Product Review: The Runner's Choice

I guess it is time to write this review.  It's not going to be very long.  I don't have a lot to say about it.  It's not going to be positive or negative, necessarily.  I just didn't feel the product did what I expected it to do or hoped it would do. 

I was contacted several months ago to try out a product, The Runner's Choice.  I get contacted often to try out things, mostly weird stuff or to run people's races and review them (even though they rarely provide me a free entry - um, no).  Usually I turn the person down or ignore the email, but this one intrigued me.  It's a foot serum, used while resting or sleeping, to get your feet back ready to run.  It's for sore feet.  And with its smell, I expected it to soothe my hot feet. 

I have been blessed as a runner to not have totally awful feet.  I've not had problems with blisters or black toenails or losing toenails or bunions or hammer toes or whatever gross things happen to most runner's feet.  Maybe it's because I treat my feet with care.  I never wear heels.  I'm not even sure if I own a pair.  If I have to wear dress shoes I wear flats.  Generally I wear sneakers.  With everything.  Everywhere.  Anyway, one thing that does bother me after long runs is hot feet.  (For the record, my feet get really hot after a night of drinking too.  Weird.)  So, I thought this serum might help cool my feet and allow me to sleep better.  Unfortunately, I didn't really get that feeling.

The product contains eucalyptus, wintergreen, peppermint, and spearmint, all things that I thought would cool down my feet.  Maybe I didn't put it on thick enough.  Maybe I did something wrong.  Regardless, my feet were still hot.  And since no one has perfected creating a blanket that has holes for my feet, I still had problems falling asleep with my hot feet.

Another thing was the directions.  They just weren't very clear or at least, I thought they were confusing.  It tells you to rub all over your feet and up to your ankles and to not rub in.  It then tells you to wash your hands.  Call me crazy, but if I put this stuff all over my feet with my hands and then have to wash my hands, how the heck am I supposed to get back to my chair or bed without my feet hitting the floor and rubbing away the serum?  I would either have Dave put it on my feet so he could get up and wash his hands or I would put it on using a cotton ball.

I haven't found a great solution for my hot feet yet.  This product, The Runner's Choice, did not do the trick for me.   It's not a terrible product review.  I would say it's constructive.  I hope they get my feedback and my email I sent that supposedly bounced and work to make a better product.

How Do I Spin This?

Earlier this spring I was contacted to give a try to a product and write a review.  I tried the product again and again and it just wasn't doing anything for me.  On top of that, it had some confusing directions that just didn't make any logical sense.  The company has contacted me a few times asking me about the review.  For a while I ignored the emails.  The last one, though, I sent back a response letting them know that I didn't think the product lived up to expectations.  Unfortunately, the email bounced.  Now I don't know what to do.  I don't want to write a fake, positive review.  Product whores drive me insane and I will not be one of them.  Do I write a review?  Do I try contact the company again?  Do I wait for them to contact me again?  What do I do?

Product Review: Oiselle Roga Running Shorts

**I bought this product myself.  The opinion expressed here are my own.**

I love new running clothes, but I don't like spending a lot of money on them.  I'm not likely to spend more than $20 on any item (shoes are the exception).  I mean, why spend a lot of money when you're going to wear it to death and beat the heck out of it?  But this has also resulted in some pretty crappy clothing that falls apart, bunches, chafes, and eventually molds and smells.

I have been following Oiselle through social media for quite some time now.  Although I had yet to try any of their products, I was starting to fall in love with the company.  I absolutely love what they are doing for women runners, especially at the elite level.  In addition, every time I read a review of their clothing, people were just gushing.  Why were those clothes so special?  For weeks I scoured their website searching for the perfect stuff.  I read reviews.  The prices were higher than I wanted to spend, but I really, really wanted to try some of their items.  Finally I bit the bullet and ordered three things: the Roga shorts, a ballcap, and the Lesko sports bra.

I ordered on Thursday July 4th and I received the items on Monday July 8th.  Great customer service!  Plus, the box came with extra goodies like a sticker, a pin (which is already on my backpack), and a temporary tattoo.

