Three Things Thursday

1. Although the idea of the marathon has been on my mind for ages, it just sunk in that it's less than 2 days away now. I'm starting to feel real butterflies in my stomach. I was printing out my confirmation to be able to pick up my number tomorrow and I saw the date. 03/29/2010 is the day I registered for this. It is shocking to know the day is actually here six months later.

2. The forecast couldn't be better:

3. Despite my nerves, things are looking up. My cold is gone, although I keep thinking I have a sore throat but I think I'm imagining it, just like I'm imagining weird pains in my legs. Also, I won a giveway over at Jen is Green. That's always exciting! Will report back after the Freedom's Run and looking forward to the chance to saying hello to the few other bloggers and DailyMilers that are running!

Distance Dreamers Wednesdays

Race Reports (links are to the race reports)

Sherry from Life, From My Perspective ran her first half marathon!! Amber from Girl with the Red Hair ran a 10K trail race (and is also tapering for her quickly approaching marathon!). Aneta at Confessions of a Rambunctious Runner has a new PR in the half marathon!

Ruth at Running it off had a 5K the other week. Becka at 50 Half Marathons in 50 States ran in the You Go Girl Half marathon. Julie at Julie's Running Blog has a 10 mile race recap.

Rene at The Amherst Shuffle also had a (hot) half marathon this weekend. Must have been a weekend for half marathons because Natalia at Natalia's Running Blog has a half to report as well. Finally, Mindy at the Road to Becoming a Runner has a new PR at the 5k.

Other Updates

Olivia at Blissful Runner had a great 22-miler in prepartion for her marathon and Chris at Evolving Through Running took on 21 after a hard week. Bret at Just an Age Grouper had his longest run to date at 15 miles and Ann at Sole Sisters took on 18 miles.



Katie at Legally Fit and Jen at Jen is Green each ran their longest runs to date in preparation for both of their upcoming half marathons. Meggan at On my Way to 26.2 continues to get in all of her training and so does Amy at Tri Tri Again, despite the rain, who had a 17 mile long run this weekend.



Erika at Chasing My Monkeys One Mile at a Time had a bit of a rough long run this last week, but I'm pretty sure most of us have been there and we can often learn a lot during the rough ones! Linz at Destination 26.2 set out for a long run solo this week and while a bit rough, she still got through it!



Harmony at Keep On Keepin' On has been dealing with a sore blister while preparing for her fast approaching marathon...here's hoping it's feeling better quickly! Aimee at I Tri to Be Me has a bit of a toe problem right now too. Kate at Run with Kate is back at her addiction...I mean love...but is still taking it cautiously with her recent injuries (very smart!).



Several of us are in taper mode such as Lisa at Lisa's Yarns, Kellie at Running Rodeo. Also, next weekend, 10/10/2010 is a big one - lots of races for Distance Dreamers members!!

Last Week's Poll Results

Inconsiderate Drivers: 42.86%

Inconsiderate Runners/Walkers/Cyclists: 31.43%

Loose Dogs - 22.86%

Uneven Sidewalks: 2.85%

Other:

No new poll this week because I didn't think of anything, but will get more on track with the polls/questions soon when I have a little more time to think. Any suggestions of what anyone would like to see are welcome. Also, once we reach the end of October, most of this round of people will be through their events. Therefore, I'll start adding new people in (if there is any interest). Comment or e-mail me if interested or want to see anything in particular. Thanks!

Marathon Mix

Still sick...but on the mend!

I first found running blogs while searching for some running playlists. Well, the number of running related blogs I read exploded from there.

I fully intend on bringing the mp3 player to the marathon. I have no idea how much I'll actually listen to it, but it's a safety net for me. I'm a notorious song skipper and I just like to load a bunch of random stuff, listen on shuffle and skip through a lot. To get ready for the marathon, I cleared the whole thing off and re-loaded with the following songs. There's all kinds of random stuff, some of which won't make a bit of sense for other people but these work for me for various reasons.

I had these in a different order but when I copied into the Google sheet, it alphabetized and I'm too lazy to figure out how to make it stop or try to get this in a blog post in an easier way.

Where Have I Been?

Warning: Somewhat whiny post below. :-)



Last week was a busy one at work - lots of projects and problems, so I was feeling pretty run down already. Then, on Wednesday my husband came home and announced he was sick. I did not want to catch whatever he had but knew it was pretty much inevitable.



