Alameda Runners – Get After It!

The more stuff I get to review, the more niches I find for stuff.  I recently received a couple pair of SockGuy socks for review.

The low cut socks with a 3-inch cuff seemed to be best suited for cycling so I took them out for a 60-mile bike ride followed by a 6-mile run and thought they made my feet numb.

Hmmm, blame it on the socks.

I tried the same socks on a 7-mile run with no problems.  I then took them out for the ultimate running test:  I ran about seven miles in the rain with no slipping or bunching.  They are very comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

I have a pair of crew style socks that are so good I wear them with casual clothes, such as jeans and a casual shirt.  I love the socks but I am afraid that I have become exercise fashion conscious.

Quality socks usually cost from 5 to 15 dollars.  SockGuy socks are usually 5-10 dollars.  They are very comfortable and competitively priced.  I love my SockGuy socks and would buy them off the rack of my local running store without a second thought.

Buy quality socks and your feet will thank you by not complaining.

The Good:

• Comfort, the packaging and the web site give you a lot of technical reasons for comfort but they just feel good on my feet.
• They are stylish.  Now that I am fashion conscious, I like style.
• The price.

The Bad

• You have to wash them a few times before they become really comfortable.
• They can’t mold my bike shoes to my feet for me.

I like my SockGuy socks for both athletics and casual wear.  They are very comfortable and well worth the price.

Mike’s Thoughts:  I wear mine for riding and casual wear, as I’ve found I replaced most of my casual regular socks with tech clothing.

I love listening to music while I do my tempo runs.  I usually wear Bose ear buds so the bar is set a little high.  I was a little apprehensive when Mike handed me a pair of Zippearz for review.

I did not want to try them out.  When I did put them in my ears, I liked the way they felt.

The cord is incredibly thin and lightweight, which is something other companies can learn from.  When I turned on some techno music for tempo, I found the bass to be incredible.  How can these $25 ear buds have so much sound?  I liked the sound.

Unfortunately, I live in Alameda (Bay Area city located on the waterfront) , where it is usually windy.  The wind goes right through the ear buds.  The sound drove me nuts at first but after a few miles, I got used to it.

The ear buds also came with ear clips to help hold them in my ears but I did not need them.  After I got sweaty, the wire stuck to my skin and started tugging on the cord.  I had to keep reaching back to pull the wire up my shirt.  I wish they came with a clip to hold the wire on my shirt.  Just like all athletes running with an MP3 player, you’ll find a way to keep the cord out of the way comfortably.

The good:

• Zippearz cost $24.95
• The sound is incredible
• They are nice and light
• The around the ear holders are cool

The bad:

• The wind going through the ear buds
• No clip to hold the wire to my shirt

The bottom line – I really like the Zippearz.  They are worth $25.  They knocked a pair of $100 Bose out of my gym bag for stationary bike work outs.  I got mine as a review pair.  I highly recommend them for people who run in areas where it is not windy,  at the gym, or as a solid pair of backup earbuds.

Mike’s Note:  I know many envious people (or audio snobs) like to bash Bose for being overpriced and overrated, but the Bose products I’ve owned have always been great.  Keep in mind I review a lot of different products – if Ted says these make a great backup pair of earbuds following his Bose, then that’s a strong indicator of how solid these earbuds are.

I recently received some Icebreaker running gear for review.  I was a bit concerned about wearing wool running stuff, but it was pleasantly comfortable.  The run shorts felt a bit odd and scratchy for the first few runs but it is surprising how comfortable wool running clothes can be.  I only wore them for short runs at first because of the scratchy feel.

They are not scratchy like the old wool army blankets but scratchy compared to synthetic shorts.  After a few washings, the scratchy feel went away and it was just that unique wool feel that I liked.

The Run Ace Crewe running shirt was similar to the shorts with the unique feel but after one run, I converted the shirt to a casual/under shirt.  I really like the way the shirt feels.  I won’t wear a regular running shirt as an everyday shirt because they are expensive and they don’t wear very well.

