Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Big Old Giveaway: Ryders Eyewear and Gu … Times Two

Crossed the 500 miles of training mark over the weekend, down to less than two weeks to marathon #2, so it seems like time to give some stuff away.  Thanks once again to my good friend Devon from Outside PR, we’re going to go BIG with this giveaway.

If you read my recent review of the Ryders Eyewear VTX Sunglasses, you know that I’m a big fan.  They’ll be crossing the line in the OBX just slightly behind my nose, but well ahead of my ears, unless I manage some sort of epic finish that they’ll be talking about for years.  As I mentioned in my review, I’m digging the red pair I’ve got, but have much love for the metallic white VTX frames…..

If you’ve read some of my earlier blog posts, you may recall the unfortunate incident of the Cliff Shot Blocks.  In a moment of weakness I opted to stray from my trusted Gu Chomps and try the Shot Bloks, and was rewarded with a mouth full of fail.  The grass was decidedly browner on the other side.  Gu and I have since made up, and I shall stray no more.  In fact, I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony, I’d like to buy the world some Gu, and keep it company.  So that’s exactly what I’m going to do…..

The winner of today’s giveaway will score him/herself a shiny new pair of White Mettalic Ryders Eyewear VTX Sunglasses:

AND, a GU Performance Energy Sampler, which includes:

  • 9 GU Energy Gels - includes each flavor of the workhorse of endurance nutrition 
  • 3 Roctane Gels - when you really need to dig deep on that long training run, ride or race 
  • 2 Chomps Packets - mix things up a bit with this delicious and chewable form of energy
  • 2 GU Electrolyte Brew Packets - a great tasting, balanced electrolyte mix to improve hydration 
  • 1 GU Recovery Brew Packet - use after workouts to recover faster and perform better the next time out 

And looks a little something like this:

But wait….there’s more.  To really go big, I’m going to award TWO lucky winners with a Ryders/Gu combination pack to help kick up their workouts.  Somewhere out there Billy Mays is nodding approvingly.

Still the King

I’ll take entries up until midnight on 11/14, the day of the Outer Banks Marathon, and will walk gingerly to my computer on the 15th in an ibuprofen-induced haze to select the two lucky winners via Random.org.

You’ve got 6 different ways to enter, so leave a separate comment for each to serve as your virtual entries.  I hope the winners like these products as much as I do.  GOOD LUCK!!

How to Enter (6 entries possible – separate comment for each):
  1. Become a follower of my blog, or let me know that you already are a follower.  If my rapier-like wit has distracted you from joining the ranks of the followers, now’s the time to join the revolution.  Follow me to freedom.
  2. Link to this giveaway on your blog, and leave me a comment letting me know
  3. Like Gu Energy Labs on Facebook, and leave a comment letting me know
  4. Leave me a comment with your worst ‘fueling’ experience while training.  I’m still emotionally scarred from the cola Shot Bloks.  Oh the humanity.
  5. Follow Ryders Eyewear on Facebook, and leave a comment letting me know
  6. Leave me a comment about your all-time favorite pair of sunglasses.  I still remember my Vuarnet shades from high school.  Matched up with some nice acid-washed jeans and maybe a popped collar.  So money ... and I didn’t even know it.

178 comments:

  1. Not really a bad experience, but I discovered on along run recently that Trader Joe's Bittersweet Dark Chocolate with Almonds doesn't really work for fueling. Oh well, it was fun to try.

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  2. My favorite glasses when not running are my Ray Ban Jackie Oh's. They are big, but comfortable. They're so lightweight that I often forget that I even have them on!

    The craziest glasses that I ever had were some leather Ray Ban Aviators. Yes, leather! I had them in 11th grade, and thought that I was so cool. Looking back on it....not so much! LOL!

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  3. I didn't get contacts til college, so I haven't really had any crazy sunglasses... I did have a pair that never really sat straight on my face -which didn't stop me from wearing them!

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  4. Worst fueling experience: during a marathon where I kept vomiting. I could barely get any fuel down and when I did... it tended to come back up. Bleh.

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  5. I am following you. In the dark. With a mask on. Making creepy noises.Hopefully wearing new sunglasses and eating GUs.

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  6. Worst experience with fueling? You're asking me this question? Pizza, wings and Bass Ale the night before my first half marathon. I did great in the race, but anyone who was behind me suffered. My husband woulnd't even let me sit on the seat of his car without a towel. Need I say more?

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  7. Linked your giveaway on my blog sidebar!

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  8. Worst fueling experience... would probably be eating a Gardenburger and Honey Bunches of Oats just before heading out for a run. Strange combination, I know!