On Friday, we had a wedding to go to in Baltimore. On the way home, I was so thirsty and desperately wanted sugar or caffeine. After a failed attempt at the first exit we stopped at (what gas station is closed at 11 PM on a Friday?), we eventually hit up a Burger King and I chugged Dr. Pepper from the biggest cup I've ever seen. I must not frequent fast food joints very often because I was shocked at the size of a medium soda. Oh...and another funny thing. The people in front of us in the drive through? They handed the Burger King employee their McDonald's trash...I bet they are healthy!



Anyway, come Saturday morning, I knew I caught the lovely cold and had a sore throat and think that need for the soda was my first clue. On tap for Saturday was only a 3 mile run and it actually felt really good and seemed to clear out my head a bit. During my Saturday errands, I made sure to stock up on kinds of cold remedies to try to kick this as quickly as possible. By the end of Saturday, I felt pretty bad and knocked myself out for the night with a dose of Nyquil.



I didn't really feel like running Sunday morning but was only scheduled for 8 miles so I figured I'd give it a try. It actually went fairly well for not being able to breath and feeling like crap on the onset but I doubt I could've done a really long run.



It's the week before the marathon so plenty of rest is already scheduled and I'm sure this cold will go away in a day or two. I've certainly been quite whiny about my little cold this weekend and figured I'd continue the whining on this blog. Guess I should just be thankful it happened this early!

Distance Dreamers Wednesday

If you are new to the blog and unsure what Distance Dreamers is, please click the tab at the top of the page or on the right side toolbar for more info.

Race Reports (links to specific race reports).

Jen from Jen is Green ran in the Warrior Dash.
Linz at Destination 26.2 got muddy in The Dirty Dash. Kellie at Running Rodeo PR'd at a 10K (in the midst of her high mileage marathon training!). Eryn at Mommy's Mileage ran her first ever race! Becka at 50 Half Marathons in 50 States has more race reports than I can probably count this week. Finally, Luke at The Super Fatlete had a great 5K.

Other Updates

Zaneta at Runner's Luck is back to running and preparing for her half marathon this weekend! Sherry from Life, from my Perspective ran an Oktoberfest 5K and helped some friends gain new PR's while still working hard on her own marathon training. Allie at The Constant Pursuit will be running another half marathon this weekend while preparing for the Philadelphia marathon in November.

Harmony at Keep On Keepin' On tackled a 22-miler this weekend. Bobbi at Zero to 26.2 conquered her 20-mile training run! Erika at Chasing My Monkeys 1 Mile at a Time had a great 18-miler. Olivia at Blissful Runner will be having a hard training week as she continues to prepare for Baltimore.

Ann at Sole Sisters is a little nervous for her upcoming long run, but we've all encountered that! Natalia at Natalia's Running recently was worried about her training plan but received the reassurance she needed.

Meggan at On My Way to 26.2 completed her long run of the week, 13 miles, in her marathon training and Amy at Tri Tri Again completed 15.

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns and Amber from Girl with the Red Hair are both headed into taper mode. Raquel at Historiadora on the Run had a few hurdles during her long runs but I'm sure the next one or two will be better!

Kate at Run with Kate and Bret at Just an Age Grouper have been dealing with some injuries...but it sounds like both just needed a little extra rest! After not being able to register for the Wineglass marathon, Nicki from Nicki's Nook has decided to put her marathon on hold so she doesn't just settle for running a different one...certainly not a bad idea!

Aimee at I Tri to be Me attended a RRCA certification class over the weekend. Rene at The Amherst Shuffle is already starting to contemplate what will be the next race she wants to tackle. Pam at Thirty Schmirty seems to be running her fastest miles yet...is it the Power Balance bracelet? :-)


Poll Results: No poll last week!!

Man I'm Sore

First, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who commented on the last post and discussed their own crazy neighbors...definitely a few that made me laugh in there!

This morning, I couldn't get myself out of bed. I slept in longer than usual hitting the snooze button and skipped my morning workout (non-run). Once I finally got up, I still felt like crap. My legs are sore and I felt like I was going to puke.

So, if you've been following along, you might be saying to yourself, isn't this girl planning on trying to run a marathon in less than 2 weeks? Why in the world would it have been a tough weekend, it should be getting easier at this point.

The reason: Yard Work.