I don’t know anything about scientific facts but everyone knows that wool makes the most durable clothes.  It is pretty neat that they can make wool T-shirts comfortable.  I like the way the wool shirt feels after I sweat a little bit.  Synthetic shirts really spread the sweat and make it uncomfortable where it does not seem happen with the wool.

All of the clothes come with an ID code to trace the origin of the wool.  It is pretty neat to see how global the economy really is and the web page is top notch.  I really like the Icebreaker gear.  I have been wearing it for the last couple of weeks and suffered no rashes.

I have a preference for the Clif Mojo peanut butter pretzel bar.  I lean towards organic products whenever possible (when exercising or just lounging around).  I believe “organic” has become a bit of a buzzword lately and Clif is not bashful about jumping on the band wagon.

That being said, I really like Clif the company and only ask the companies make an honest effort into giving us good calories.  I say this because the Clif Peanut butter pretzel bar tastes really good.  It is loaded with 200 calories, 80 of which are from fat and the ingredient list is longer than a Twinkies.  I trust that Clif is giving me good stuff.

I love the Mojo bar line with no real preference for the different bars.  I just saved the peanut butter pretzel wrapper for review.  I can easily eat a bar while riding my bike without feeling nauseous.  I prefer to eat half of a bar at a time to spread my calorie intake a bit.  When you are out on a long training day, all of these calories are good.  Give this bar a try; you might be surprised at how good an energy bar can be.

Note: I paid for my last box of bars, after Clif handed me some to try.

Honey Stinger energy chews are a good source of calories while out on a long training day.  I have well documented problem consuming enough calories when I am out on long training and racing days.  I frequently find myself crashed in a corner feeling ill effects from the calories that I tried to consume.  I am happy to say, Honey Stinger energy chews in both lemonade and pink lemonade flavors work for me.  Each pack of 10 chews comes in with 160 calories and 80 mg of sodium.  I can handle 4 or 5 chews at a time.  The chews taste okay and they stay down.

Being nauseous during training or racing is bad.  Honey Stinger products are new to my inventory and have quickly moved to the top.  When Vineman 2011 arrives on July 17, I will be carrying Honey Stinger energy chews and Honey Stinger waffles as I can consume both without becoming ill.

I am not a fan of wearing extra stuff while exercising.  The Hydrapak has changed my view of things for long bike rides.  I do wish the bag came with cleaning instructions for first-time use, but that’s something that can be fixed in the future.

Hydrapak sent us a 70 ounce back pack hydration system for review.  Since I despise wearing backpacks, I decided to review this product.  It is amazing how negative I was when I started out the review process for this thing.  A back pack is not like a water bottle where you wash it out and then simply use it.  With a backpack, you have to disassemble the thing then figure out how to wash it.  I did not have any hydrogen peroxide in my cabinet so I cleaned the bag out with bleach.  I cleaned it a few times to make sure it was clean.  It may have been clean but the water still tasted terrible.

My first trial was a 50 mile ride through the hills, in the wine country, to give the Hydrapak a real test.  It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to adjust all of the straps.  There are shoulder straps, a waist strap and a chest strap.

I filled the bag about 2/3 of the way full, adjusted the straps to snug and was on my way.  Wearing the backpack was a bit odd at first, but I soon forgot about it.  The water tasted like plastic so I did not drink much of it.  At about mile 25, I noticed my shoulders creeping up to keep the pack in place.  I stopped to adjust the straps and all was good.  It was comfortable wearing the Hydrapak for a 3 hour bike ride.  I could not drink the water but I had no complaints about the bag.

I cleaned the bag out a few more times and gave it another try.  This time the water was drinkable and it stayed cool for the whole ride.  I drink cold tap water so I am surprised the water stayed cool for 4 hours in the sun and on my back.

The bag has a pouch for the water bag and 3 other pouches.    The way the Hydrapak hangs, I put a lot of stuff in the pouches and was quite comfortable.  The big pouch is big enough to hold 2 wine bottles.  You will have to keep some water in the bag for it to stay comfortable while carrying wine.

