Carly's Consumer Critique-Two Awesome Products

Yaktraks Pro

Photo Credit:  Yaktrax.com

I was really excited to try Yaktrax Pro because without fail, I have a good fall every Winter.  Fortunately for me, the lack of snow has made running a lot easier.  Unfortunately, it makes making a review for Yaktraxs hard when there is no snow.    On New Year's Day, we got an ice, slush, snow mix and made a good testing ground for the Yatrax.  I have delayed this review only because I was POSITIVE that we would have some more snow.  Well....It is the middle of February and we still have nothing (you won't hear me complain!!).

Here is my experience the one time I got to use them...they were incredibly easy to put on my shoes (even though I realized I put them on backwards the first time).  Once they were on, they stayed on and they didn't move.  They also didn't add any friction any part of the shoe.  In fact, the only time I noticed that I was wearing them is when I walked on my floors in the house....they made a tap shoe like noise.  Otherwise I didn't notice that they were on and I certainly could not feel them when I ran.

I had a great testing surface as it was frozen slush, snow, and ice.  I ran through these elements with ease....at least the snow and slush.  It was just enough grip to have your foot land securely but not so much that you had to work harder to free your foot from the snow.  Ice is its own demon, the Yaktrax definitely helped but you still need to be careful.  There were a couple of spots where it was black ice on a downward slope and there was nothing to grip...I don't think anything helps in this situation.  The other thing I noticed was that the coils didn't collect snow and slush.  I wasn't sure if I would have to kick snow that got stuck in them during the run.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Maybe it was a fluke, but I haven't a chance to test this again.

Pros:

• Easy to put on and take off
• Great grip
• Comfortable and didn't notice them when running
• Very lightweight

Cons:

• *chirping crickets*
• None that I experienced

The verdict:

These are a must in this climate!  I feel the price tag is very reasonable at $29.99....especially since I feel this is a winter essential.  You can purchase Yaktrax online or at select retailers (I found some at REI and my local running shops).


Review #2
Zip Fizz
I received the gift from Zipfizz to try around the holidays.  I do send my apologies to the company for the delayed review....I was a little skeptical about trying it because I am not huge into energy drinks and since I am not doing any hard core training right now, I didn't see the benefit.  The kind people of Zipfizz  sent me a gift of 6 tubes in a variety of flavors (orange soda was my favorite) and a really awesome water bottle to try and challenged me to see how I feel at the end of the week.

I saw their challenge and mixed up a tube of Zipfizz every afternoon around 2:30PM.  This is usually the time I hit the wall.  I mixed one tube into cold 16oz of water and drank it.  I could absolutely feel the effects and not in a bad way.  I didn't feel jittery or nervous.  My heart did not race and I didn't sweat. I felt like it gave me a little push when I needed it but didn't go overboard.  Also, I didn't crash like I do when I have sugar.  As promised, I did feel like I had more energy.  The week I tested it was also when everyone I knew had a wicked cold.  Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt like Zipfizz helped me ward it off.

If you click the photo below, you can see how Zipfizz compares to other energy drinks.

Photo Credit:  Zipfizz

I liked it because:

• It had a great taste.  It was sweet but it didn't hurt my teeth. 
• Low calorie and no sugar
• Great alternative to water.  It was almost like having pop (or soda as some of your folks say). 
• Convenient packaging and quick to mix....although the plastic tubes seemed a bit wasteful, I liked that I could throw one in my purse to dump into water.  It was ready in seconds.  
• I really did feel like it helped with my afternoon slump
• Easy to find.  I was able to find this product at Target, Costco, and REI (among many other major retailers).

What I was not a fan of:

• The cost.  I found this at Target for $9.99 for 6 tubes.  Though I liked the product, it is not in my family's budget for regular use.  I did find some online and at Costco in bulk for a slightly reduced rate, but it is still above what I am willing to spend.  With that said, it is very comparable if not a little cheaper than other energy drinks and products.  I will purchase this again and use it throughout my training but not as much or as often I would like.