Yep, managed the shorter scheduled 12 miler with no problems (other than it taking me a while to feel warmed up and in the proper zone for a long run) and ended up with a speedy (for me) 4 miles on Sunday. Felt fine, no issues. Then it was time to tackle our pitiful, neglected yard that was full of weeds, dead annuals that needed pulled and a garden to wrap up for the season.

I feel fine now but still have some sore muscles but I know it's from the yard work and I know I'll feel fine tomorrow. It's funny to feel the difference in using some muscles in a different way...guess that was some good cross-training for the weekend. Oh, and the yard? While it looks much better, it still looks kind of pathetic.

Stalking Squarepants

I like to consider myself a nice person. You know...I'm friendly, I say 'Hello' to people as I pass them, I wave to my neighbors and I hold doors open for people. I have the type of personality that wants others to like me and I don't want to have any enemies. And, to be honest, I don't think I really have any enemies. I'm about as non-confrontational as you can get and even when I strongly disagree with something someone says in a public situation, I'll usually just smile and brush it off without saying something in return.

But, if something pushes me over the edge for some reason...well, I'll probably hold a grudge.

Enter Squarepants. My husband and I nickname our neighbors...we can't help it. It started innocently enough with Papoose and Papoose's wife. They moved in behind us a few years ago and we always saw the guy with his smallest child strapped to the front of him. Thus, the nickname and it kind of grew from there. There's also Fat Jesus, the Crazy Lady, and some others. All are just in fun, no harm, we don't really know what their names are.

We don't generally interact with our neighbors beyond saying hello. Sure, we'll help out with something when asked and will engage in very generic chit-chat but we pretty much keep to ourselves...as do most of our neighbors.

Most everyone in the neighorhood refers to me as the girl with the dogs. I'll randomly see some of our neighbors in the grocery store and they'll always ask if I've walked the dogs and/or run yet (it's happened 4 different times in the past few months).

We're friendly with everyone...except Squarepants.

It happened last summer. I was living up to my reputation as the girl with the dogs and was out for an afternoon walk with them. As as I was strolling past Squarepants' house, they had just planted an insane amount of trees on their property and the lady was out inspecting their days' work. As I passed, in my friendly way, I commented on 'that being a lot of work and it looks really nice'.


The lady just stared at me.
OK, whatever, I just kept walking.
Then, she says "Can I ask you a question?"
I stop and say "Sure" and it went downhill from there:



Squarepants: "Why are you always staring at us out your window"
Me (confused with puzzling look): "What are you talking about?"
Squarepants: "Every morning you are always watching us"
Me, concluding she obviously has me confused with someone else: "I live in the house over there" (pointing). (We don't live near them, there is our house, our backyard, our neighbors behind us, the next road over and then there's their house and it's about 3-4 houses down the street).
Squarepants: "Yes, I know. Everyone morning, you are looking out your window"
Me: "I have no idea what you are talking about, I'm not looking at you out the window".
Squarepants: "We drive by and you are always watching us"
Me: "What? I'm not looking at you. When is this?"
Squarepants: "Really early in the morning, you're always staring out your kitchen window"
Me: "I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm up early in the mornings but I'm not looking at you". At this point, I just start to walk away but for some reason, I was furious by how she was talking to me.
Squarepants: "Well, there's an awful lot of nosey people in this neighborhood".

I walked off angered that she got the last word. I got back to the house and relived the situation for my husband. By this point, I did figure out what she was talking about. I'm up really early. First thing I do is feed the dogs and then let them outside. It's dark - regardless of the time of year. Sometimes I couldn't see them when they wanted to come back in so yes, I was probably looking out trying to see if they were standing there. But, read that again...it's dark out, I can't see anything. How in the hell am I going to be looking at a car driving on the road 2 backyards over (through our boundary line of trees no less) and actually see or watch anything (not I would want to anyway)?

In conclusion, this woman is obviously staring at me every morning. I was quite paranoid about this for a long time. I never wanted her to think I was looking at them and was sneaking around my own house to make sure I wasn't going to be mistakenly accused of watching someone.

Side note here: I should have already known she was nuts. About a year before this, she was out walking one day and I had the dogs again. They have beagles but they are hunting dogs...outside (which I hate seeing). She stopped me to ask about Kasey, our beagle. She mentioned something about getting together with hers and I'm like...um...no, she's spayed, I don't breed my dog. Then, she asked me what I fed her? Um...dog food? Why the hell would you ask someone that?

