New Year and Vega Sport System

HAPPY 2012!  I'm still alive after the Rose Bowl and guess what?! The Ducks won (by a hair)! It was a close, nerve racking and exciting game. Oh and I'm also another year older. Guess I better update that about me section...

It was so nice to have a few days of sunshine. My pores were just soaking in that Vitamin D! Thank you, 70 and 80 deg temps.

However, traveling is tough on the whole healthy lifestyle thing. This trip, my hotel in Los Angeles wasn't near any grocery stores or many restaurant options other than the hotel restaurant and another hotel a few blocks away. Sleep was limited, the days were busy and exhausting with work events and food options weren't always the healthiest.

Despite the challenges, I'm still proud of myself for making my workouts a priority. The Intercontinental Hotel had an awesome gym. I got up before sunrise (5:30 am) to head to the gym two days and went out for a run in the sun another morning.


Now that January has arrived and I'm back home, it's time for training for the Eugene Marathon to begin.  Do you know what that means? Better eating and lots of sleep!


Vega Sport Performance System

A few months ago, Vega Sport contacted me about doing a review of their products. After having heard from others who'd tried Vega Protein powders and researching it online, I said yes!

Just a few weeks later, I received a box of all kinds of pre, mid and post workout Vega Sport training fuel. One of my favorite parts of receiving this was just the packaging alone. As soon as you pull of the lid, the whole box pops open like your personal supplement rack.


Voila!

The Vega Sport System is a complete, all-natural, plant-based sport performance system developed in three comprehensive stages (Prepare, Sustain and Recover) to help athletes perform at their best. 

Vega Sport was formulated by Brendan Brazier, a professional Ironman triathlete and best-selling author on plant-based nutrition. Vega Sport performance system is 100% plant based, free of dairy, gluten and soy, which makes it great for people who are allergic to or trying to avoid any of these products. It also contains no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners - win, win, win!


Over the past six weeks, I've tried almost every product in the box. I tried one of the prepare electrolyte powders before one of my runs, but for the most part, I used a lot of the recovery products.



I think the hardest thing about any sport supplement is the flavor. I definitely found some that I really liked and others that I didn't. For example, the berry recovery accelerator wasn't quite up my alley, but I liked the vanilla protein powder and rationed it into smoothies, overnight oats, etc.

My favorite product was probably the chocolate coconut Protein Bar because of its taste, consistency and the likeliness that I would in fact purchase this product on my own.


Because I haven't been in race training mode the past six or so weeks, I didn't have a chance to use the sustain products, but I'm looking forward to using the gel and bars during some of my upcoming longer runs.

How do you get ready for your work outs (runs, cross training, weight lifting), keep energy up during and recover after? Is anyone else trying to get back on track with it being a new year and all?

I usually make a point to pack in extra protein after a workout to get the best bang for my exercise buck AND to help my muscles recover faster for the next workout. Sometimes that's in the form of a green smoothie with protein powder and other times it means adding more beans, yogurt or lean protein to a meal.

Comments

Amber said…
After going on sugar/treats/sweets overload during the holiday's I am trying to get back on track by cutting those things out. I'm satisfying my sweet tooth in the evenings with tea and a bit of honey instead.

Great job getting your workouts in despite having a busy work schedule during your trip. I always find it challenging to fit in workouts while traveling!
Ah, we missed your birthday?? Happy {belated} 29th (right?)!! :)

We went to the Rose bowl a few years ago when Penn State played USC - such a fun experience! Glad your team got a win!
Lindsey said…
I can't even remember what 70 and 80 degrees feels like!

I feel like I'm trying to get back on track this week. After a couple of easy weeks, this week of workouts has been hard!
Lindsey - it was sheer heaven. My skin was like "wait, what is this stuff beaming down on me?" Definitely needed that even if it did make running a bit harder.
Ah, sunshine - isn't it a wonderful thing? It was 60 in Charlotte on Friday and it felt glorious! I walked outside to grab lunch and it felt heavenly. I agree with the travel thing being tough on the healthy living thing. This trip was especially bad because we had dinner at this steak house, and drinks with traders before dinner, and drinks after dinner and yikes, those calories add up fast. Not cool.

I started training for half last week, so I guess that is kick-starting my fitness for 2012! Good luck w/ marathon training! Can't wait to see how you do (I know you'll rock it!)

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