Favorite Gear #3 - Nike Flyknit Lunar1

They say money can't buy happiness, but it CAN buy shoes. That's pretty much the same thing.

I'd be the same way....

(Comic by Randall Munroe http://xkcd.com/)

Like some women *cough* I seem to be a bit of a "shoe" person.  This has (unfortunately for my wallet) translated to running shoes. Of course my basis for buying most shoes is looks. Running shoes are a bit different. I want them to look good AND work for me (a bit more challenging to figure out). I'm still trying to figure out what kind of runner I am so I have to base my purchases on the reviews of others. That led me to these babies...

Nike Flyknit Lunar1 Oh how I love you. Of course by this point my love affair with Nike has been well advertised. BUT I actually based this on the fact that they are Runner's World Editors Choice for 2013!

I could go on and on about the things I read about why they're great but I just gave you the links to check them out for yourselves!  The facts for me are they are 1. INCREDIBLY light (only 5.7oz each). 2. They are very supportive where I need it. 3. They are very breathable. AND 4. They are Nike+ compatible (always a plus for me).

Most of the problems I read about in the reviews were problems with the tongue slipping and/or the laces not holding. I've put a few miles on these now and I must say I don't find either of those to be a problem (or not annoying enough for me to notice.)

They ARE however very pricey as far as running shoes go. I'd like to tell you I'm not the type to spend $160 on running shoes but that's just not true. As a matter of fact I sprung for the extra $40 to make them Nike iD style and get exactly what I wanted.

$200 on shoes is not for everyone, but I sure love them and can't wait to lace them up again.

Stridebox - September

Stridebox day is always one of my favorite days of the month.

A3 Sports Bar - Honey Graham S'mores flavor. 110 cal, 3.5g fat, 125mg sodium, 17g carbs, 1g fiber, 5g protein.

(I love Pro Bar! I've had these before and I love them!) Pro Bar Bolt Organic Energy Chews - Strawberry flavor. (Serving is 4-5 chews. per package 2) Per serving: 90 cal, 0g fat, 60mg sodium, 24g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g protein.

Happy Squeeze Coco Coconut Milk - Orange Mango flavor (x2 Thanks Stridebox!) 90 cal, 1g fat, 5mg sodium, 20g carbs, 1g fiber, <1g protein.

Aero Shot Energy - Green Apple flavor. Air-Based energy shot/dietary supplement. Contains 100% of your daily Niacin, Vitamin B6 & Vitamin B12. Also has 100mg of caffeine. Seems you pull it open "breath" it in and get a boost of energy. We'll see about this one...

 EBoost Daily Health Booster - Orange flavor. Another product that I've had opportunity to use. I got a sample of this at one of my races. It is a drink mix (add to 8 oz of water) to boost energy & immunity. Just took a look at the nutritional facts and get this - one pack has 1667% of your daily Vitamin C AND 41,667% of your daily Vitamin B12. That was not a typo - 41,667%. Take that Aero Shot with your paltry "100%".

Fuel 100 Electro-Bites - Salty Vinegar flavor. Gluten & Soy free. 90 cal, 4.5g fat, 160mg sodium, 12g carbs, (no fiber listed), 0g protein. 

Also sent this 12 week training log to record distance, time, route & take notes.

Good things I'm looking forward to trying!

Favorite Gear #2

WARNING: Prepare yourself for more Nike fawning.

I am currently using a couple of apps to help in my training.

The first is 5K Runner by Clear Sky Apps LTD.

It cost $2.99 and I consider it well worth it. (There is a free version to try but I believe it only has one run on it)

The runs vary from 25 minutes to 45 minutes. There is 24 different runs. 8 weeks/3 days per week.  Each day includes a 5 minute warm up and cool down. Then each day includes a run that builds in length and intensity. For example Week 1/Day 1 is 5 minute warm up then 20 minutes worth of run 1 minute - walk 1.5 minutes then 5 minutes cool down. As you go on the runs get longer and the walking gets shorter until you are running the whole time.

App includes an audio "coach" that will ding a bell and tell you if you need to run or walk. (Very helpful)

App will play the music on your phone/ipod.

Every few days you earn a "badge" for your progess. And it will keep track of your "wins" (completed runs and badges) any of which you can share via Facebook, Twitter or email.

This app is available from the iTunes store for $2.99 AND there is follow up apps including 10K Runner & 21K Runner (which is a half marathon). I am hoping for a Marathon runner eventually)

In addition to that I also use the Nike+ Running app.

This app keeps track of all of your runs including, when, how far & how fast.

Home screen keeps a running total of your miles, Nike Fuel and your average speed per mile. Also lets you link to friends to see how their runs are going (excellent for friendly competition).

The app lets you set the paramiters for your run. You can set a specific length or time and it will give you audio cues as to how you are doing (each mile, when you are half done, etc.).  During the run the screen keeps track of how far you have gone, how long and what your current speed is.

After each run it will ask you how it felt and what kind of surface you were running on. Then it keeps a history for you including what the weather was like while you were running.

This app also quite nicely asks you to "tag" which pair of shoes you were running. (You can pick nicknames for them) and it keeps track of the mileage on each of your pairs of shoes!

The app is available from iTunes and is FREE! (Thanks Nike!)

I like to run both apps at the same time with a male voice on one and a female voice on the other.

Keeps track of all my runs and trains me at the same time. I love it!

5K Foam Fest - Salt Lake City, UT - August 31, 2013

My sister, my mother, several of my friends a I just participated in the 5K Foam Fest in Salt Lake City and we had a great time!

Batman (Tasha) & Robin (Robyn) ready for action!

Justice League Unite!

The whole group. (Me, Tasha, Jeanette, Robyn, Mom (Julie), Sister (Heidi))

The race provided several photographers on the course that took pictures and had a photo tent at the finish line. These pictures were then put \up on their website for download. We got ours for free because one of the obstacles was unavailable at our race.

We were given a shirt at the finish line. They were nice enough to give me one of the mens because I didn't really care for womens.

Super nice finisher medal included!

Starting to look like an actual runner.

Not without injury! Knees and elbows got scrapped up pretty good. (Crawling through the mud and doing 50 foot slip and slides will do that). But it was totally worth it!  Cannot wait to do this one again next year.

FYI - our shirts were obliterated and our bibs were torn to shreds. I may suggest wearing the bib on the back if you don't want it destroyed (something I normally consider race blasphemy), but the pictures and tagged by bib number. Something that is equally hard to do if its destroyed early in the race. Its a mixed bag - proceed with caution.

Also bib pins were being torn out and lost all over the course and we did see someone come out of the slip & slide with one very firmly imbedded in their hand.

You will come out of this race dirty, wet and injured! If you are okay with those things - rock on. We sure did.