I've never talked to this women since the 'watching' incident but she's a walker. And, guess what? Since I switched to running in the mornings, it's when she is walking. And, if I'm out at early and it's dark...I have to pass Squarepants sometime.

One day this week, I was out and it was still pitch black out. I'm heading up to an intersection and see her at the last minute. Yes, I almost ran into her, literally. I make a big sweeping half circle and was going to go the other way but it wouldn't be my normal route. At the last second, I said screw it and circled back and then passed her. I wasn't going to let Squarepants make me change my routine again.

I'm not going to change my routine but I so wish I didn't have to pass her. Of course, if she says something to me in the morning, I do have my pepper spray attached to me...she better watch out.

Distance Dreamers Wednesdays

Race Reports (click on links for actual race report):

Molly from I'm a Sleeper Baker completed the Rochester Marathon. Way to go!

Jen at Jen Is Green has a new 10K PR.

Olivia at Blissful Runner ran the Run to Remember 5K.

Erika at Chasing My Monkeys 1 Mile at a Time ran 2 races this weekend.

Aneta at Confessions of a Rambunctious Runner had a 5 Mile Trail Run this past weekend...and then ran 19 miles!

Amy at I Tri to Be Me participated in the Naked Foot 5K.

Rene at The Amherst Shuffle ran the Nahunt 30K.

Mindy at The Road to Becoming a Runner participated in a 5K.

Other Items of Interest:

Ann at Sole Sisters officially received her transfer for the Marine Core Marathon!

Kellie at Running Rodeo had a 21-mile training run and Lisa at Lisa's Yarns completed a fantastic 20-mile race as part of her training. Harmony at Keep On Keepin' On had a very busy weekend and attempted her 15 mile run but ended up cutting it short. Don't feel bad at all on this, I think we've all done it! She has still gotten in some serious mileage during her training.

Bobbi at Zero to 26.2 is still feeling well and has been able to get in all of her runs. Katie at Legally Fit currently has a great feature on runners, including two of the Distance Dreamers (Nicki from Nicki's Nook and Linzi at Destination 26.2). Katie also ran her first double digit run this week and Linzi tackled eighteen miles.

Sherry from Life, from My Perspective continues on her marathon training plan and continues to get in all of her runs with her running friends. New member Eryn at Mommy's Mileage is training for her first half marathon.

Zaneta at Runner's Luck is having some health concerns. I know we are all thinking of you as you go through your tests to determine the issues. Ruth at Running It Off has been dealing with some leg pain but was able to complete a recent 5K

Last Week's Poll Results:

Time of Day to Run:

Morning: 63.4%
Afternoon: 12.2%

Evening: 24.4%

The Weekend and a Winner

First up, the winner of the CEP Giveaway:

#20 - Gracie (Complicated Day)... I already have your info so I'll contact you so you can get your socks!

Another week of marathon training in the books and it's time to officially start tapering. I even had a dream about running last night...will this be the beginning of crazy thoughts? In my dream, I was late for the marathon and rushing around trying to get where I needed to be for the start. When I arrived at what I thought was the marathon, it ended up being a triathlon and I freaked out proclaiming I wasn't a swimmer, I was there to run! Then, I woke up.

On Saturday's run, I decided to try something different. I tried a handheld water bottle on an 8-mile run. My Mom gave it to me several weeks ago, thinking I might want it. Apparently her house is just like a store and she has random new products available at any time. Although I think I could get used to it, that handheld almost ended up in the ditch by about mile 4 on this run. I hated it and will be sporting my usual belt for the marathon. I was hoping I'd like this thing and then I wouldn't have to wear the ginormous belt. Oh well.

Since I'm off my schedule with my re-arranged 20 miler, I didn't have a real plan for this week's long run. I didn't think I should attempt 20 again, so anticipated doing less and was just going to go out with the mind set of going as far as I felt like it. When I woke up, it was raining so I spent some time consulting the weather and it looked like it was supposed to stop. After dilly-dallying around for an hour or so, I eventually just headed out because I was tired of waiting.

