Product Reviews
I am happy to say I set a distance PR over the weekend! I ran 10 miles. It was an overcast morning with a nice, steady breeze, so it made for the perfect time to achieve it. Anticipating this long run, I purchased some items to help fill needs I noticed I either had or would have in the near future. Let's start with the waist pack.
It only took needing Alex to drive to where I was on my run with water once for me to realize I needed some way of hydrating while out on a run. I am a last-minute type consumer, so naturally I began shopping for this two days before my next scheduled long run. With that said, I am sure there are some cheaper options out there. This one, however, I got at Academy.
At first, I wasn't sure it was going to work. I was used to my other waist band, which has a stretchy material. This one doesn't stretch, so it tends to ride up and bounce while you run. After some adjusting, which included tightening and loosening it several times as well as tucking in my shirt, I was eventually able to just get in a groove and forget all about it.
The pocket looked small at first, but it was plenty big enough to hold my phone, Mace, and gels, which we will get to next.
*Completely off-subject side note*
I just learned that the word "finagle" does not mean what I thought it did. Does that ever happen to you? I thought it meant like situating or adjusting. This is what it actually means:
"obtain (something) by devious or dishonest means."
That's not something I would want to misuse! I'm glad I looked it up.
Also, I just learned that "Mace" is actually a brand name for an "aerosol self-defense spray," much like Kleenex is a brand name for facial tissue. I had no idea.
*Back to your scheduled programming*
I am going to try really hard to get my money out of these energy gels, but they are nasty. It's not necessarily the flavor that's bad. It's the texture for me, and I'm really not even one of those people who get thrown off by the texture of foods. I like oysters, but if anything had the texture of snot it's this.
The box says you want to eat one 5 minutes before your workout and then every 45 minutes during. I took one swallow and couldn't do it. I thought maybe it would be welcomed mid-run, but no. I just skipped it altogether and stuck with my water. I will say putting it in the refrigerator helped a LITTLE, but not much. I may just have to give these away and try another brand altogether.
Last are my beloved nuun tablets. Water is great, but these are something else entirely. Whenever I am towards the end of my run, I will call Alex and ask him to plop one of these in a glass of water and have it waiting for me in the fridge. Especially during the humid summer when I come back literally drenched from head to toe in sweat, these tablets are SO refreshing. It feels like they are re-hydrating me with every sip.
So those are the newest tools in my running arsenal. Maybe this helps if you have been searching for any of these yourself or have been tempted to try them.
Also, How is it already September?? I set a mileage PR for the month of August, 97 miles! I hope to break 100 this month.
That's it for now. Talk soon!
Hydration pack:
Exact on Academy.com
Cheaper option on Amazon
nuun tablets:
Packs of my favorite flavor on Amazon
Energy gels:
If you must try them, consider yourself warned. Here's a pack on Amazon
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1 comments
Looks like I have misused the word finagle in the past!
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