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  9. I work for an eye doctor, so I have all kinds of sunglasses laying around. My favorites are my purple Fendis.

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  10. worst fueling experience was eating a peanut butter sandwich too soon before running 11 miles. i was dry heaving at mile 5. nice.

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  11. Worst fueling experience?? The Goofy Challenge 2008 when I ate Wild Cherry Cliff shot bloks and then almost threw them up all over Minnie Mouse right after posing for a picture with here at mile 22. There is much more to that story, but that is the jist...

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  12. No bad fuelling story...too much of a newbie. But, I did find out that sports beans can get old on long runs...they taste great, but you have to eat way too many.

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  13. My first ever classy sunglasses were D&G...I wasn't a runner yet, but I felt very cool when I wore them :)

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  14. Will post the giveaway on my blog right now...

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  15. I had a pair of Ray Bans in the 80's that I loved. Picture the classic aviator style but square frames. Unfortunately they suffered the fate of many of my sunglasses - left them on a bar :0

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  16. I linked you on my blog sidebar.

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  17. YAY! I follow!

    Great job on the 500!!

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  18. Sunglasses - my revo blue polarized lens glasses. Senor in HS - ditch day. Jumped right into the lake with them on. Never to be seen again.

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  19. Oh & I don't fuel on long runs. So that counts as a "bad story" right?!

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  20. My favorite sunglasses to this day are a pair of huge pink ones that I bought in Destin for like a buck on vacation a couple years ago.

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  21. I liked Gu on facebook.

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  22. I am of fan of Gu energy labs on Facebook

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  23. The worst fuel I had was these strawberry banana chews and they gave me such a stomach ache on a trail run it was awful! I could have won that race running for the bathroom if there weren't so many hills in my way lol

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  24. I really like the ironman glasses I have now for running, they're white, make me look intimidating, and don't fog up :)

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  25. My worst fueling experience came when I tried the Sport Beans. I was talking, running, and not paying attention and dropped a few of them. I slipped and fell right on my bum.. bruised my tail-bone and looked like a moron!

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  26. Worst fueling experience would be when I tried to eat half a bag of sport beans at once. I'm a mouth breather. It wasn't pretty and I ended up spitting out the whole gross glob.

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  27. I like Ryders on FB! I would "love" them if I could. A pair of Ryders will be my gift (if I don't win a pair ;) to myself when I have lost 20 pounds!

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  28. I really loved my neon colored shades in highschool.

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  29. My favorite pair of sunglasses was a pair of green ones that I had back in the 80s. They were the exact shade of green as my softball uniform and boy was I cool!

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  30. My most memorable sunglasses to date were Maui Jims I got in Hawaii, may they RIP. I'm sure my new faves will be those white metallic numbers, should I be lucky enough.

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  31. My worst fueling moment, make that hours came in Chicago on 10/10/10 when I could not keep any gels down. Ugh!

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  32. New follower... how have I missed your blog before this??????

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  33. will add a link on my blog momentarily.

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  34. already like GU on facebook

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  35. already like Ryders on facebook

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  36. My worst fueling experience... honestly, was being flat out ignorant and not fueling at all during the entire training cycle and race for my first half marathon. No wonder I was always a zombie at the end.

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  37. My all time favorite sunglasses... is that really a question... I have some blue sunglasses with lenses shaped like Texas that I got as a kid when I visited the Alamo. (Was living in Virginia at the time, but now I live in Texas.) I was probably 8 or so years old. Best part??? I still have them. My 6 year old loves them and likes to wear them... great!

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  38. Not really the worst but when I used the Clif Shot Blocks. It's pretty hard to chew and couldn't breath well. I practically choked on a block.

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  39. believe it or not, my fave is this pair I got for $15 at ALbertson's! Hahaha! I guess I really need these Ryders ;p

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  40. Linked to this in my giveaway section.

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  41. Worst Fueling: I at an Ethiopian meal the evening before my first half marathon. Ethiopian food will NOT make you run faster, and the spices may wreak havoc on your stomach.

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  42. And my favourite pair of sunglasses are my current ones, a pair of Ralph Lauren's that have survived torture.

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  43. Worst fueling experience? Running through water stops and drinking Gatorade. If I don't walk to drink it I always end up sticky EVERYWHERE!

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  44. I am following you!
    jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

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  45. I had some amazing fluorescent pink sunglasses as a child. Amazing.