Keep up with the latest on Yaktrax and Zipfizz on their  Facebook pages.

Thank you so much to Yaktrax and Zipfizz for the opportunity to test these wonderful products.

Disclaimer:  Both of the products reviewed today were given to me to test at no cost.  The opinion is my own.

18 Weeks!

As I type this, I am mildly hyperventilating as in 18 Weeks, I will be toeing the line of Grandma's Marathon.  June seems like a long long way away....but when you break it down into weeks, it will be here before I know it.  Now I just need to figure out how to train for this bad boy.

As it stands, I am planning on doing the Novice Plan that was posted on the Grandma's Marathon website.  I think I would tweak it a little bit to include weekly yoga and cross training.  I have included a screen shot of what the plan looks like.  I think it is doable.

Another option I have available to me is a class that is offered through the Minnesota Distance Running Association.  The class is set up to meet a couple times a week to prepare for this marathon.  I am toying with the idea of joining the group so I have a bigger support system and long run buddies.  With the pros comes a few cons....I don't want to pay extra for running and I am not sure I could swing the schedule while juggling the kids activities in with marathon training.   There is an informational meeting on Thursday and I am planning on going.  It can't hurt to get more information, right?


Before I forget......Happy Valentine's Day!  This made up stupid Hallmark holiday is not my favorite.  Today it was extra special....I had a big meeting at work in which I was on the committee and I got a phone call from school to pick up a puking child.  To steal a line from Jess, we had three barfisodes in the car on the way home.  Yay.  At least it was pink.  Hope you all get to spend some puke free time with your loved ones.

Certifiable

In two weeks I will be heading out to Arizona to see my friend, Kelli.  I originally planned the trip to get a few days of warmer weather.  The visit took on on a mission and morphed into the possibility of running a 5K or 10K.   With the help of a little bit of wine, our mission turned into an adventure and we are now running a half marathon during my vacation.   It makes perfect sense for a person who has been running a whole week and can now run 2.2528 miles in a row without stopping to conquer the 13.1.  Not to mention, it is an awesome way to kick off marathon training for Grandma's Marathon in June.
 
Shall I recap that last paragraph in case you missed the insanity?
Vacation....what a nice break in winter and a few days of RnR.
Race....hahaha, I am barely running.
5K or 10K....please, I  can't even run 3 miles yet
Wine....Uh Oh.  Someone must put a lock on my liquor cabinet as this always gets me into trouble
Half Marathon.....WTF, WTF, WTF!!!!!!!!
MARATHON.....uhhhhh, well,  uhhhhh  peer pressure. Extreme peer pressure!
 

Yes, I do realize how ridiculous that sounds.  Yes, I do realize what I am in for.  What can I say....I am nuts.

I was going to keep the marathon a secret but I don't do well holding anything back.  After the Twin Cities Marathon failure in October I told myself no more.  I was done.  Then the next day....yes, the very next day I was taunted and badgered by Bobbi and Kelli.  I thought long and hard about it (5 minutes) and signed up.  I knew that if I saw those two broads cross the finish line, I would be very sad sitting on the side lines.  I caved to peer pressure.  Here I go again on the insane train to marathonville....this time I will finish.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I finally feel like I am breaking out of my two year slump.  It was a great weekend and I am finally seeing some measurable progress.  I ran both days this weekend without taking a walk break.  This is a huge step forward.  I cannot remember the last time I was able to say this.  I have been working on mastering my neighborhood loop which is approximately 2.2528 miles.  Once that gets a bit easier, I will bump it up.  

Mother nature is helping me break this slump.....it was pushing 50 degrees here on Saturday. Normally we are buried under snow and it is barely above zero degrees.  You will not find me complaining one bit!!!  Since we are getting a reprieve from our normal winter hell, I had better not waste one single day.

