams

Last Friday, Zack got his first pair of Vibram Five Fingers.  He has thought Chad's were cool for some time, and they just came out with kid's sized shoes.  He actually was too big for the kid's size and has a nice new pair of all black Five Fingers.  He is doing pretty good at putting them on by himself.  Just needs help getting the heel up on the back after the toes are in.  He even wore them to school for show and tell yesterday.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Chocolate Raspberry Roctane Review

As previously posted, I received a special package from Gu on Saturday.  One of the items was samples of their new Chocolate Raspberry Roctane.  As a Roctane lover, in addition to a chocolate and raspberry flavor lover, I was excited to try out the new flavor.  There was nothing on the Gu website on Saturday, but they now have the new flavor up and available.

I took one of the gels with me on the 2011 Urban Assault Madison race, and got around to trying it out after the ride.  I was very impressed with the flavor.  It addressed both flavor components equally in my opinion.  The raspberry was not overpowering and tasted natural.  This flavor is a great addition to the Roctane lineup, as there was no chocolate based flavor before. 

Compared to other Roctane flavors I would rank this as one of my favorites.  I have tried them all, in fact made my way through a Gu Sampler last year.  The sampler is a great way to experience all the products and figure out what you like and dislike.  The Cherry Lime Roctane was my most recent go to flavor.  It was new and refreshing and combined a citrus component that I enjoy.  The Pineapple is a great flavor, but I tend to use others since there is no caffeine component in this one.  The Vanilla Orange filled the favorite spot prior to  the introduction of the Cherry Lime.  This flavor reminds me of a Dreamsicle.  The Blueberry Pomegranate is not enjoyable.  I feel there is an extremely fake taste to this one. 

Which Roctane will I stock?  I like to mix things up a bit, so I don't get bored with a flavor.  I will continue to keep some Pineapple for those longer endurance activities when I don't need the continuous caffeine.  My main purchases will be the Cherry Lime and the new Chocolate Raspberry.  The weather on Sunday was cool, and in my experience, the chocolate flavors are not as enjoyable in the summer heat.  I'll give it a try though, since the raspberry flavor may help this gel out a bit in that respect. 

The opinions posted here are my honest review, and although Gu provided me with the promotional samples, they really have no idea who I am or that I have a blog.  The products were provided as a "sorry" for a Gu Brew postage due snafu in the April Fools Day free sample promo.  Thanks Gu Energy for all the samples.  They were well worth the 90 cents I had to pay for postage on my first package.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Special present from Gu

A special surprise showed up in the mail today. Gu Energy sent some Roctane gels to me after they sent some promotional Gu Brews in April. Those first items were free samples that arrived postage due.  They offered to send some more of my favorite product samples to make up for the mistake. When the box of new samples arrived today it contained full size pouches of my favorite Cherry Lime Roctane along with a new flavor, Chocolate Raspberry Roctane. I am super excited to try this new Gu. I'll post a review after I try it, maybe tomorrow after the Urban Assault Ride.


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Lake Monona Run

I guess the proper title is still the Lake Monona 20k but that may need to change since they added a 5k this year. Jenny ran the 5k and took second place in her age group, 29.08 or click for details  5Km results. I ran the 20k for the second time with about the same result as last year, 1:48:59  20Km results. Finish line shot of Jen but you will have to click the link below 

Up next for the two of us, the Urban Assault Ride then a trail run at Blue Mounds State Park. Also in the works is a camping trip by bicycle and a new kayak for Kevin is on a truck somewhere headed this way.