Stridebox Review – February 2015

I got my first Stridebox in February, which is a subscription box designed especially for runners.  It can include all sorts of goodies and equipment, and I was looking forward to seeing what was inside!  The cost is $15 a month.

I think the “biggest” item in this box was a pair of touchscreen gloves.  I will say that these weren’t super useful to me.  My husband had just gotten me really nice touchscreen gloves for Christmas that are wonderful.  I wore these a couple of times, including for a 10k race.  They are fine, your typical cheap glove material, but the touchscreen aspect didn’t work that well.  Kind of a dud for me.

Also included was a Picky Bar, which is an energy bar.  I got the flavor Cookie Doughphness.  I was a bit surprised at the texture – I expected it to be like a clif bar but it was way more chewy.  However, it tasted really good!  And I can be very picky (no pun intended!) with this sort of thing.

Runner’s Guide: Clif bars and more

One of the most important things when it comes to running is fuel.  And that includes what you put into your body before, during, and after running.  This is especially true for long distances, and if you’re training for a Disney race you’ll probably want to investigate some of the fuel options.  Clif, the company best known for making Clif bars, has a variety of options to help you out and they were kind enough to send me some samples to review.

I can honestly say that Clif products are my absolute favorite when it comes to fuel.  I’ll talk about the different things in a moment, but I pretty much swear by their shot bloks as my fuel of choice for any time I’m going to be running longer than an hour.  They manage to make things that work but also taste good.

Clif Bars

Clif Bars are energy bars that are made with organic ingredients.  It’s kind of like a granola bar, but packed with things to give you energy and endurance.  These can be eaten before, during, or after activity, but I like them before running.  I have a very picky stomach, and there are few things that my stomach can handle before a run.  Luckily, Clif bars are something I found that really works for me, especially for morning runs.  I also try to keep one or half of one on me when I run, because if my stomach craves something a little more substantial, this is the perfect solution.

Sometimes when I’m in a rush in the morning and don’t have time to make breakfast, I’ll grab one of these instead.  They keep me full almost til lunch time, which is perfect.  They have a wide variety of flavors, most of which I’ve found are delicious.  My favorites are blueberry crisp, coconut chocolate chip, and the seasonal iced gingerbread.  That was so delicious for this time of year!

Exciting New Items from Milestones Sports Jewelry & Apparel!

I love featuring items for Disney runners – and out of the many that I’ve gotten to look into, Milestones Sports Jewelry is one of my favorites.  They provide jewelry and clothing items – things you can wear during the race or after, to show off your accomplishments!  The jewelry is really beautiful, and you might remember some of the items I featured in my last review on this blog.  They’ve recently come out with some new items, and I’m so excited to share some with you!

Expandable Bangle Bracelets

To begin with – I almost can’t contain my excitement about this – they’ve come out with some new bracelets that are in the style of Alex and Ani.  They are gorgeous, and about on par pricewise with Alex and Ani.  If you’re not familiar with these bracelets they are meant to be stacked and worn with multiples at once.  If you already have some in this style add one of these to your collection – or start a new collection to commemorate all of your big races!

I was lucky enough to be sent a Glass Slipper Challenge bracelet to review.  This is my first bracelet like this, but I’ve admired them for a long time.  It fits great (since it’s expandable) and it doesn’t get in the way of my work, which is very hands on.  I love how it looks.  It does make a slight tinkling noise, but I love jewelry that does that!  And I’m sure if you stacked them it would make a little more noise too.  I would definitely buy a few of these so you get that stacked look that is so awesome!  All of the bracelets are made of durable non-tarnishing stainless steel and all of the charms are high quality .25 sterling silver.

You pick out your main bracelet and then customize it how you want – you can pick an additional tag phrase and a stone color (I got a blue stone, a heart shaped tag with 19.3, and a small tag that said “Live, Love, Run”).  She has them for a variety of distances and races: Glass Slipper, Princess, 10 miler, marathon, half marathon, and a Space Coast (half) marathon one which I absolutely love!  If I ever run that race I may have to invest in the bracelet too 🙂  Even though I haven’t done the Glass Slipper Challenge yet, wearing the bracelet is inspiring me to work hard and train for it!

Alice in Wonderland running costume

 

I’m not going to lie, one of the things that I get most excited for when it comes to a Disney race is putting together a costume. I love costumes!  For the Enchanted 10k I did a simple Belle costume.  This time around, a group of friends that was going decided we should do a group costume.  We settled on Alice in Wonderland, and we had Alice, the Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, and Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum.  My costume was Alice!

