When you spend so many hours moving, having the right gear matters for
your comfort and performance. I'm not competitive, and comfort is VERY
important. Here are some of my favorite fitness products. The previous post about essential gear was getting too long, so I broke it up to make a new post for non-essential items that are helpful to have.
Extras
Compression calf sleeves:
These help prevent shin splints, lessen calf soreness, and speed recovery. They are difficult to put on, and I wouldn't recommend them if one has limited dexterity/strength. I don't like the "women's" sleeves I've purchased because they were too short, and I am a short lady (5'3"). I definitely recommend the Remedy brand. I own 4 pairs and am waiting on another in the mail. Groupon frequently has them on sale for $10.
Bondi Band
Not all headbands are created equal. Bondi Bands are designed not to slip, and they have lots of fun designs. They also advertise as a "no drip" headband, but I haven't found that to be true in Texas' heat and humidity. You can get 10% off any order at bondiband.com with code: WithAQ
Earbuds:
Three years ago, I bought some iLuv brand, FitActive style earbuds from Groupon for $10 and haven't stopped using them. My ears are too small to comfortably wear the standard iPod earbuds, and the in-ear interchangeable-size, dome-shaped insert style was never comfortable for me. Over-the-ear earbuds were also weird, especially navigating them around my hair, my headband, and my glasses. The iLuv FitActive style has since changed a bit, but my roommate bought the newer ones on my recommendation, and she digs them. Search for "iLuv FitActive earbuds" or get them here for $10.
Today I attempted my first Olympic-distance triathlon after having completed 4 sprint tris in the last year.
First of all, I gotta say, I am in great spirits. I am so so SO excited to never do this again!
I set my alarm for 3:30 AM, got up at 3:40, packed, dressed, ate, and left at 4:30 to pick up my mom at 4:40, arrived at the site 5:45, got to transition by 6, cleared transition at 6:45, and waited on the beach to get in the water at nearly 8.
I expected to struggle with the cold water as I had in my first OWS, especially with all the rain and rain and rain we've had this spring. I waded in before the race, though, and the water temperature was fine. But the wind kicked up as the morning wore on, and the water was super choppy by the time my wave (the 9th and final one) started. I crawled forward but struggled to slow my breath. I asked the first kayaker if it was all like this.
"I'm not gonna lie to you," she said solemnly. "It's ugly out there."
I knew I wasn't panicking . . . yet. I thought for another moment and said to her decisively, "Yeah, okay, I'm done."
I wasn't comfortable with the swim distance but believe I could have powered through on a calm lake. There was just no way I could fight those waves for a mile, though. I hung out cheerily while the kayaker signaled a boat to collect me. As bad as the waves looked from within the lake, things looked much worse from the boat.
As I sat shivering on the warden's boat, I felt REALLY good about my decision. I thought I would feel bad about giving up, failing, not even making it to the first buoy . . . but I didn't. Still don't. (Seeing the news much later in the evening about a triathlete dying that same day was a sobering reminder of the real dangers I faced.)
I thought that was the end and I'd be going home. I was disappointed about that. But when we got ashore, me and the other people pulled from the course (and there were a LOT this morning), the race official who asked for our timing chips said we were welcome to finish the bike and run portion; we just wouldn't be timed.
This just became the best triathlon ever. . . . The one I didn't have to swim. "But, Moniqa," I thought, "you KNOW duathlons are a thing, right? I mean, you totally do." It just never occurred to me before today that they might be a thing I'd do.
So I ran up to my bike, did my fastest T1 transition ever, and hit the course. I got to ride past beautiful longhorn cattle. They'd said it was a fast course with Texas hills. Holy fuck, it was HARD. I put my head down to embrace the suck and slowly stuck it out. I kept telling myself, "This could be worse.You could still be in the water." There was one hill near the end, though, that had me thinking I might have to walk. But I'm stubborn and stuck it out, moving so slowly I might have fallen. Oof. This was the first race I didn't pass ANYONE on the bike leg.
I'd been lucky so far that the sun stayed hidden behind clouds. The run course was shady but also hilly and with dead, humid air. It wasn't THAT hot; the record says 72-75°F, but the sun and 80% humidity were killer. The 10k course was two loops, and I walked most of the first but jogged for several stretches. After mile 2, my sweat wasn't evaporating, the cold water at the aid station couldn't cool me, I was exhausted and starting to feel nauseated. "Oh, hey, I know these to be the early signs of heat sickness. I should probably call it quits."
I thought about it for several minutes but just could not come up with a reason to do the second lap. I'd have toughed it out and walked the rest if I still had a timing chip, but I didn't. And I didn't have anything to prove, either. I was just really happy that they let me on the course at all.
So I ran to the finish line after 5k and accepted a finisher's medal and t-shirt because they'd already been printed and paid for. I'm honest and not gonna lie about having completed the course. The medals were misprinted, so I didn't even get one naming the distance I'd attempted. I'm SUPER proud of my DNF medals and the stories behind them. They're more memorable than any of my dozens of "successful" races and are some of the best decisions I've ever made.
