Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Ted’s review of various heart rate monitors.  I am a fan of heart rate monitors.  I use one for just about every workout.  It is important for me to maintain a slow pace on my long, slow days.  Wearing a heart rate monitor helps me to maintain a slow pace as I have a habit of letting the pace creep up until I am in a flat out sprint.  I recommend getting one and using it while training.  They are very handy tools and it is pretty easy to learn how to read your pace or level of effort by watching your heart rate.

1. Garmin 405 ($299) – The Garmin 405 HRM/GPS is awesome.  It does everything you could ever want from an HRM except lower your heart rate.  You can tell it what you want your pace to be in minutes per mile and it has a screen that tells you your pace and how far off the pace you are.  It is odd looking when you hit the pace because it only tells you the pace and how far off you are which is great if you are on pace.  The bad part of the pace screen is that you must change the screen to get to the heart rate screen.  Changing screens is always an adventure.  My favorite screen is the one that tells me my heart rate, distance covered and overall time.  When I find my screen, I lock the bezel to keep the screen from changing by accident.  When the screen changes unexpectedly, I am pretty miserable trying to get my screen back.
2. Timex Ironman race trainer ($300) – Timex has been putting stuff on peoples wrists for a long time… and it shows.  The Timex was the only HRM that I could figure out without reading the instructions.  It does not have a GPS or it would be the clear favorite.  It does ask about your personal information so it can tell you how many calories were burned during your workout.  It is not an exact science, but if it tells you 2500 calories were burned during the workout, you know it is time to eat.  A lot!  I like the big numbers on the display and the swap number function.  The chest strap is light and comfortable.  The down side of the Timex is adult children tend to “borrow” the wrist piece to wear as a watch.
3. Polar F55 ($250) – Is just a bit better than the Timex feature wise but it in not as comfortable or as easy to figure out.  Every now and then I want to know what time it is when I am out for a long workout.  If you bring the HRM close to the chest strap, the time will show for about 5 seconds.  It also has a nice big screen that is easy for us old guys to see.  A big plus for the F55 is that it is forgiving.  It gives you a chance when you push a button to do the right thing.  The screens just make sense.  I don’t know how to work the F55 but it always seems to do what I want it to do.
4. Polar Accurex Plus ($75) – The HRM that I wear the most.  It has very few features and I only use 5 or 6 of them:  heart rate, timer, start, stop, reset and time of day.  There is just something about easy operation that I like.  I don’t want to spend as much time practicing to use a heart rate monitor as I do training to do a marathon.
5. Polar B1 ($50) – Single button, confusing and simple HRM.  There can be such a thing as too simple.  Fortunately you can only get so confused by one button so once you get the thing started you are good to go.  It is pretty hard to get something to go wrong after you get it started.  It does read your heart rate and duration of work out.  One time I was wearing the thing for a two hour run when it stopped reading my heart rate at 90 minutes (1:30) and started timing.  I was trying to maintain a steady heart rate of 132 when that happened.  I was confused for a couple of minutes.

Number one most hated HRM prize goes to the Garmin 405!  For every reason that I have to love the 405, I have 5 to hate it.  If the thing did not have such a nice GPS, I would have thrown it off the Golden Gate Bridge a long time ago!  The bezel is complicated.  The functions are complicated.  The battery life is poor which is to be expected but when the battery life gets down to about 20%, a low battery warning covers the screen!  The bezel has a mind of its own.  If you bump it, the screen will change and you have to wait and hope it changes back.  The instructions are terrible.  I can go on and on but I will stop to protect my blood pressure and good health.

I stand by my ratings.  The GPS/HRM combo puts the 405 way above the competition.  Items two and three are interchangeable and you won’t go wrong with either selection.  The Accurex wins the bang for the buck award.  The B1 gets a do not buy recommendation from me.

Xood is advertised as an all “natural healthy endurance drink.”  I went out for a hard run on a warm day last week and had a hard time choking the green tea-lemon flavored drink down immediately following the run (One package to 24 oz water).  I was a bit dehydrated and could feel the sweat building up and releasing from my body immediately.

I told myself:  “Yes, this new drink is going to be great.”  After eating lunch and drank some water, I found myself heading to the coffee pot.  That was odd, coffee on a warm afternoon.

I was not about to try Xood on a long training day so I waited until Monday to try again.  Today was a cold, rainy day that beat me up pretty good.  This time I mixed the packet to 16 ounces of water.  It tasted a little better but it was still a battle to drink the whole shaker.  Just like Friday, I hit the coffee pot again this afternoon.