I had a long run to do on Monday so I immediately put these items on to test them out on this run.  The hat was great.  I always worry about hats fitting me as I have a tiny pinhead.  The sports bra was TIGHT, but isn't that how sports bras are supposed to be.  And I thought the shorts were a little long, but was willing to give them a try.  I really didn't have a choice.  There were no smaller sizes.  Anyway, to thoroughly test the products I did the run with zero Body Glide.  Having not completely lost the baby weight and still a little bigger in certain areas, I was expecting to get chafed.  But you know what....

The Oiselle Roga is the best freakin' running short I have ever worn!!!!  First of all, I love the fabric.  They are stretchy but not clingy.  The shorts did not ride at all and I did not get chafed one bit.  I also love the yoga-type waistband that did not make me look like I'm still losing the baby fat.  Seriously, I want to wear these shorts for every long run and race I have.  I love them so much, I immediately went onto the website and bought another pair. 

Oh Oiselle!  You continue to impress me!

Product Review: Kiefer Silicone Training Fins

Kiefer contacted me several weeks ago asking me if I'd like to try out one of their products.  Well, don't threaten me with a good time!  After some discussion with them, making sure they'd want me to review an item for them when I'm crazy pregnant and not really swim "training", I was sent the Kiefer Silicone Training Fins.

I already had a pair of Speedo fins, but they were long and more scuba-like than swim training-like.  These fins from Kiefer are comparable to zoomers.  From their website:

Kiefer Silicone Swim Training Fins are extremely durable in the pool and offer a very comfortable fit, the perfect swim training tool for kicking drills and swimming sets. Short blade fin design improves kick strength and ankle flexibility, causing development of proper flutter kick technique.

I have worn them on two different swims now and they are REALLY different than my previous swim fins.  The first time I wore them, I have to admit, I didn't like them a whole lot.  I was swimming with Dave and he was using his long Speedo fins.  He was kicking my buns in the pool and it was pissing me off.  With my old, long fins I could just move my feet a little and I got incredible speed.   The second time I wore them, I swam alone, and I understood why these are such a great training tool.  I understood that moving my feet and ankles properly, along with rolling my legs and hips, I could gain some speed out of the fins.  Therefore, I was improving my kick by learning to kick properly.  I can't wait to really use the fins once the baby is born and I can really swim train again.

Would I recommend these fins.  Absolutely!  Am I going to continue to use them.  You betcha!  Will I go back to my old fins?  Only if I'm scuba diving (which I'll never do because of my ears).

Do you have any Kiefer products?  What are your thoughts on using fins during swim training? 

Product Review: Zoot CompressRx Tights

The Run Less, Run Faster training plan is no joke.  Even though the plan is only three days a week, I'm finding it more difficult to recover from these tough runs than it was to recover from the relentless ironman training.  I'm doing all the things I should...chocolate milk, ice baths, lots of napping, compression socks.

Compression socks.  I love me some compression socks.  I have three pairs of them and two pairs of compression calf sleeves.  I wear my socks after ever workout.  I wear my compression sleeves for all my long runs.  I truly believe in the recoverability (sure, it's a word) with compression socks.  And while my calves love compression socks/sleeves, my quads and hammies and knees are crying for some relief too. 

Two weeks ago I threw it out to my Facebook friends if they had any thoughts regarding full compression tights.  I got a few responses back.  Then I started doing some research of my own.  Dang, those suckers are expensive.  Finally, with coupon code in hand, I ordered a pair of Zoot CompressRx tights from Running Warehouse.  A few days later I received them and have worn them pretty much after every hard workout I've had sense.

Here's what I think about them:

Negatives:

• They are absolutely hideous.  I was hoping they'd look a little more like plain tights.  There's no way I could wear these with a tunic or long shirt and get buy with them in public.  

• I ordered the smallest size as I am tiny.  However, for a short person I have long legs and a short torso.  I've had a hard time getting the tights up into my crotch (that's what she said, Jamie) so I'm not sure how effective they've been high on my hamstrings and hip flexors.
• Despite not being able to get the tights all the way up and looking like I dropped a load, they are really high waisted and come way past my belly button.  I roll my down onto my hips usually.
• They are super tight and hurt my fingers like crazy to struggle to get them on.