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  46. I like GU on Facebook too
    rachel cater crisman
    jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

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  47. like ryders on FB too
    jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

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  48. Worst fueling experience was when my husband had a cola shot and he had never had one.He did throw up through his nose.I was not there THANK GOD.I would have puked too
    jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

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  49. I posted a link to your giveaway on my blog! :0)

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  50. I already follow GU on Facebook! :0)

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  51. My husband has a pair of Ryders That i got him and he loves them. They are getting scratched up from much use. Hope to win a pair as a Christmas gift!
    jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

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  52. My WORST fueling experience would be the time I tried a new brand of gel along the course of the Disney World Half Marathon...I had never tasted it before and UGH it was so gross I had to spit it out on the side of the road! lol Eww...it still gives me the shivers to think about it....

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  53. I liked Ryder's eyewear on Facebook! :0)

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  54. I had a cheap pair of sunglasses that I LOVED to run in...I kept them about 8 years or so before they broke on me! :0( I haven't found a pair that I loved as much as those since!

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  55. Chris, someone else running and blogging from the Triangle!! Wow, I am shocked! You're right most of the people that I have come across are from the west coast. You should really check out The nOg run on Mondays. Loads of fun! There is also a rec run out of Fleet Feet's Ridgewood Shopping center. 6pm on Thursday's much smaller group, but still a good time. I hope to see you at the nOg Run!

    p.s. I am following your blog now too.

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  56. Linked your giveaway on my blog!

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  57. Liked ryders eyewear on facebook:)

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  58. You can see the video of my worst Guing experience ever...it's posted on my blog! Let's just say chocolate gu out the nose burns a little!

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  59. I've never had a pair of sunglasses that I loved to death...I always worked as a life guard or had kids and was constantly getting jumped on. ie. broken glasses. I refused to spend over $10 for a pair, but have been looking for some running shades lately because my "cute" $10 glasses just aren't cutting it for running!

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  60. I wish I had a fave pair of sunglasses, but I never have. When I was in college I used to wear these awful white framed-ones that I thought were cool at the time. But pictures of me in them are hideous so guess the joke was on me.

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  61. I'm a new follower. OOoo how I need new glasses a-s-a-p. :)

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  62. My favorite sunglasses were a tortoise shell colored pair I got at a stand at the mall for $45. I had them for 8 years and then lost them once my children were old enough to want to pull them off my face. I'm still sad about that.

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  63. I am OBSESSED with my Rayban Wayfarer sunglasses. They're seriously my baby. :) The Ryders sunglasses didn't actually work for me. I have such a thin face (my Rx glasses are kid's frames...fail) so they looked ridiculous on me. :) I wouldn't mind some GU though. ;)

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  64. I'm a follower.

    and I literally laughed my butt off at the comment you left me last night. thanks for that. :)

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  65. My all-time favorite sunglasses are my Oakley Betrays. They're polarized, fit my face perfectly, and cost me $32 on a super deal! I just wish they wouldn't scratch so easily. :( I'm too afraid to run in them because I want to keep them forever!

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  66. I posted your giveaway to my blog sidebar.

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  67. posting it to my blog www.runtohealth.blogspot.com

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  68. My favorite sunglasses were a pair of pink & purple oakleys that I drove over in my car by accident. whoops!

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  69. Follower :)

    Nolan1009@gmail.com

    www.RunfortheBikini.com

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  70. I got some sick white Hobies from a representative that came to my beach job two summer's ago. I came home last summer, while my parents were babysitting, to find both side pieces broken off don't know how it happened. I've been trying to make due with cheaper sunglasses since then and rocked some 10$ neon orange wayfarers this summer. They looked good but they don't protect much while i'm in the sun all day.

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  71. My worst fueling experience was in college, my hotpot got confiscated, so I ate a few packets of uncooked oatmeal. I'm not even going to go into detail.

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  72. the worst fuel for me, was Thai food the night before a training run. Not good.

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  73. I wear the same pair of sunglasses for my runs, a pair of semi-cat eye Ann Klein, that I bought in a sunglasses hut in New Orleans 7 years ago, while holding a hurricane. which made the purchase extra fun.

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  74. Linking this really awesome giveaway on my blog

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  75. worst fueling moment?
    well, greasy chinese the night before a long run. not good after the run at all...all day long.
    also (hot) orange Gatorade on a long run this summer when it was like 95 out at 7am. the last 2 miles on the way home were hell. orange hell

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  76. The Vaurnet reference made me laugh.
    High school ski team. Ahhh the parents got me this hellacool pr of WHITE vaurnet's :) one happy gal.
    first ski trip thrid or fourth run of the day riding up the lift-I was looking down and ZOOOOM off the face into the white snowy trail below. I never found them and the 'rents would not get me a new pair :( it was tragic

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  77. I've posted this give away on my blog's side bar under "win this".

    mystorychapter2.blogspot.com

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  78. I'm a new follower. I used to live near OBX - good luck at your race.