I am torn on Xood.  They are a small company that works hard to present a quality product for the masses.  I can choke down the drink and not feel sick afterward.  I felt like I just ate a piece of chalk but other than that, I feel no ill effects.  When I drink Xood, I think of my wife when she is putting on the anti-aging cream.  I hit the wall hard one day.  I am not comfortable using Xood to stand between me and that wall.

I don’t like to leave a small, hard working company a bad review.  Xood sent us a  sample supply to test.  I am going pass out the remaining samples to some readers to see what they have to say about the products.  Hopefully, I will get some prompt feedback from them.

Please keep in mind that my reviews are not scientific.  I am just an athlete, like you, who just happens to do a little more than most people.

Mike’s Note:  I’m going to test the Xood product myself, and have recruited a couple of friends to also help out.  Check back

Ultima Replenisher comes in little packages that look like Kool-Aid packages.  They are advertised as “the balanced electrolyte drink” with no artificial flavors or sweeteners.

I was pretty sure that I was going to try one package, go “Meh” and give the rest of the box away.  I tried one package, went “Meh” and drank two packages a day for the rest of the week.  It has been pretty warm here in the Bay Area for the past two weeks and I have not had any problems with cramping while I have been drinking the Ultima Replenisher.

The replenisher comes with less supplements than I get with my daily multivitamin but I drink it anyway.  I don’t know how, why or if it works but I assume that if it helps me drink more water before a run and it does not make me sick it is a good thing.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, when you do not consume enough electrolytes before and during a run, you lose the ability to absorb water.

It is a nice light drink that you can have before a run and it’s not so loaded with electrolytes that you have to burn it off after consumption.  Ultima Replenisher is something I plan on keeping around as a morning drink to keep in my system before my lunchtime workouts.

That is a hell of a compliment considering the fact that I go for weekly 9-11 mile tempo runs at lunch while carrying no water.  I am on the edge on these long runs and every bit of water I can absorb before I leave is a big plus.

Marketed as a “whey protein with purpose,” I decided to try the BiPro whey protein isolate after a six-mile jog around Bay Farm Island today.  I’m used to trying different whey protein products, but have always stuck with flavored whey protein (and now I remember why).

I don’t recall how we stumbled upon these BiPro samples, but we both ended up with a sample packet of the Original BiPro (natural unflavored) whey protein mix.  Before I mention the nutritional benefits of BiPro, I want to be perfectly clear here:  unflavored whey protein mix is bad!  I think it’s disgusting, foul, and rather gross … and I’m not going to drink it again.

The BiPro packet we received is to be mixed with 8 ounces of water, skim milk, or whatever else you need.  A single 22-gram serving has 80 calories, 0 calories from fat, 20g protein, 28mg calcium, 170 mg sodium, and 15mg potassium.

The sample pack has the following printed on the back:

“Pure, natural BiPro is the ultimate whey protein isolate for athletes who want to build or maintain muscle mass.  Unlike other products, BiPro contains no protein blends or unwanted ingredients.  Purified through a selective ion exchange process, BiPro contains all of the essential amino acids, and is rich in branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are metabolized directly and absorbed quickly into muscle tissue.  No carbs, no fat, no sugar, no lactose, no artificial flavors.  BiPro is the original whey protein isolate — the only choice for serious athletes.”

A 2-lb. jug is available for $34.99.

I’m a firm believer in drinking some kind of recovery drink, especially after hard workouts.  To put it in perspective, a 55 gram scoop of Optimum Nutrition 2:1:1 Recovery formula has 210 calories, 0 calories from fat, 18grams sugar, and 17 grams of protein.

I just can’t drink unflavored whey protein — I have a hard enough time drinking vanilla, chocolate, or rocky road.  They are hard to get down when mixed with milk.  I like the ingredients (and the amount of ingredients) in the BiPro packet, but the unflavored whey protein is just downright disgusting.

If you mix whey protein into your smoothies, milkshakes, or don’t mind the taste of unflavored whey, I’d recommend checking out BiPro.  The BiPro FAQ page is available here, so I recommend reading it over and deciding for yourself.

The Sof Sole Anti-Friction sock is a very good sock.  As soon as you put them on, you know you are wearing quality.  The socks are extremely comfortable just to wear around the house.  I found that he sock sizes run a little bit big so keep that in mind when purchasing the socks.

To learn more about Sof Sole, visit the company’s official site.

I wore the Anti-Friction socks on a mid-distance hilly trail run and they worked very well, with no slip or foot irritation.  They stayed right where I put them for the entire run.

Comfort and staying put is the name of the game in a running sock.  They  get a big pass for me.  The Anti-Friction socks are good for wearing around and running.  I love a sock that does not bunch up around the toes or heals.