Positives:

• I like that my toes are not covered which has allowed me to sleep in the tights and get full benefit out of them.
• THEY WORK!!!  Do I really need to say anything else about them?

I have been minimally sore after wearing the tights after my difficult workouts, which is pretty much every workout.  I'm so glad my friends recommended these to me.

Product Giveway Winner (and other stuff)

Sorry I'm a day late on this. If you knew what kind of crazy week I'm having....

There were all of five entries into the ClipE product giveway. To not complicate matters, I numbered them one through five and then rolled a dice (die?) Drumroll please! And the winner is Tri Like Mary. Please contact me through my profile page, send me your address, and I'll get the ClipE in the mail to you this week.

Now on to other things...

Last week I did something stupid and upgraded the software on my Garmin 310XT. I did this because I saw there was now a way to track open water swimming while wearing the Garmin on the wrist. The problem was, I had already downloaded the newest software update when I read the reviews that the "swim" function under "other" really wasn't all that accurate. Of course, all of my data was wiped clean so I had to reprogram and reset everything, but I'm finding things about the update that I really don't like. For example, this morning I had a 2:45 run on the schedule that had four timed steps in it, but when I was done with that time, I decided I wanted to go on and finish 20 miles instead of whatever mileage I had done in two hours and 45 minutes. The old software would continue counting based on wherever you finished. So I had done about 18.75 miles in that 2:45 and if I had continued the time, it would have told me when I hit 19 miles. Today it started the mileage over at 2:45 and gave me "step #5" as the next full mile. I've also had problems with it picking up an automatic wheel size while riding so it would have it programmed for riding on the trainer (something I do every week). And I do not like the way that it downloads multiple workouts in one day to Garmin Training Center as one workout with multiple parts. How do I separate those workouts so I can upload them separately into Training Peaks for my coach?

If you have any answers to above, I could really use your help. Basically, though, I want to reset the Garmin so it goes back to the software I had when I bought my Garmin (it's over a year old). Is there any way to do that? Help please!

Product Review and Giveway

My name is Meredith and yes, I run with an iPod.

A few weeks ago I was contacted to try out the ClipE. What's a ClipE? It's a little button that holds your earbuds in place and clips onto your clothing and thus holds your iPod wires in place. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about this product when I received it. I mean, I had already figured out a way to not get all tangled up in my wires. I simply snaked them through my sports bra and shirt and clipped the iPod to my shorts. But, I was surprised when I tried the ClipE that it actually enhanced and improved the snaking method I was already using.



What I liked about it is that it held the cords that ran from the top of my sports bra to my ears in place, which meant the cords didn't slide around anywhere and the cords didn't tug from my ears. It was easy to connect my cords inside the button and easily attached to my clothing. I've used it on several different shirts and sports bras.

What I found to be difficult about it is when I tried to use it in a hurry (transitioning from bike to run inside my own house) the cords would pop out while trying to attach the ClipE to my clothing quickly. And yes, I would leave the ClipE just attached to the iPod cords all the time. My husband, however, seemed to have no trouble with this. He also has A LOT more patience than I do.

When I ran in only a sports bra during those weeks of scorching heat was to have the ClipE packaged in twos so that I could attach one at the top of my sports bra to hold my earbuds in place and one on my shorts to pull the wires taut against my body. I am a girl and my arms do cross my body and I have been known to pull the wires from my ears while running if they're not hidden.

And now the fun part....

I have an extra ClipE to give away to one lucky reader of this blog. I don't want to complicate things by making you follow on Facebook or Twitter for extra entries. That confuses me! So, just leave a comment on this blog entry and you are automatically entered into the drawing. The winner will be drawn at random. You have until Sunday August 14th at midnight to enter and then I'll announce the winner on Monday August 15th.

Product Review: Scape Sunscreen

Every year that Dave and I are together buying gifts for him gets tougher and tougher. This past Christmas I really dug deep and thought of some good stuff with which he was totally surprised. And every year I try to think of really creative items I can put in his stocking. While sitting in the library reading magazines (hey, it's FREE!!!) it was staring at me in the face out of the glossy pages of Runner's World....really good athlete sunscreen.

