Treat Yourself to DuClaw's Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout this Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by DuClaw Brewing Company and a 6-pack of Naked Fish was provided to me for review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

While red wine paired with chocolate is the obvious romantic choice to go along with your Valentine's Day plans, you might want to reconsider. 

I was lucky enough to be approached to try Baltimore's own DuClaw Brewing Company's seasonal release of the Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout.  I love trying new craft brews and seasonal beers so I was really excited. I'm especially a fan of DuClaw's Mysterium and Dirty Little Freak beers. While I am all about red wine and dark chocolates, I also love the pairing of stouts and chocolate. 

I'm not just saying that because I love pretty much anything with chocolate either!  

This Naked Fish Stout was first brewed in 2002 and inspired by a hot cup of raspberry coffee DuClaw Brewmaster Jim Wagner was drinking while fishing. He homebrewed the first batch later with the same coffee and a new beer was born.

It is a pretty standard medium-bodied stout with a tan head and 4.6% abv, but then gets fun with gourmet chocolate raspberry coffee added to the grain bill to produce the distinct flavors of roast coffee, raspberry and dark chocolate at the finish.  

Despite the sweet flavors, this Naked Fish Stout is surprisingly very drinkable. I know some flavored,sweeter beers are sometimes trying to do too much or aren't everyone's cup of tea. I was worried this stout would be too sweet or that the raspberry flavor would get lost.  At first sip you taste the chocolate and coffee flavors and then get a subtle hint of the fruity raspberry.  It's not overwhelming and also has a nice, slightly carbonated mouth feel that isn't too heavy either. 

Dogfish Dash 2014 Race Recap

Okay so I'm an awful blogger and got totally behind on race recaps from last spring/before Chicago.  There's just too many races and not enough time in my day to blog about it all!  So in the new year before the spring racing starts, I thought I'd go back and finish some race recaps.  

I'm starting with the Dogfish Dash 5K/10K from September 2014. 

I had been really wanting to visit Dogfish Head Craft Beer Brewery because my boyfriend are huge fans of the beers they put out. We also were enamored with a series called Brew Masters about them we found on Netflix which had episodes built around specific beers from concept to creation and problems encountered as a brewery.  

I randomly stumbled upon the registration link on Twitter the day of registration and since I knew it would sell out that day(it's capped at around 2000 runners), I signed my boyfriend and I up on a whim! 

We ended up making the trek to Rehobeth Beach the day before the race and went straight to packet pickup at the Dogfish Head Brewings & Eatery. Of course it was super packed, but after some waiting around we eventually snagged a couple seats at the bar and got to tasting beers. They have all of their usual beers on tap, plus specialty beers you can't get anywhere else!  I was also REALLY happy that they had their Punkin Ale which is one of my favorites, on tap.  

Our food and the beers were great!  I had the pub salad with falafel and a beer sampler.We even saw the owner Sam come in to eat with his family. It was awesome to see he was so down to earth, even when my boyfriend stopped him on the way to the bathroom to gush about how much he loves their beer. 

We ended up enjoying ourselves a lot and since hotels in the area were all booked for the race, we stayed at local campsite in between Rehobeth and Milton. It's definitely a race you need to plan ahead for!   We had left Baltimore later than we liked so after dinner and many beers, we pretty much got to the campsite, pitched a tent, and went to sleep. 

The next morning we woke up bright and early to a sunny, clear sky.  We drove to the actual brewery in the small town of Milton, Delaware, parked the car and got ready to race. 

As seen in the parking lot!

ClassPass is here, Baltimore!

Disclosure:  I was offered a one-month ClassPass membership to review for no cost. This blog post contains affiliate links. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own! 

I'm really excited to let you know that ClassPass has finally come to Baltimore! I have been hearing about for a while on the interwebs, and so I was really excited to get an email offering to allow me to try it out and spread the word in Charm City.

What is it?

ClassPass is a subscription service with a flat monthly fee (between $79-99 depending on location) that allows you to take fitness classes at a various boutique fitness studios in your area.  There are tons of classes available to ClassPass members inlcuding cycling, yoga, pilates, barre, martial arts, strength-training, and more.  

Book Review: Ultra Marathon Man by Dean Karnazes

I'm participating in Sarah Ohm's Blogger Book Club 2015 because I love books and participating in this link up will hopefully help motivate me to reach one of my New Year's goals to read one book a month for fun.  This month I decided to read Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. Actually I read the whole book one day during jury duty last week. High five to me for being productive.   

I have read about Dean Karnazes, one of the most famous ultrarunners, and even met him a couple years ago at a running store event. He was so genuine, enthusiastic, and positive in person.

I finally picked up his autobiographical book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner published in 2006. It seemed like a great pick for the motivation theme of this month's book club. No, I've never run an ultramarathon, although I'm toying with the idea of trying a 50K one of these days. I am however a runner and fascinated by ultramarathons.  I give lots of respect to the different type of running and physical stamina those events take. The ultrarunning culture, fuel, and community is interesting to me.  