I water-proofed my watch and mp3 player which just involved plastic sandwich bags. Then, I put on a hat and headed out. Well, glad I did those things because it never stopped raining/misting the entire time I was out there. Needless to say, I didn't really pay attention to time, distance or pace. Here's what happened:

Miles 1-2 - kept wondering where in the hell the rain was coming from since nothing was showing on the radar map as I left.

Mile 3 - First two loose dogs ran out on me...they were friendly but I had to slow down and basically stop for a bit to get them to stay at their house.

Mile 4 - Due to my delayed start and my big glass of orange juice before I left, I had to pee. Found a woody area and trapsed into it.

Mile 5-6 - Passing some fields with fresh manure...that clears out the head.

Miles 7-11 - Uneventful, but start to realize that Body Glide stops working after you are completely drenched from the rain for an extended period of time.

Mile 12 - Next set of loose dogs. Had to stop again to get them to stay at their house but luckily they were friendly again.

Mile 13-15 - The run itself is feeling great but it's really starting to set in how much my thighs are starting to chafe. Wishing I had worn pants/capris instead of shorts.

Mile 15.59 - End up back at house.

If my thighs weren't burning from the chafing and I had an actual goal mileage in mind, I definitely would've gone more. The run itself felt great, which I find hard to believe. Why? Because leading up to it, I ate the following:

Friday: Chinese takeout. Then, at 10 PM, my husband was tired of me complaining about how much I wanted chocolate and ran out to the store and got me peanut M&M's (I was too lazy to go).

Saturday: Go out to breakfast and eat a big bowl of oatmeal topped with baked apples and caramel sauce. For lunch - gorge myself on Mexican takeout. Bake a Gooey Apple Cake and eat some of it (straight out of the pan). Dinner - M&M's.

I'll have to keep this in mind as I'm trying to decide what to eat before the marathon!

Distance Dreamers Wednesdays

Race Reports (links are directly to the race reports):

-Ann at Sole Sisters had her half marathon this weekend!
-Zaneta at Runner's Luck had a fabulous 5K where she placed in her age group.
-Bobbi at Zero to 26.2 PR'd at her half marathon.
-Anne at Asthma & The Gift of Running has a great report on the Montreal Half!
-Allie at The Constant Pursuit ran another half marathon, setting a new PR and winning her age group - how great is that?
-Kate at Run with Kate had a fantastic 5K where she came in 2nd overall female!
-Olivia at Blissful Runner has a wonderful recap of the Annapolis 10-Miler.

Long Run Updates: Amber at Girl with the Red Hair had an fantastic 20-miler. Harmony at Harm Love pulled out her 2nd 20-miler this weekend and is doing awesome in her marathon training! Aimee at I Tri To Be Me ran her first 16 miler, her longest run yet! Sherry, new to the group from Life, from my Perspective had a great 15 mile run as she prepares for her first half later this month (and ultimately first full in December!). Amy at Tri Tri Again had her longest long run at 14 miles. Luke at The Super Fatlete ran his longest run to date recently too - 10 miles and Meggan at On My Way to 26.2 ran her longest yet at 11.55 miles (and also suffered what sounds like a painful injury not related to running).

Lisa at Lisa's Yarns enjoyed a step back this week but ended August with 152 miles! Becka at 50 Half Marathons in 50 States hit the same number of miles ran for August. Bret at Just an Age Grouper hit his highest mileage month yet as well.

Also, Raquel at Historiadora on the Run had a 13 mile long run. Chris at Evolving Through Running had a 20 miler just a few days after a 10 miler and and 8 miler...and still managed to pull out a great workout after a Saturday Fantasy Football Draft...how did that happen? :-)

Caro at Calinchen Runs is one month into her training and has completed her longest run to date. Kelly at Maxi Fortend hit 100 miles for the month of August - always a wonderful milestone! Jen from Jen is Green and Katie from Legally Fit are both continuing to get in some great runs as they prepare for their first half marathon.

Other Items of Note: Molly at I'm a Sleeper Baker has a pulled hamstring but believes it'll be healed for the marathon. Thinking good thoughts for you - hope the rest takes care of it! Aneta at Confessions of a Rambunctious Runner officially registered for her upcoming races, including her October marathon. Congrats to you for working through your reservations about being prepared the other week!!

Kellie at Running Rodeo is just ready for her marathon to get here. I hear you on this one!

Linzi at Destination 26.2 is in love with her new shoes!