You see, although I do burn I turn a nice crisp shade of tan as the summer goes on. Dave on the other hand, burns and the peels, and he complains and WAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Since I still had no idea what his training and racing plans would consist of, I thought sunscreen would be a good idea. Of course, now I know he would be training for shorter races and I would be the one using the sunscreen.

I bought Scape athlete sunscreen in SPF 50+ from my local RoadRunner Sports. Actually, I bought two bottles of it: one for Dave's stocking and one for mine. Look what Santa brought me!!!

We first used it when we went to Mexico back in January. Since then I have used it for every single one of my long bike rides. I use a lot of it and it's thick and covers well. And it is the best sunscreen I have ever used. It stays on for like, forever. It keeps the sun from burning my skin but doesn't run into my eyes or doesn't make me feel sticky. It does seem to turn white as the workouts get long and I sweat more. But I'd rather be turning white than turning red. I have been burnt while using the sunscreen, however. When I did my half ironman this summer, I got pretty burnt on my shoulders. I don't know if the sunscreen didn't outlast the swim or if pouring all the water on my shoulders to cool myself down caused the sunscreen to fail. I also get a little burnt around the edges of my shirt where I rub for hours on end.

I am trying to figure out a sunscreen plan for THE BIG ONE!!! coming up. Sure, I can put the sunscreen on before the race, but the time in the water along with wearing a wetsuit may take all of the sunscreen off. At Louisville last year there were people who put sunscreen on you as you left transition, but as I recall that was not the case with THE BIG ONE!!! :) Scape is coming out with a spray sunscreen but I can't bank on it coming out by the time of the race. They have a foam sunscreen which may be an option as it says it can be used hands-free, but I'm not sure how much time I want to "waste" in transition. I'm also thinking of getting two spray bottles of the Neutrogena Wet Sunscreen-one for my T1 bag and one for the T2 bag. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Overall, I think this is the best sunscreen I've ever used. I preach it to my triathlon friends and I hope you consider using it too.

Product Review: Avia's Avi-Bolt II

Disclaimer: Yes, I am sponsored by Avia and received this product for free. However, I write reviews based on my experience and not on loyalty.

I have been in love with my running shoes for a long time. I have been running in the same brand/type for about 6 years. Hearing that I would have to switch to a different shoe this year made me a little sick to my stomach. I actually questioned if I wanted to continue to be part of Team Trakkers because of the shoes. It's not like I haven't worn different shoes before, so I decided to give Avia a try. This week my new racing flats, the Avi-Bolt II, arrived on my front porch.

I took them out for their maiden voyage on Friday for a quick interval run. It's been a long time since I've run in a pair of racing flats and initially they felt really, well, flat. I felt every rock and bump and crack. But once I got going on my intervals they felt great. I forgot how light and fast a pair of racing shoes can make your legs feel. I was flying in my intervals at sub-7:00s. I don't know if my training is creating those times or the shoes, but either way, it felt good to be running that fast. Later in the day my quads were more sore than they would have been with a pair of trainers, but that's typical for a run done in racing flat.

The goods and not-so-goods:

• I absolutely love the color of these shoes, totally Ohio State shoes.
• I have decided to name my shoes "Mean Streak." Not only is this a ride at Cedar Point, but a pretty good indication of how I like to run.
• When I opened the shoes, the left shoe's insole was bent in half. It took a while to straighten this out and it still has a crease in it, but didn't bother me too badly during the run.
• I thought the high heel/achilles would bother me even though I always wear socks. It didn't and will be nice as an aid to getting the shoes on quickly in transition.
• I love that they came with a pair of locking shoe laces, although I think I'm going to put in my elastic laces I've been using for years because, well, I like them a little better. :)
• I am definitely going to wear these shoes in my race next week, but the verdict is still out if these shoes will be used in the marathon.

More to come on these shoes as more miles are accumulated...

Product Review: CEP Calf Sleeves

I broke down and bought a pair of calf sleeves. I've really been conflicted about this purchase as (a) I didn't want to look weird wearing them and (b) I didn't really know if they worked. But after three good reviews from people I actually knew I thought it was time to get some.