I got a cold water and strode into the lake, successfully cooling myself down finally. The lake felt wonderfully icy cold compared to the hot sun and me.
Soreness doesn't usually set in til the next day, but my butt and adjacent joints are REALLY achy since the race. I'm not looking forward to what develops tomorrow.
So that's it. My first, and most certainly last, Olympic triathlon. I’ve always been amazed by those who do the half and full IronMans, but now I have a much more visceral feeling about such things.
Quick gear review:
One thing I didn't have to worry about was my ENELL sports bra. It fit great and felt great under my tri kit through the whole 5-hour ordeal (from fastening it about 6:40 AM to getting in the water near 8 and heading home about 11:30).
For sprint-distance triathlons, I wear the same tennis shoes to bike and then run 5k. With this run course being 10k, I needed my Vibram Five Fingers, so changing shoes added a little extra time to T2. But I chose the pair I can get on pretty quickly, so it wasn't bad. The VFFs are much lighter and cooler than tennis shoes and socks, which is definitely important in the heat. Further, I feel the dreaded "brick legs" worse when I wear sneakers, but the having lightweight footwear makes the transition much easier.
I had a new BAWG tri kit from epix to wear to this race. I'd worn it to bike with before but hadn't tried it out for the other legs. The sizing is a bit tough. The medium bottoms work for me but do squeeze my thighs quite a bit and are much shorter than my lightly padded bike shorts. Ideally, I'll buy a different padded base layer for future events, such as sprint distances, duathlons, and other bike races.
The top is great, though my only complaint during training was not having a sleeve to wipe my runny nose. Fortunately, allergies did not trouble me at the race. The top rides up a little bit when I run but not as bad as my other tri top, and I can easily add snaps to keep it in place on the shorts. Though the top unzips partway to offer a cooling element, the weird shelf bra thingy blocks all air flow, and I've been thinking about cutting it out entirely.
I did get a zillion compliments, though, and exchanged high fives when I passed one other Wonder Woman on the run course.
I also got to test out my new superhero Bondi Band and am pretty happy with it.
The humidity was too much to keep all the sweat off my face, but it otherwise did a great job and stayed in place easily, even as I put on and removed my bike helmet. Get 10% off your own Bondi Band with discount code: WITHAQ.
Small companies with small advertising budgets frequently set up brand ambassador programs where they send their reps a free item in exchange for a commitment to writing about the brand on their social media accounts. The best kind of evangelism.
I applied last fall to become a Brand Ambassador for ENELL because I LOVE their products, but I did not expect to be accepted because I have a relatively small social media following (though it's doubled since then!). I was accepted as a Race Ambassador, meaning ENELL helps me with costs for 3 race registrations and sent me some of their new gear to wear and talk about; and in return I'm committed to writing a couple blog posts about ENELL and hashtagging them on my race pics and such for the year. I was already doing these things for several years anyway, because I love the product.
An acquaintance shared info about repping for two other brands: Moosejaw and Bondi Band, so I applied for those as well, again doubtful because there is no Moosejaw brick and mortar store in my state and because I was unacquainted with Bondi Band. I was willing to promote Moosejaw because they are an online athletic retailer similar to Dick's Sporting Goods, and their brand rep tagline cracked me up. As for Bondi Band, I dig their designs and it's hard to mess up headbands.
Both accepted me. I thought I was just getting a t-shirt from Moosejaw, but they sent a nice technical fabric shirt, a flag, a beer koozie, sunglasses, and a discount card for running apparel and shoes. In exchange, I wear the awesome shirt and take pics with it and the flag at finish lines.
Bondi Band will be sending a pair of compression socks for me to try out and offered a unique discount code for 10% off (WITHAQ) that I can share and use for myself as well and be entered into contests for various prizes. I committed to talking about the brand for 3 months minimum and received access to a private Facebook group with monthly ideas for spreading the word. I ordered a couple headbands as well and will be trying them out this weekend. So far, I definitely like the look and feel.
Dreaming Elegance found me on Instagram after I posted about these brands and twice solicited me to become a brand rep for them. I checked out their athletic wear and found it uninspiring, but I would have said something nice about it for a t-shirt or something. Instead I found out that Dreaming Elegance CHARGES people $60 to $300 to represent their brand. The benefits? Boring, basic-ass, and culturally appropriative gear (2 mystery items for the cheapest package) and a chance to earn commission. Hell no. I was not surprised to find similar complaints on their Facebook page.
Who wants to pay for the pleasure of doing someone else's work for them to promote their brand? YOUR MARKETING IS BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD.
In instances where people have seen my name but not heard it yet, I often introduce myself:
"Hi, I'm Moniqa . . ." [looks of confusion] ". . . with a Q."
So that helps explain why my promotional discount code is WITHAQ.
I'm a new Bondi Band brand ambassador (dare ya to say that one 5 times fast), and although I'm waiting on my Bondi Brand headbands and compression socks to arrive in the mail, you don't have to wait to take advantage of my 10% discount!
Shop at bondiband.com and let me know what you think!
Dunno about you, but I am one sweaty lady and have high hopes going into Texas summer training.