I also like how even though Dean eats super healthy, during ultras he does things like gets an entire pizza delivered to him on a run and eats the entire thing himself. 

True story, it happens in this book. Pizza is clearly the way to my heart. 

I'd say you don't have to be a runner to like this book though. It's more about inspiration and following your dreams, no matter how crazy they seem.  Clearly that lines up with my "run happy, dream big" mantra as well. 

The book Ultra Marathon Man is about Dean from the very beginning of his running career until the end of a 199 mile relay race he ran solo in California in 2000. 

He ran mostly cross country in high school and fell in love with running but later is sister Pary was killed in a car crash.  Her death and how it affected Dean is a theme throughout the book. What I think is surprising is how Dean  not only held a corporate job in San Francisco when he started running but throughout his career.  One of the motivating quotes in his life and of the book is how a former favorite high school coach told him "If it felt good, you didn't push hard enough. It's supposed to hurt like hell." After a hiatus from running, he rediscovers his love of it on his 30th birthday and enters the world of ultramarathoning.  

I'm not going to give the whole book away (you should read!) but it talks about his journey towards chasing the toughest events in the world form his first Western States, to Badwater, to the first marathon on Antarctica, and then finally the relay in California.  He doesn't just run ultramarathons but ridiculously difficult events like Badwater which takes place in Death Valley for 135 miles with temperatures in 120 °F. Seriously. Oh and he won it in 2004. 

The Still Point at Haven on the Lake Spa Afternoon

When I received an email with an invitation to tour and experience the newly opened The Still Point at Haven on the Lake in Columbia, MD I was excited.  Relaxing at a spa sounded like the perfect way to chill last Sunday afternoon.  

Columbia is around a 30 minute drive outside of the city and Haven on the Lake is conveniently located near the mall and below a new Whole Foods. Yes, fresh food and drinks from Whole Foods are actually delivered to Haven on the Lake so you don't have to bring your own lunch! 

Since it's nestled right in the middle of things, I was surprised at how relaxing and calm the environment was from the minute I walked in.  There was something about the huge space, open layout, and their signature scent in the air that made me right at ease.  

When you walk in The Still Point is on the left and the on the right are the studios and pool and therapy areas.  

The Still Point offers a large selection of wellness services including acupuncture, massage, holistic skin care, body treatments, natural nail care, and nutrition coaching. The spa looked pristine and was well-staffed.   

The first part of the afternoon was a tour of Haven on the Lake itself.  It has a huge pool area which includes a hot tub, relaxation pool, cold plunge pool, sauna, and steam bath.  All the areas looked stunning, and I was absolutely regretting not bringing my bathing suit to sneak in a dip! 

Two of the most interesting things available are the tropical rain shower and the Crystal Salt Room.  Apparently the Crystal Salt Room is used as alternative medicine for common ailments and skin conditions and is surprisingly the most-booked area at Haven on the Lake! 

Yes, I;m talking gorgeous pools like this.  

Haven on the Lake also offers meditation and relaxation lounges, childcare services and a plethora of Mind Body classes including barre, aqua pilates,and yoga. 

I chose to try out the Yoga Wall class instead of the barre class. The studio literally is right on the lake and provides a beautiful, peaceful environment to practice in. .They even have an terrace for outside classes when the weather warms up.

Advocare Herbal Cleanse Review {Advo 24 Day Challenge}

Disclaimer: Katie Thompson of Running4Cupcakes offered me a 10 day herbal cleanse in exchange for a review. All other products mentioned where purchased by me.  As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.  I am not a professional, merely just sharing my thoughts. Always consult a professional before starting a new diet or taking any new supplements.  


Katie from Running4Cupcakes approached me before the holidays about joining the Advocare 24 Day Challenge (check out her Advocare posts and distributor site here).  Now I've heard people rave about Advocare but honestly don't have the money to spend on pricey supplements that are mostly vitamins. I am also really skeptical or diet plans and products that are pushed and distributed by people. My curiosity was peaked more when Crossfit champion Rich Froning became an endorser.  Katie offered me a free 10 day herbal cleanse box to try out and talk about my results- so I agreed! 

Now while I'd like to lose a few pounds, I don't believe in weight loss supplements or spending money on fancy cleanses.  Our bodies are pretty great at getting us where we should be and detoxing themselves, especially if we treat them right.  However this whole "herbal cleanse" is really about taking some fiber, probiotics, and eating clean. Getting a nice reason to force me to reset and focus on food after 2 weeks of Christmas cookies,booze and holiday parties seemed like a good idea.

The 10 Day Herbal Cleanse is the first 10 days of the 24 day challenge and 1 box includes 6 packets of fiber drink (I got peaches and cream flavor-I heard the citrus was awful), 7 packets of herbal cleanse fiber capsules, and 7 packets of probiotic restore capsules (product info here).     