The Hydrapak has changed my view of carrying water in a backpack.  I will continue to use it for my long rides.  I don’t have a lot of experience with water backpacks so I grabbed one from the garage for comparison.  Here are some things I like about the Hydrapak that stand out.

• The quick disconnect hose
• The extra front straps
• The holders for excess strap ends
• The way the bag fits on my back
• The size and organization of the additional pouches

GU and similar sports nutrition companies are always creating new formulas and flavors to help keep athletes happy.  A good product and strong marketing skills can create a dazzling combination — and GU’s Chocolate Raspberry Roctane flavor is a perfect example of a company doing it just right.

GU launched its chocolate raspberry flavor last month, much to the delight of athletes seeking this flavor. Prior to the launch, GU offered a teaser of the new Roctane flavor, with a surprisingly large number of athletes correctly guessing a chocolate raspberry flavor.

I’m typically not a big fan of anything related to chocolate or coffee energy products, but the added raspberry in this flavor helps offset too much chocolate.  The flavor is sweet but not too sweet to wash down with some water while running or in the saddle for a long time.

Similar to other Roctane-branded gels, the Chocolate Raspberry has a slightly altered formula designed for added nutritional needs.  One packet of GU Chocolate Raspberry includes 100 calories (15 calories from fat), 20g carbs,6 sugar, 90mg sodium, and 50mg of potassium.

The GU Roctane Chocolate Raspberry flavor originally launched last month and seems to be a flavor long overdue. I still prefer the GU Roctane Pineapple or Blueberry Pomegranate, but applaud GU for the Chocolate Raspberry. Even so, I’m going to continue chowing down on the Chocolate Raspberry, because it could easily become one of my favorites.

The Garmin Edge 500 is a fantastic cycle computer that I am happy to own.  The base model Edge 500 is priced around $250.00.  I could not find the base model for $250 in the Bay area.  I wound up buying the full package with the chest strap and cadence sensor from Mike’s Bikes for $350 plus 10% California tax.  I wonder what the state does with all of that money, which is another matter.

When I picked up my Edge, the box was clearly marked “Charge before use”.  I charged it up and was ready to go.  The Edge mounts to a bracket that is mounted onto the handle bar with two rubber bands.  The rubber bands and quarter turn bracket seem pretty flimsy but they have held up for 500-1,000 miles.

After charging and installation, I turned on the Edge 500 and went out for a ride.  I did not read any instructions.  It took me a second to realize that you have to hold the power button down until it turned on.  It is a good thing that holding the power button for startup is common these days.  It takes 30-60 seconds for the GPS to sync with the satellites, push the start button and I was off.  It was useable within 5 minutes of the battery being charged!  The top viewing block reads elapsed time out of the box.  I am old and my eyes are starting to go bad so I did not want to use the main window for elapsed time.    So I read the instructions to change the display windows.  It was not very difficult to configure the Edge to my liking.

The hardest part was trying to decide what to put on the screen.  The screen has options to use up to 8 different items to display.  I opted for 5 items with speed on the big screen on top.

The other four items are heart rate, overall distance, elapsed time and time of day.  I like to know what my heart rate is so I can keep from blowing up on the bike.  It is really easy for me to go out too fast only to later crash and burn at the end of the ride.   I also like the lap setting that beeps every lap.  It is set for a default lap of 5 miles.  The beep lets me know it is time to consume calories.   When I race, I need every reminder I can get.

What I like about the Edge 500:

Configurable screens.  There are three configurable screens that can be selected by the touch of the enter/page/menu button.
When movement is detected, the monitor beeps to let you know if you forgot to start the clock.

More than 40 options to select for the three screens.
The software is minimal, hard to find and harder to use but at least there is software.

Portability – I forgot my running HRM one day and wound up running with the 500 in my pocket.  It worked just fine.

Size – It has a nice small foot print on the bike with a readable screen.

Battery life – I heard a lot of complaints about the battery life but I have used it for about 12 hours before charging and it still had about 70% battery life when I plugged it in.

What I don’t like about the Garmin 500:

The software is absolutely horrible.
The web page for Garmin software is worse than the software.