With the running, I was able to sneak in a hot yoga class this weekend as well. Since I am not a football fan, I decided to skip the Super Bowl (I did catch the Half Time Show and LOVED IT).   It had been a couple of weeks since I have done the practice and I was a little worried that I would be rusty.  My balance was completely out of whack but felt great during class.  I know tomorrow might be interesting getting out of bed.  Usually the day after yoga, I feel like I got hit by a bus because my muscles are so sore.  It is a good pain.  

The rest of the weekend was of course hockey related.  The kids had practices on Saturday and games on Sunday.  My oldest had the opportunity to skate with the University of Minnesota Gopher hockey team.  Since we are big Gopher Hockey fans, he was completely and totally star struck.  It was a really fun event and these guys put the biggest smile on the kids' faces.  

A big giant gopher might be a weird and somewhat creepy mascot, but he is so cute!
How can you not love him?

Autographs!

My son and his friend grinning ear to ear while posing with Goalie, Kent Patterson

The team skated with the kids and signed autographs.  I am sure being college students this was probably the last thing these guys wanted to do on a weekend day.  I joked with my friend that the guys were probably super hungover from a Friday night bender and they were taking bets on which teammate would puke first.  If that was the case, they hid it well!  They certainly made my son's day because he got to hang out with "famous" people.

Do I Hear Crickets?

Hello...Hello.....is anyone out there?
The blog has been quiet lately and making a joke of my New Year's Resolution to blog at least 4 times a week.  I haven't been blogging because of a perfect storm of issues....not much on the running front (in the last couple of weeks), lack of time, being sick, and a really really bad case of writer's block.  My dad asked me again why I haven't updated my blog.  I know when he mentions it, it has been far too long.

I better not disappoint daddy, so here is a run down of what I have been up to.

• I have been sick.  I got the stomach flu and that was followed up by one of the worst colds I have ever had.  It is going on over two weeks now and I am sick of being sick!!!
• My family has had the same crud.  Puking, coughing, and snotty noses.....fun times.
• Work and looking for new work.
• Hockey.  It really has become a huge part of our life.  I would protest but we love it almost as much as our kids.

Hockey Diva

Looking at the list above, there really has not been much on the blogging front.  I did however want to write about One Breath, One Step a workshop put on by Prior Fat Girl, Jen.  This event was on Saturday, January 21st.  Truthfully I was not excited to go because in my mind, I pictured it to be very Oprah-esque and preachy.  A friend of mine talked me into it and said prior events were awesome.  Knowing that she is not one to waste her time on silly things, I signed up.  I am so glad I did because it was an awesome event and not at all what I had pictured.

There were three incredible speakers.  Mary, from Fit This Girl spoke about making changes that last.  She shared her story of how she made it to lifetime after following Weight Watchers and put back on a bunch of weight because she thought she had "made it" and could stop doing the program.   Philly D from Moksha Yoga, spoke about rising up to the occasions in your life and getting rid of the toxic thoughts in our heads.  He shared stories that made us laugh and cry but left us inspired.  Last but not least, was Elle, Another Prior Fat Girl.  She shared her ups and downs on her weight loss journey.  I could related to everything she has experienced.  Not only did I enjoy the speakers, but I got to meet some great ladies too.  Plus, I walked away with a sweet bag of swag filled with healthy snacks and samples.  I could go on and on, but I will keep it short and sweet.  I was a great event and gave me a healthy does of motivation (minus the Oprah).

So yeah....about the blogging writer's block....I am throwing myself back into it.  I am going to take it back to basics and post about my running and weight loss.  I may be starting off again from square one with running, but I am happy to report that I am officially down 15lbs since Christmas.   Woot!!!

I did sneak in a very short run tonight.  My body is still rebelling from being sick.  I ran a little and then walked the rest.  This cold needs to go away so I can really make some progress.

Carly's Consumer Critique- 2Toms Stinkfree

My Weekend Wrap-up can be summed up into two words laundry and hockey.  I thought I would take this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone do a product review on 2Toms Stink free Sports Detergent.  A few weeks ago 2 Toms sent me a couple of trial size packets to review.  Since I have a household of people that participate in stinky activities, we would be a perfect test market for them. 

