So I have been off the grid for a while. I promise to share all about it in the new year. A lot has happened in my life, some good and some bad. I plan on coming back with more content than reviews in 2020. Don't get me wrong, there will still be reviews, but I want to really get into injury prevention and how injuries change our lives, within running and beyond. Lets get to the good stuff though.
It’s that
time of year when you may be looking for that perfect gift for the runner in
your life. It may be a $5 stick of
anti-chafe or a $1,000 pair or recovery boots.
There are so many choices out there and everyone advertises their
product as life changing. While I won’t
make any claims on any product being the best for every person or situation, I
wanted to list a few of my favorite pieces of gear and why.
OOFOS makes the most comfortable recovery sandal
around. Maybe your boss will be okay
with you wearing them to work? Not only
does OOFOS foam absorb 37% more shock than other materials, but they cradle your
arches as well. They are machine
washable and float. Beware, once you put them on, you won’t want to take them
off. I can say that everyday when I get home,
my work shoes come off and my Oofos go on…for over 2 years now…on the same
pair. These are especially great after a
long run or a punishing track workout. 
If you are
not familiar with SportHill Direct, Inc.
they are based out of Oregon. Jim Hill
was a track runner at the University of Oregon when he realized that clothing
at the time was not very effective. He
developed 3SP fabric, which was the fasted drying fabric in the world. They have clothing for all types of outdoor
sporting activities. The Zephyr Long
Sleeve Crew is made with their SwiftDryPro which is a 91& Polyester to 8%
Spandex blend that blocks wind to 25 mph and wicks moisture like a champ. It has built in thumb holes and just feels
good, even on those long stormy runs.
The price is higher than other long-sleeved shirts, but the fabric holds
the secret and is worth the price of admission.
I was a skeptic when I first saw the price point, but it has jumped to
one of my favorite long sleeve shirts.
When I was
younger I could sit on my bulky tri-fold wallet with no problem. I am not as young as I once was and have
noticed that I cannot sit on a big bulky wallet anymore. I am always in need of a pen and a place to
put spare change or a stash pocket (not for that…its good for stamps, spare
house key, etc). Allett
has been in my pocket for the past 5 years or so. They have a range of slim wallets using
different materials depending on your preferences. The Nylon
Small Coin Wallet is great. It has
an outside zippered coin pocket, has two slots that each holds 10+ cards, and a
divided pocket for cash and receipts.
The Nylon is tear resistant and easy to clean. My favorite part is the
micro pen that fits in a special slot on the inside of the wallet. At the sale price, this makes my butt and my
wallet happy. I had to retire my old
Allett wallet for this one.
So, one
thing that kills me is watching people run on trails or on the shoulder of the
road with normal headphones that drown out all noise. It is vital to hear other runners, cyclists,
or vehicles and most earphones don’t allow that. It has been a few years since bone conduction
headphones really started hitting the mainstream market. Aftershokz explains it as “Transducers send
mini vibrations through the cheekbones and deliver sound directly to the inner
ear, bypassing the eardrum.” This allows
you to hear your surroundings. I can
listen to music and still hear my friends when they occasionally say when we
are turning up ahead.
I will state
up front that the quality is not as good as some closed ear or in ear
headphone, but the sound is good and is a safer alternative for sure. I had the Trekz Titanium for the longest time
before upgrading to the Aeropex, which is their newest and most advanced
headphones yet. You get better sound, battery
life (8+ hours), and is waterproof (with an IP67 rating). I love these and the battery life is amazing!
Do you ever run
in wet weather? Did you know that it can
dramatically reduce the life of your shoes if you don’t dry them the right
way? Shoes are typically held together,
at least in part, with glue. If exposed
to heat from a laundry dryer, your shoes can start to come apart.
In the past,
I stuffed my shoes with newspaper and let them dry naturally, which would take
days. There is a much better solution though,
and the price is great as well. The DryGuy Force Dry is a shoe
and glove dryer that is compact enough to take with you on trips thanks to its
fold flat design. The DryGuy Force Dry can dry a
pair of shoes in 1-2 hours according to the packaging and after several tests,
it rarely took me more than 90 minutes, even with the most thoroughly soaked
shoes.
There is a
timer that you can set for up to 3 hours so you can turn on the DryGuy Force Dry before you
go to bed or head out to run errands and not have to worry about the dryer
running too long. Another thing that I
like about the DryGuy Force
Dry is that it’s fairly quiet.
Unlike a pair of snowboard boot dryers that I got 10 years ago, the DryGuy Force Dry can be in
the same room as you while watching television without having to crank up the
volume. I use this to dry my shoes all
winter long. It’s great for gloves and
kids shoes too.
So, to be completely honest and upfront, I have talked with
Victor Ballesteros, the CEO of Victory Sportdesign, for a while at events. He is a really nice guy. I would see his vendor booth and would check
out the bags and after a year or so, I finally got to test a few out. Victor not only makes awesome bags for
runners, but works with certified a fair wage factory and makes sure that each
bag takes into account the impact on the environment that making the bags will
cost, trying to minimize that impact.
The Bear
III is a great drop bag or race day gear bag. I use it mostly for runs after work or at
lunch when I need to pack all of my gear.
You can fit everything into this well-organized bag. It has numerous pockets, a detachable
divider, a shoe bag all on the inside.
The outside of the bag has see-through pockets for your name (drop bags)
or so see what you have stored. The seams
are taped, and it has a water-resistant outer shell. You also get a shoulder strap.
If you need something bigger or are looking for a travel
bag for racing outside of your area, look no further than the Kodiak. This beast is amazing as well. It has the same water-resistant outer shell
and taped seams but adds backpack straps with bottle holders that can be
strapped together (attached) to make a duffel handle. There is a see-through pocket as well as a
few outer pockets. On the inside, you
really get to see Victor’s genius designing at work. There are 9 separate see-through pockets in
the top of the zippered opening. There
is a large customizable storage area that includes separators. You can keep it open as one big compartment
or make smaller ones. I could go on-and
on about these bags, but they would be at the top of my list for runners who
travel to races or even who just like to have their gear organized on race day.
Stretching
your muscles out on a regular basis will help you recover quicker, increase
flexibility, and reduce the risk of injury from running. The OPTP Stretch Out Strap is 6’4” in length
and has multiple loops to make it easier to hold while stretching. The included exercise book comes with 30
exercises to help you along the way. I
use mine almost every night.
With this being the time of giving, you now have a few
items that are worthy of checking out for the runner in your life. I hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday
season and I am going to be coming back in 2020 to bring some exciting changes
to the blog. The long hiatus is over!
Note:
I received these product in exchange for a review. The review is my
personal opinion of the product and I was not required to give a particular
opinion of it. I am not a doctor, so
please use all of the products that I review at your own risk. I worked with Deep Creek PR out of Seattle on the Allett
and SportHill items. I have been working
with Deep Creek PR for a few years and Cameron Ownbey really goes out of his way to
represent their clients.