Pam at Thirty Schmirty took on the powers that be of the Vegas Rock 'N Roll marathon and in the end decided to let the chips fall where they will and still tackle the marathon despite their recent time cutoff. I think you'll still do great and have a blast! Natalia at Natalia's Running is training for Philly and had a few reservations about her training plan but seems to be back on track now. I think we all go through these thoughts of doubt throughout the training time period.

Giveaway Winner: Random selected #12 which was Lisa at Lisa's Yarns. Lisa please e-mail me your address and I'll mail the GU out to you!

Previous Poll Results:

Meal Before Running:
Toast with Peanut Butter: 35.7%
Nothing: 23.8%
Some sort of 'bar': 14.3%
Banana: 9.5%
Oatmeal: 7.2%
Other: 9.5%

Weekly Poll:

CEP Compression Socks

A little while ago, I won a giveaway hosted by The Road to Chicago for a pair of CEP Compression Socks.

I was thrilled to win this giveaway. To be honest, I've been intrigued by the idea of compression socks but was not sure they would be worth the investment.

Back in March when I ventured to my first half marathon sporting my oversized windbreaker and baseball hat (not even a sporty ventilated one), I kept seeing people with arm warmers, leg sleeves and all kinds of other get-ups I hadn't really seen as a newbie into the the actual 'racing' world of running. I remember coming home and actually googling some of the stuff because I didn't know what in the world half of it was supposed to be for. I kept reading good things about compression socks both for recovery and running, but wasn't sure if I believed it all!

The information on CEP's website (why CEP? page here) shows some great information on the benefits of their compression socks and has a great explanation of what and why compression works. When my socks arrived, I was thrilled because it was on the Friday before I was supposed to run my first 20-miler. Of course, that was the week that I ended up skipping it due to my shin and achilles pain so I ended up resting. When I read the information on their site about achilles tendon support and helping to prevent shin splints, I was certainly hopeful since that's exactly what I was suffering from!

Instead of running the long run, I did try out the socks on my unexpected rest day hoping they'd help my legs. They certainly felt great on my legs but that's about as much as I could report on them without more time to test.

Fast forward to this past week when I finally completed my 20-miler. Although I debated about wearing the socks for the run, I was a little hesistant about the possibility of blisters. I somewhat particular about socks so I didn't risk it, although I have read good things about them for running and due to their design they shouldn't cause any blisters.

Once again, after the run, I put on the socks. They felt great this time as well. My legs were achy after the 20 miles and I have to say they did feel better with the socks on. By the next day, my legs were feeling back to normal. Is it the socks? Well, I don't really know but I will say that now that I have them, I love them and plan to continue using them after all the long, hard workouts.

I'll also be trying them on a run soon...I'm definitely interested in seeing if their claim of 5% performance increase can hold true!

Thank you CEP!

Do you want to try a pair? The folks at CEP have offered to provide a pair to one of my readers. Please visit their website to learn more about their products and the benefits of them. Then, come back here and leave a comment on why you would like to try one of their products. I'll accept entries (one per person) through Sunday, September 12th and winner chosen at random will be announced early next week.

Success!

I'm back! It was a crazy week away with long work hours and too many restaurant meals...but I managed to get in a few runs, in a great location. It felt great for the change and I'm finally rested.

After getting home, I headed out for 20. It was a great success! You can read my recap over at How I Complicated My Life Today...of course I have to write the recap, send it to her and give her time to post it so it'll be a few days!

Blurry proof:

Delayed Distance Dreamers Wednesday

Due to being out of town for the majority of this week, I won't been able to assemble the Distance Dreamers post. There will be a full update next week.

In the meantime, I have a small giveaway exclusively for this group of Distance Dreamers members (those listed on the spreadsheet)...you know who you are!

Everyone else, don't be angry, I'll have an actual giveaway better than this one to post soon that will be open to everyone.

If you've read my posts, I've done some experimenting with what works for me on long runs. I've discovered that GU gels are NOT for me, but I know they work for lots of people. I hated the fruity flavors and while I liked chocoloately flavors, I finally put everything together and realized these were causing the havoc on my stomach.

Therefore, the remaining 5 Mint Chocolate GU gels I have in my pantry are up for grabs. If you want them and are part of this Distance Dreamers group, just leave a comment. Random winner will be chosen. Must comment by the end of day Tuesday, 9/10/2010 and winner announced in the 09/11 Distance Dreamers post.