Raw Threads, which makes awesome running clothes, especially with Disney themes, was the place where most of us decided to get our shirts. They had a big Alice and Wonderland collection.  My shirt said “Alice” on the front, and I got the tank top instead of the t-shirt.  I actually got really lucky – I ordered one of Raw Threads’ mystery packs, where they sent me 3 random tank tops for a low price.  And one of the tanks I got was Alice!  These are super comfy and I highly recommend them.  You can also buy Raw Threads gear at the Run Disney expos.

Runner’s Guide: Yurbuds

I felt like I had a tried a number of different running products, but one thing I hadn’t experimented with was earbuds or headphones for while you run. I used the ones that came with my iPod, and then when those came out I just bought cheap ones at Target.  But when I heard that Yurbud had not only created earbuds for running, but also specifically for women, I knew I had to try them.

There are two major things that are important when it comes to a good pair of earbuds – fit and sound quality. Yurbuds are unique in the way that they are designed.  They are purposely made to have the least possible chance of falling out, which is very important when you’re using them on the move.  They sort of twist into your ear.  I’ve used them on multiple runs now, including the Tower of Terror 10 miler, and they have never fallen out.  They are really comfortable when I’m running too.  The only thing I’ll mention is that because they are really in there, I sometimes feel just a little bit of discomfort when I’m removing them.  They also come with two different covers, so you can adjust the size if you have bigger or smaller ears.

Runner’s Guide: Fitletic Hydration Belt

When I’m running long distances, there are a couple of things I definitely need.  Two of them include some sort of belt or way to carry my items, and water.  Water is essential for my running and I’ve found that my body needs a lot of it, and often when I run.  Some people are okay with just stopping at the water stations when they run, but it’s not enough for me.  So I always carry a water bottle with me.

However, as I’m sure you can imagine, it’s a bit of a pain to be holding onto a water bottle the entire time you’re running.  It’s inconvenient and especially when you first start out, heavy.  Since it’s in one hand it also makes you feel lopsided.  Because of this I’d always been interested in trying out a hydration belt.

Giveaway! Runner’s Guide: Love Run Scrapbooks

I have a lot of hobbies – quite honestly, I have so many of them that I don’t have enough time to do everything that I want to do!  One of my hobbies is scrapbooking.  However, I’m so behind on my scrapbooks.  I used to do one for all of our major vacations.  Well, I still haven’t finished the one from our 1st anniversary cruise to Bermuda.. which was almost two years ago now 😦

Maybe you’re like me, or maybe you’re just not very crafty.  Well, you can still have some awesome scrapbooks to store the memories of your Disney races thanks to the Etsy shop Love Run Scrapbooks!  She makes up Disney themed running scrapbooks that you can just put your own pictures into.  It’s super easy and makes for an awesome keepsake!

In addition to the scrapbooks where you can put your own pictures, she also offers really nice race bib books to keep your race bibs in.  There are a variety of differently themed books that you can choose from, and if you want something designed to a specific race she can do custom orders as well!

Giveaway! Runner’s Guide: Nite Beams

 

 

How many of you run at night, or early in the morning when it’s still dark out?  I’ve recently started nighttime runs in preparation for the Tower of Terror 10 miler, which starts at 10pm.  And while some things about nighttime running are great, it also brings with it a whole new set of challenges.  Mainly, the darkness.

In comes Nite Beams.  They have a whole slew of awesome products that are specifically made for runners who are running in the dark.  I’ve tried out their stuff and it really makes a huge difference when it comes to running at night.  I’m more comfortable and I feel safer.  My parents don’t have to worry as much either now that I have these great products!  Let me go through some of my favorites with you.

The hat and visor that they have has LED lights on the front and the back.  This not only makes you visible, it also helps light your way.  I run around my condo complex at night, and sometimes there is a street light out or an area that’s just not as bright.  I can still see just fine thanks to wearing this hat.  They are the brightest on the market and allow you to see 15-20 feet in front of you in pitch darkness.  They’re also completely washable.  But I found another use for them too besides running – wear them in a power outage!  During one of the summer storms we lost power for a couple of hours in the evening, and wearing one of these made it really simple to still see and function around the house.  And if a hat or visor is not your style, they now also offer skull caps and camo caps.