The Challenge:
2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent versus Casa de Chubby's stankiest clothing.

My personal belief was that these "sports detergents" were nothing more than a marketing scheme and nice smelling soap. I was not going to make this challenge easy for them.  I pulled out the big guns including.....3 sets of sweaty kid hockey gear that missed a few washings (on purpose....just for this challenge).   There is nothing that compares to hockey stank.  Even my sweet little Diva makes me gag when she is done playing. 
The 2 wash cycles included:

• 3 pairs of hockey socks
• 3 shock doctors (polite speak for nut cups and pelvic protector)
• 3 pairs of Under Armor pants
• 3 kid sized tech shirts
• 3 practice jerseys
• 2 regular jerseys
• 2 neck guards
• 3 hockey skate blade towels that have never been washed
• 1 pair of running tights
• 1 technical race t-shirt
• 1 fleece jacket
• 2 sweaty knit hats
• 2 pairs of boys wind pants
• 4 pairs of sweaty socks
• 3 pairs of under britches
• 2  "clean" tech shirts that stilled smelled like my last workout
• a yoga towel (from hot yoga)
• yoga pants
• yoga tank 
• other odds and ends 

Since these were larger loads, I used the entire trial sized packed which was 2 FL OZ each time.  While the detergent had a scent to it, it was not a cover up perfume-like smell.  I would describe it as a "clean" scent but one that disappears after washing.

The results:
Everything passed the sniff test (well, I didn't sniff the nut cups or the undies because that is just weird).  But, everything smelled fresh and clean.  Even the technical clothes that were "stinky clean" when I put them in came out smelling great.  My daughter's white hockey (who's bright idea was it to have white hockey jerseys????) came out bright and a stain that she got on it a few weeks ago came out with no additional care!!  As promised on the packaging, it reinstated the fabric performance.  It really does get the stink out.

You can purchase this online at 2toms.com.  They sell a 10 pack for $17.99.  At first I was a little blown away by the price but then I realized that this washes a lot of clothing and I could stretch out a 10 pack to cover at least a couple of months.  I also realized it would be way more expensive to have to replace all of my technical clothes.

This detergent is residue free and contains no Phosphates.  It is made in the USA.


Thank you 2 Toms for the opportunity of review Stink Free Sports Detergent.
Disclaimer:  2Toms supplied the trial sized product however my opinions are all my own.

Three Things Thursday

1.  It is 40 something degrees in Minnesota today.  January 5th!  I do not mean 40 BELOW zero....I am talking about an ice melting 40 degree heat wave.  I don't have to tell you that this is almost unheard of this time of year.  If this is global warming.....I am not complaining.  Mother Nature screwed us last year with a winter that lasted 7 months. 

The only person that may not be loving this weather is Chubby Hubby.  He is a very devoted hockey dad and built a Hugh Jass hockey rink in our back yard.  Winter is half over and we are still not able to skate on it.  We have played a little boot hockey but it is not ready for skates.  Oh well I say....I love hockey too but that is why we have indoor rinks.....bring on the warm weather!!!

2.  My plan for the evening is to sneak in a little run and go to hot yoga.  I am going to take advantage of this awesome weather and run outside despite the patches of ice.  This time of year is typically hard for me to run.  I loathe the treadmill with all of my being but running outside tends to be treacherous with the ice.  I am glad we are having mild temps because I am motivated to run.

3.  I will use bullet point numero three to brag a little bit.  I think I have lost all of the holiday weight I put on since October.  Yay!  This time it is not because of  a crazy detox or special diet it eating less and moving more.  Huh....who knew that would actually work!  Adding to that formula, I am tracking my food and not having Chubby Hubby's popcorn with an undisclosed amount of butter on it.  I have dropped about 9lbs since Christmas.  Seems like a crazy amount but most of it was my body releasing the massive amount of water weight from all of the sodium I consumed.