Optional or recommended Advocare products with the 10 day cleanse are Spark (energy drink), Catalyst (amino acid supplement), meal replacement shakes, and OmegaPlex vitamins.  The products are pricey to me. I checked out the ingredient lists of the products which were pretty basic and figured I have plenty of amino acid supplements and protein powders lying around to use already. I take fish oil and omegas already too so I wasn't buying the OmegaPlex either. 

My Rockstar Spring Half Marathon 12-Week Training Plan {and other Thursday Thoughts}

I love Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays linkup because it's a place for me to dump some thoughts and share some random tidbits from my life. I hope you like my rambles and that it's not boring or annoying!

1. I'm never going to be a good little blogger that has all her posts done the night before and scheduled to publish in the early morning. Most of mine of half done and finished in the morning or typed up write before lunch. I work full-time so this is as good as it's going to get. Unless I win the lottery of life and can gallivant around all day not having to work and just being able to run, eat, and hang in my sweatpants. A girl can dream, right?

I also have a laundry lists of blog posts I need to write and race recaps from last year-whoops.   

2. Our November Project buffs that some of us ordered finally came into yesterday and now I can look like a ninja when I'm running around Baltimore in the cold.  A November Project member designed them, and it's the best $10 I've spent in a while.  They are lightweight,  UV-resistant, and can be worn a bunch of different ways!

3. Is it just me, or does anybody just need to cry when they are stressed out and anxious? Yep, work + life + never enough hours in the day led to a mini post-work break-down last night. In case you didn't know, breathe deeply and smile is an actual mantra that I use in my life. 

4. I really need more than 24 hours in a day if I'm supposed to work and do chores and finish anything on my to-do list.  I sat down after work, class, dinner,and cleaning up last night to find it was already 10 PM. I should have gone to bed but I needed an hour of Netflix to decompress #nightowlproblems. 

5. I know we're only halfway through winter, but I'm already excited for spring. March doesn't feel that far away anymore. One big snowstorm that gets me a full snow day would be nice, but other than that I'm over cold wind and layering up to go outside.

6. I fully approve a bottle of red wine being on this Lululemon destination half marathon packing list. I also approve the choice of Apothic Red wine because it's tasty and affordable. Bravo.  

7. I bought this Chobani green tea blended yogurt a couple weeks ago after getting excited when I saw a couple other people post about it. Sadly I was disappointed in the flavor. It was vanilla-y with a hint of green tea, not the green tea flavor bomb like I wanted. Boo.

8. So it's been hard for me to get into a schedule/ out of my running funk so I finally decided to type up a half marathon training plan schedule for myself. My target race is the Philly Love Run Half Marathon (recap from last year here) on March 29,2015.  

I hope I feel like a rockstar at the end of the race!

I may still sign up for the Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon 2 weeks before and just count that as my long run.  

I keep my training plans flexible and switch workouts/rest days around to fit my schedule. Sometimes that means switching my long run to Sunday, especially with winter weather wreaking havoc some days.Wednesday is a cross training day because I go to November Project in the morning, but that always involves some running too. I may decide to make a couple of my long runs longer too depending on future race plans, but I like at least having some sort of structure to follow. 

 It's an intermediate half marathon training plan with some cross-training, so if you were interested in a 12 week schedule feel free to save away!

Note: I am not a running coach or professional, this is just a plan I put together from looking at other plans and my own experience.  Always consult a professional before starting a new training regimen! 

Save, share, and pin me!

Be sure to enter my iHerb $50 shopping spree giveaway and the UD Kitchen Ultimate Fitness giveaway! 

What's something you always pack for a destination race? Do you like following a scheduled training plan? 

Undiscovered Kitchen Ultimate Fitness Giveaway

I'm really excited to announce that I am collaborating with Undiscovered Kitchen for the second time to spread the word about their New Year New You! Ultimate Fitness Giveaway. Undiscovered Kitchen is an awesome digital market for artisan and handcrafted foods.  I had such a great time working with them on the SUPERFOODie Giveaway campaign, and I love the message of this positive campaign even more. 

Undiscovered Kitchen wants to give you a chance to get a jump on your 2015 goals by entering to win $500 worth of fresh fitness gear from ActivewearUSA and $150 worth of energy packed fitness foods made by artisans around the country!.

I love that the focus of the campaign is encouraging others to take a positive step in 2015 and gain a healthy mind, body, and spirit through healthy living. We're a few weeks into the year so if you have started on those goals, here is some motivation! 

You can enter for a chance to win prizes including a $500 ActivewearUSA fitness gear makeover, Cognitea ,Enerchi Bites ,Perfect Fuel Chocolate,ProCakes Protein Pancake & Baking Mix, Simple Squares Bars, Sprout Nourishment Carob & Pomegranate Energy Squares & Plant Power Bars, and TastyMakes.

Click on the image above to enter!

You can read my interview and hear more about me such as my favorite recipes, why I blog, how I stay motivated, and my favorite small batch companies.

Check out a sneak peak of some of my answers below.