Things I don’t like about the software:

• It is inconsistent to use.
• I can’t sync both the 405 and the 500 from the same computer.  I can sync them to the my.garmin site but I can’t sync them to social media sites such as Facebook or DailyMile.
• I can’t get a list of data that was recorded on a ride.
• The ride dates fold up into old rides making it difficult to find them.
• No instructions for the software.

The mount is a bit cheesy but I give the mount more positive feedback for being easy to use than I do negative feedback for being flimsy.

Overall, I love the Garmin Edge 500.  When I went out to search for a new cycle computer, my budget was $1,000.  Priced at $400, the fully equipped Edge 500 comes in well below that price limit.  I do not look at other computers with envy.  I am very happy with my decision to buy the 500.   I have the Garmin 405 that I have a well-documented love/hate relationship with.  The good parts of the 405 were far better than the frustrating ones.  I am now looking at Garmin GPS units for my car.  Better software would be nice but I don’t need software on my home computer to remind me when it is time to drink or eat while I am riding my bike.  I take no points away from the Edge 500 because of the software.  I wish the software was better but it is good enough.

Tuesday – I just cleared five items off my desk when I came home to more stuff.  One of my new presents was a box of Honey Stinger Waffles in both vanilla and honey flavor.

By Friday, I already went online and ordered two boxes for myself.  I decided to try a waffle after my morning swim.  I liked it so much; I decided to try another, just to make sure the good taste was not my imagination.

I tried again the next day and brought some to work to hand out as snacks.  The feedback was positive.  At 160 calories, they are a bit much for a snack but much better than a bagel or a donut.  I don’t have any big exercise days scheduled this week for a real good trial for the waffles.

This Saturday is a bike/run/bike day.  Not a good day to really crash and burn but I will try the stinger waffles as my primary source of calories for the five-hour effort.  I bought a couple more boxes to make sure I have enough for next weekend’s hard work out.

I love the taste and they work great for my morning post work out snack.  They have 160 calories including 7 grams of fat and 55mg of sodium.  Most of the calories are from the flour and sugar.  I may have to carry more calories with me to prevent crashing but at least the calories from Honey Stinger waffles will taste great.

The following is a list of stuff that has been accumulating on Ted’s desk.  A bunch of miscellaneous stuff that is not worth an article or the article is too much work so I have not gotten around to it.  I will start off with things that touch your skin in the order that I pick them up.

Miller Genuine Draft 64 lip balm – I actually like the lip balm.  It has no flavor and does the trick.  I bought some of the beer since they sponsored a race I ran and handed out the cool lip balm.  The beer does not suit my taste but it does help me lower the amount of alcohol I consume.

Aquaphor healing ointment – It is some cool stuff.  A bit of a mixture of Vaseline and Desitin in one package.  When I do long runs in hilly terrain, I get blisters on my toes, so a bit of Aquaphor helps prevent the blisters and it helps lubricate the sore toes after I get them to aid in recovery.  It’s also very good for chaffing from the running shorts after a long run.

Udder Smooth udder cream is a good lotion for massaging sore muscles after a workout.  It has a low odor and a reasonable price.  It is marketed as a lotion but I use it as a massage lotion.

Alpha-Flex pain reliever and massage cream is by far my favorite massage cream/lotion.  It works very well and does not have an icy/hot feel nor does it smell badly.  Unfortunately, it is very expensive.  For the price of a tube of Alpha-Flex, I can go get a professional leg massage.

Ironman muscle rub gel is an okay product that does the trick.  It has a very strong camphor smell to go along with the icy/hot feeling.

Shave Secret-I love shave secret.  I do not follow the instructions that come with the package.  I wash my face, apply the shave secret oil, and then I apply shaving cream and shave.   Sometimes, I apply the shave secret, shave with an electric shaver then shave as normal.

I also switch types of razors and types of shaving cream.  Doing little things like this, double and triple the life of my razors and I get a great shave.  Shave Secret is hard to find and they have competitors that are not quite as good but are similar.

This article is long enough so I will stop at creams and gels.