I bought the CEP black calf sleeves in the smallest size they had available. Why CEP? Well, it's what was available at the local Road Runner Sports and because Dave and my dad love the socks. I got the black ones because I tend to rub my feet against my calves when I run and because sometimes I might pee on myself while running a race. :) White obviously would not have worked.



I have worn them now for two long runs: 13 and 14 milers. And I'm not sure they did anything at all. I take that back. My upper calves felt great after those runs, but my lower calves were extremely sore. I tend to be a forefoot striker as the pace picks up so when I get to the recovery parts of my runs, I notice how tight my achilles/lower calf is. The calf sleeve did nothing for this. I don't know if wearing the full socks would help this but that's not something I'm willing to try. I'm kind of picky about my running socks so I prefer to wear them. The calf sleeves have also helped keep my lower legs warm during these winter months, although I'm not sure they were meant to be worn as leg warmers. I am going to continue to wear them during my long runs at least through the marathon and then decide if I'll continue to wear them. Heck, they might help me on the bike too!

Product Review: Amphipod Hydration Handheld

I'm a girl who always runs with water. If I'm going out on a long run I wear my fuel belt. For anything less than an hour I like to carry a handheld. For the last couple of years I've been running with a Nathan handheld.


In the beginning I really loved this handheld. But then one day the strap came undone and I haven't been able to redo it the same way no matter how many times I've tried. I finally just tied a knot in it but it's still looser than I'd like it to be. I now carry it with my thumb through the top and pretty much hold the bottle by the lid.

For our anniversary this year, I got Dave his own handheld, an Amphipod 20oz. handheld.


I tried it out on a short 5 mile run this past Saturday. And overall, I like it better than my other one. The only thing I like better on the Nathan handheld is the waterbottle nozzle. The Amphipod one, though,fits really close against the hand and it's hard to notice it's there. However, it's still a lot bigger than what I'm looking for. Amphipod also makes one that is 12 oz. which might be closer to what I'm looking for. I'd really like something that's more the size of my hand (tiny), stays snug against my hand without clenching it, and doesn't have to hold a whole lot of water. Any ideas?

Product Review: Amphipod Airflow Lite

For years I have been looking for the perfect way to carry my gels and salt during racing and training. I have tried a variety of tactics. First, I tried a pair of Race Ready-type shorts (mine were not Race Ready). They worked pretty well, except the pockets tore over time. I also didn't like how as my shorts got heavier as they got wetter, the gels and wet shorts got droopier and droopier. Fail!

Then I tried a couple different waist packs, aka fanny packs. :) (One was by Fuel Belt, the other by Nathan.) The problem with these was I couldn't get them tight enough so they would bounce and ride up around my ribs instead of staying on my hips. This, of course, created unbelievable chafing. In addition, I was quite embarrassed I was wearing a fanny pack. :)


For a while I started wearing shimmels to race, which was great because they had pockets built into them. My only problem with the shimmel was that I have terribly inflexible shoulders and sometimes reaching into the pockets could be quite challenging.


After a year of nothing but spandex, I have been looking to find a way to carry my gels and wear loose fitting, comfortable running clothes, while in the running portions of tris or during running races. The week before Cedar Point I had decided I was going to wear my Fuel Belt and wanted to find an attachment, if you will, to the belt to carry my gels. I went to the running store across the street and, of course, they didn't have what I was looking for. That is ALWAYS the case. They recommended an Amphipod Airflow Lite, which to me, looked like another fanny pack. I was hesitant to buy it. I hadn't had the best experience with the waist pack, but they assured me that Amphipod prided itself on staying-put and I had heard great things too. So I bought it and tried it out on my next day's 15 minute run. I wore it with slippery tri shorts and put three gels in it to see if it would stay put. And....it totally did.


Then yesterday when I ran the 20 mile race, I loaded it up with 5 gels, a baggie of salt, and pinned my number on the front of it. It worked terrifically. It didn't move off my hips. It was easy to whip around and grab what I needed out of it. It never felt heavy or bulky.

So, I'm back to the fanny pack. But, I love it. I'm now I HUGE fan of Amphipod. I plan to try out another product very soon...