As a runner, the need for proper hydration coupled with the need to ensure a fortified boost of energy and vitamins is essential to maintain top running performance. There are a lot of different beverages out on the market but I recently came across the brand HyDrive Energy Drinks and was impressed by both the taste of their products and the boost of energy that the brand provided.

My personal favorite is the Kiwi-Strawberry which is packed with caffeine, guarana, ginseng and Vitamin B. The flavor is smooth and non-acidic and poured over ice post-run was a great way to cool down. Though the majority of the energy drinks in the HyDrive line have a boost of caffeine within, they do have a HyDrive without caffeine should you not be able to have it for any reason.

The history of HyDrive Energy Drinks is an interesting one. For Mike Weinstein and Brian O’Byrne the answer was clear…start up your own brand. Mike had been the CEO of Snapple Beverages and the President of A&W Brands and Brian was the CEO of Yoo-hoo/Orangina. In January of 2005 they came together to form a beverage idea creation shop which they cleverly named the INOV8 Beverage Company. (Actually the guys who owned V-8 didn’t think it was so clever). Anyway, after developing a whole bunch of ideas they decided to actually produce some of them. That’s how HYDRIVE was born.

For more information about HyDrive Energy Drinks, make sure you check out their webpage by clicking here. You can also follow them on Twitter @hydrive or “Like” them on Facebook by clicking here.

Rain would be an understatement.

What forecasters had planned for was some early morning rain yet what smacked the city of Providence, Rhode Island this morning was more along the lines of a tropical monsoon at times. The buckets of rain made for some pretty soaked roads and the running clothes felt like they weighed an extra five pounds by the time of reaching the finish line. Can’t complain, because if it was 95 and sunny it would have been pretty unbearable but man was it wet out there today!

I have never done a Rock ‘n Roll series race before but the races tend to get pretty good hype surrounding them. Each race tends to have a headline performer at the finish line and this year Providence kicked it back to the 90’s with Sugar Ray performing. The line-up of bands along the course looked pretty good on paper but it was a bit disappointing that at a good majority of the band tents the bands were either just standing there or non-existent. I know it was raining, but kudos to those bands who toughed the weather out today. The rock part of this race was pretty lacking. Even if the rain did not allow you to play, strike up an acoustic set or sing Kumbaya rather than just no-show.

The course itself was a pretty challenging course with a good deal of some pretty decent sized hills mixed into the half-marathon course. The running through downtown and around the Brown University campus was some of the nicest running today. The finish line was a pretty good uphill sprint for the final .1 miles to the finish.

The expo yesterday was very nicely done with a good mix of vendors both local and national with both freebies and things for sale. The expo had the Rock ‘n Roll merchandise on sale, as well. The Rock ‘n Roll series is a pretty pricey half-marathon series, but all runners received technical running shirts which is always nice. The finishers medals for this inaugural race in Providence was pretty sweet, too.

In terms of time, certainly not my best half-marathon given both the pouring rain and the fact that I have not been able to log many long runs in of late. I finished in 2:08:26 or 9:48/miles and was glad to cross the finish line and finish another half-marathon today. Probably wouldn’t do next year’s Rock ‘n Roll in Providence, but might be willing to give a different series race a try in the future.

Mrs. Running Griffin has been in the hospital for the past 6 weeks therefore  I was looking for a good run to do while in visiting her this morning. I came across the Boston Freedom Trail Run and I have to say this was the ideal way to decompress and get an educational run in bright and early.

The Boston Freedom Trail Run is a weekly 5k run that takes place on Saturday and Sundays at 8:30 AM. Runners from across the country and even international tourists sign up to partake in the run and meet up at the historic Boston Common. Eddie O. was our tour guide this morning and he has been running the Freedom Trail Runs with his daughters for the past year.

If you have never been to Boston, the Freedom Trail is a tour through Boston and Charlestown that takes you past some of the most historic sites in American History. You can see the Old North Church, the Granary Burial Grounds (where Sam Adams and John Hancock are buried), Paul Revere’s House and a number of other sites. Red bricks along the sidewalk bring you from one site to the next so you can follow the red bricks and see the entire Freedom Trail. What is nice about the Freedom Trail Run is that it is a 5k run along that same historic red bricked path with stops at different sites along the way to educate you on the historical significance.

It is important to note that this is a fun run structure, not a race. This morning there were probably about 30 or so runners who went out on the run and the run is very paced. Had a really good sprint up a street leading up to Bunker Hill and I was the 2nd person to the top. Runners of all experiences could certainly take part in the Boston Freedom Trail Runs.

The run ends at the Charlestown Navy Yard, the home of the USS Constitution which is also known as Old Ironsides. At the end of the run, water is provided and each runner leaves with a great looking tee-shirt. All runners then grab a ferry and take a quick ride through Boston Harbor to the area near the New England Aquarium. From there, I ran back to the hospital  for some added distance.

Even though I am from the general area, the Boston Freedom Trail Run was a perfect way to tour some sites in Boston and learn along the way. For a tourist visiting Boston, this would be the absolutely ideal way to get the Freedom Trail done.

It’s always nice when you don’t have to travel too far to do a 5k!

The Bridgewater 4th of July Committee put on the Bridgewater Independence 5k this morning to help raise funds for next year’s 4th of July festivities. The race started and ended in front of the historic Boyden Hall on the Bridgewater State University campus. The race took runners through a good portion of the BSU campus and the notorious Great Hill located on campus. I ran pushing the jogging stroller this morning with 3-year-old in tow and it is definitely much easier to get up Great Hill free of pushing but my daughter and I spent some good time together and I wouldn’t trade that in for a few seconds of pace.

I finished today’s race with a time good enough for third place in my age division with a time of 25:52 or 8:32/miles. Taking home a medal and pushing a stroller, all in all a very good race!

 

Registration is now open for the 8th Annual Houghton’s Pond Trail Race which will be held on Sunday, October 2nd at 9:00 AM.

 

TO REGISTER ONLINE and review information about the race go to http://www.signmeup.com/77739. Online registration allows you to receive immediate online and email confirmation of your registration, as well as race information updates.. However, if you want a paper application, it will be posted in about a week on the Colonial Road Runners website at www.colonialrunners.org.

 

2011 course will be the same as in 2009 and 2010. Here’s a link to the current course map: http://www.colonialrunners.org/attachments/File/HoughtonsPond/Houghton_s_Pond_-_2009-10_Map.jpg

 

REGISTRATION RULES:
In order to receive a site permit for the race from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, we have agreed to the following
–Registration is limited to 250 runners
–Runners must pre-enter. There will be NO race-day registration
In 2010 the registration limit filled up a few days before the race…Please register early and don’t be shut out!

 

Runners who register by September 8th are guaranteed to receive our distinctive Houghton’s Pond Trail Race T-shirt, which is definitely a “keeper”.

 

Part of the proceeds from the race will be donated to the Friends of the Blue Hills, to help support its trail maintenance program and other advocacy efforts to preserve the Blue Hills Reservation. Learn more about FBH at http://www.friendsofthebluehills.org/ .

 

The Houghton’s Pond Trail Race is a member of the Eastern New England Trail Race Series, which includes over twenty trail races in New Hampshire, Maine, eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. For easy access to information about these races, please visit and bookmark the ENETRS website: http://www.easternnewenglandtrailraceseries.org/ .