Happy Hump Day! Actually, I'll be honest. I usually forget what day of the week it is during the summer. I thought today was Thursday for the longest time.
Regardless of my summer vacation/pregnancy brain, I hope your mid-week shenanigans are going well. I spent my day going for a 4-mile run, attending a quick work-related meeting, and doing some maternity clothes shopping while wearing the ever-attractive maternity capri pants. Nothing says comfort like a stretchy waistband!
But I digress.
Let's go back and talk about this morning's run. Since I'm planning on running the Crim 10-mile race in a few weeks, my training schedule (deets on that coming later this week) had me doing 4 miles of speedwork. However, with LBA along for the ride, speedwork isn't my thang lately, so I did 4 easy miles at a 10:33 pace instead.
And I took along a new hydration treat with me to test out: my handheld Amphipod water bottle filled with fruit punch Nuun.
Since it seems like everyone and their mom is drinking Nuun these days, I thought it was time to jump on the bandwagon. I like bandwagons.
I picked up a tube of Nuun at my local REI store for $6.50. Each tube contains 12 tablets, and each tablet makes one 16-ounce drink when dropped into a bottle of water. Besides being portable, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly (my words), here are some other facts about Nuun that I learned by perusing their website:
- Contains replenishing electrolytes at just 8 calories per tab
- Zero sugar or carbohydrates (Nuun leaves carb-fueling up to the athlete)
- No artificial colors or flavors; Nuun is sweetened only with stevia
- Available in 11 flavors (9 of which are caffeine-free, a plus for this mama-to-be)
While getting ready for my a.m. run, I placed a single tablet in a water bottle to let it dissolve, which took about a minute or so.
The tablets look like giant Sweettarts, which made me want to just eat it whole, but I decided that might be gross.
I gave the bottle an extra shake just to make sure everything was dissolved (I didn't want to taste chunky water later), and off I went.
See the pretty fizz it makes? Reminds me of Bill Nye the Science Guy-type experiments. Yum. However, it's not carbonated. The fizzies go away after the tablet dissolves.
Then the real test began: How did it taste?
As a Gatorade (specifically, G2) fan, which is normally really sweet, I wasn't immediately blown away by the flavor of Nuun, I think because I was expecting something like sugary Gatorade.
After a couple of glugs from my bottle, I got used to the more watered-down flavor and actually liked it. Sometimes, especially during really long runs and races, something with too much sugar in it makes me all gaggy. While this morning's run wasn't that long, I appreciated that Nuun didn't make me feel as though I had to go brush my teeth right away, and it didn't bother my tummy at all.
Although it will be a while before I can test drive Nuun on such a long run, I'd give it two thumbs up for now. I love that it's portable (easy to pack for out-of-town races and runs), fairly cheap (about 54 cents per serving), and easy to digest.
Note: Reviewing Nuun today was something I did entirely on my own. I purchased the tube with my own hard-earned dolla dolla bills (ya'll), and all opinions expressed in this review are my own. I was not compensated in any way for this review. The goodness of my heart and the willingness to want to share information about running products with my few readers is the reason for today's review.
With that disclaimer out of the way, it's time for my very first On the Road Again Giveaway!
What's Up For Grabs: A tube of Nuun for you to try out or add to your collection of Nuun tubes at home. Flavor will depend on what's available at my REI! I'll try not to get anything gross.
How to Enter:
1) Leave a comment below telling me about your Nuun experiences (if you have tried it) or telling me how you currently like to stay hydrated on your runs (1 entry)
2) Follow my blog (see the followers button to the right) and leave me a comment telling me you did so. If you're already a follower, just leave me a comment telling me so! (1 entry)
3) Join me on Facebook! I recently set up the On The Road Again Facebook page, and it wants you to "like" it. It needs friends. Follow me there, and leave me a comment here telling me you did so. (1 entry)
4) Become a Tweep of mine by following me on Twitter. Come back to leave me a comment telling me so! (1 entry)
Giveaway Ends: At midnight on Monday, 8/15.
Yippee!