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  79. I've only been running distance requiring "fueling" for about 6 months. My most common problem is that I simply forget to take in the bloks or beans. That said, on my second long run of using black cherry flavored bloks (which have twice the caffeine as the tropical punch flavor that I had previously used) I said to myself "if 2 bloks worked last time then 3 this time should be better." Ummmm - well, I nearly didn't make it home. Wow - when I got home . . . sweet mercy!
    mystorychapter2.blogspot.com

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  80. My worst fueling experience was dribbling an Espresso Gu down the front of my white shirt and trying to lick it off, only to make large brown smears across my chest. Very classy.

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  81. I had THE coolest shades in high school (ca. 1991) - they were shiny black frames with puffy painted bare feet and a rainbow tie dyed string. Looking back at my HS pix - yep, sporting them all over the place. Sexy huh! Thank goodness that was before the internet and digital photography.

    mystorychapter2.blogspot.com

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  82. my biggest nutrition bonk was trying to run a race on a empty tummy, only taking a gatorade prime, accidently, over an hour before hand. I did not have much gas in the tank!

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  83. My favorite sunglasses were the ones with the round frames, like Jennifer Anniston used to rock in the early 90's. I thought i was a hot 7th grader!

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  84. I posted the giveaway on my blog.

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  85. I like Gu Energy Labs on Facebook.

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  86. I had a horrific experience with orange GU the first time I tried it. Luckily, the bathroom was close. During the Rock-n-Roll Seattle Half in 2009 the Cytomax about took me out at mile 6. It was a long 1/2 but I finished.

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  87. I like Ryders Eyewear on Facebook.

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  88. After having eye issues and finally having Lasik done on my eyes, my favorite sunglasses were the ones I bought after the surgery. Being able to wear my Oakleys and see at the same time was a huge miracle for me.

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  89. Oh what a bad arse giveaway! I dont have really bad exp stories, (thank god!) but I do know my tummy gets cramppy when I throw luna bites in there while running..

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  90. Am I even allowed to post this comment?:
    My fav. glasses are my 7 dolla pink ones from the swap meet and my 4 dolla blue ones from Big Lots... Feel free to remove this comment :)

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  91. I like GU energy labs on Facebook

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  92. my worst fuelling experience is no fuel at all and major cramping as a result....ignorance is a B....

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  93. dont have all time favorite...still looking

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  94. I Like Gu Energy Labs on Facebook.

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  95. I Follow Ryders Eyewear on Facebook.

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  96. My favorite sunglasses are Lavendar Oakleys that I got while skiing in Austria about 10 years ago, I still like them...I just can't find them right now, I know they're in my house somewhere...

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  97. This is posted on my blog: swimbikerundc.blogspot.com

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  98. Cola flavored shot blocks were my downfall on the first 15+ mile long run of my career. I made it home in pain but without incident, but lets just say that I lost control of my body for about 4 hours afterwards. Woof.

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  99. I don't know if they're my favorites, but the glasses I most regret getting rid of are the star-trek inspired ones that came with personal pan pizzas at pizza hut when I was about 6. How awesome would my race pics look in those?

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  100. I had a bad experience with a combination of blueberry Propel and half a bagel that did not end well. Blueberry is WAY too powerful a flavor for me!

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  101. Once upon a time, there was a cola called Jolt. Jolt tried to make the first caffeinated coffee and failed miserably... It never even made it to shelves, but I got a case while working at a distribution center and used it to "refuel" after my kung-fu classes. Almost barfed every time...

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  102. i never bought really nice sunglasses (because I'm cheap), but I had a pair that lightweight kinda made everything look purple that I enjoyed (bought from kmart for $3.99)

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  103. i have linked your giveaway on my blog

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  104. my worst fueling experience was my first 10 miler. i had planned to run a route that went right by my car half way, where i could get gu and water. however, i went to far and by the time i got back to my car i only had less than 1 mile left. i was in serious meltdown. i barely made it to the car bc i was so depleted and dragging.

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  105. I am a new follower! I like Ryders and GU on FB! I need some good sunglasses and some GU!!!

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  106. I am a new follower! Great blog by the way, glad to find you

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  107. My worst fueling experience is forgetting to bring fuel and thinking I was going to die in the middle of a long ten mile run when training for my first half... I survived but it was brutal. I need the mid run lift of it's a disaster..

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  108. My all time fav. pair of sunglasses were giant jackie-O type Chanel sunglasses that my old rich boss boss bought for me a few birthdays back. They were way more money than I'd ever pay for a pair of sunglasses but made me feel like a million bucks... I kept them for a few years and in good shape until my two year old finally got a hold of them and pretty much killed them...

    I'm sporting a pair of knock offs from Kohl's now LOL.

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