The Sof Sole Coolmax Trainer sock does not look like a sock that I would buy.  It just looks thick and bunchy around the toes.  I put the socks on and was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable they were.

I wore them around as day socks and took a light jog in them and they worked very well.  They are a definite step down from the Anti-Friction as running socks but they work well enough.  The Trainers also gave me hot spots on my feet while cycling.  That is no surprise since they are not cycling socks.  They will work great in the gym.

Double thumbs up for the Sof Sole Anti-Friction at $5.00 a pair.  It is a very good pair of socks for the money.
Thumbs up for the Coolmax Trainer at $3.33 per pair.

Note: I did not pay for these socks.  I will definitely buy the Anti-Friction socks if they are available the next time I buy running socks.  The Trainers are a very good sock but I can’t say I will buy them as I rarely buy that type of sock.

I tried the Clif Shot Mango Orange recovery drink the other day. It was the first water-based recovery drink that I did not have to choke down. It did not taste great but it is definitely drinkable. I found that mixing the drinks exactly as directed make them taste better.

Remember, it is better to mix the drinks a little strong. It is also faster to swallow 8 ounces than 12 ounces.

To be honest with you, I use most of the top electrolyte drinks and recovery drinks interchangeably with little noticeable difference between them. Some flavors are preferred over others but they all seem to work for me. Clif sets themselves apart through their community service. Mike gets stuff to review. He may or may not tell me what he paid for and what is a review item. I don’t usually follow what is a review item because I am the main test subject. Read more… »

Fuel Belt is a company well known among runners and triathletes, but I never had a need for such a snazzy product.  I see runners of all levels wearing the company’s products, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and see what all of the fuss is about.  I initially wanted this review to be as short as possible, but had to add a bit of additional depth to cover all of my bases.

Alameda Runners will today review the Fuel Belt H20 Helium 2-Bottle Belt, one of the company’s latest and greatest products.  Based off of the company’s popular Helium 2-Bottle Belt, the H2O Collection Helium 2-Bottle Belt has a one-size-fits-all design, and is lighter than previous generations.

There is a common problem during long runs that forces runners to re-adjust the tightness of the belt, though this doesn’t seem to be a major problem with the products from Fuel Belt.  The company uses an excellent material for the waistband, and the H20 Helium’s one-size-fits-all design makes it even easier for it to be shared among different runners.

A removable race pocket also is included, which is able to hold my car keys, some spare change, and a couple of energy gels.  If you don’t feel like using it, simply slide it off the belt until next time.  The ability to easily remove the gel pack also makes it a lot easier to clean after a long run – important if you want to easily clean your fuel belt, shoes, GPS, etc. before hitting the shower.

Read more… »

This will be the first review co-written by both Michael and Ted, with Michael’s contributions added in italics.

The Moji Knee ice wrap is available from Moji, and can be purchased for $89.00 MSRP.    An additional cold cell costs $49, while a knee wrap and an extra cold cell is available for $119.

My first experience with the Moji Knee product came the day after a 12-mile hilly run in San Francisco.  The instructions said to freeze the ice pack for 4 hours before use.  I did not want to wait so I just grabbed an ice pack out from the freezer and used it under the wrap.  The wrap works pretty well with any old ice bag under but it is nothing special.

I’m much younger and more durable than Ted, so I don’t require the use of ice very often.  I normally use it just as a nice way to relax my muscles, even though I’m rarely as sore as him.  I also used it after the 12-mile run, along with several other periods over the next couple of weeks.

Full review after the jump! Read more… »

In my continued effort to provide rockin’ reviews, I took one for the team today and drank about 10 ounces of GU Brew energy recovery mix before my run.

I was planning on taking a nice easy recovery run after the hard run yesterday, but that would not be fair to yesterday’s review so I went all out. I ran at a 150-153 HR pace for 32 minutes. My max HR is around 163 so that was a tough run.

I did not feel sick at all. That is a good sign for a drink that is used during exercise. The GU drink doesn’t taste like fine wine but it is drinkable. Read more… »

Clif SHOT recovery drink “Protein – Enhanced” French Vanilla

Ted’s thoughts on the CLIF shot. We have a lot of recovery and electrolyte stuff on hand. Most of the products were purchased but we received a fair amount of stuff to review. I grabbed a random handful of different samples to take to work for my workouts during lunch.  I am still in base training so my workouts vary as to how I feel at any given time. Today I did a mile run near race pace145-155 HR. When I finished my run I drank the recovery drink while my heart rate was still a high 115-120. My normal HR is something like 41-resting, 120-130 for long slow runs, 140-150 for tempo runs and 163 max at a sprint. Read more… »