Posts Tagged ‘product review’

It’s been a very reviewy time on this blog lately, for no reason except the timing of generous companies and my own purchase of a new pair of kicks.  This last entry into the review-a-thon is an all-important piece of running gear for the ladies: the sports bra.  More specifically, the Zensah sports bra.

No makeup, messy hair, and an expression reminiscent of Charles Manson, but that's ok because you're looking at my boobs.

As posted before, I wear Target sports bras, not because I think they’re the best, just that they’re cheap, cheerful and do the job. That said, I’m always curious about “nicer” bras so when Zensah offered me up one of theirs, I was all over it.

Zensah, btw, is known for compression gear (the calf sleeves in particular are extremely popular with many of my runner pals) in fact I had no idea they even made sports bras until now. Turns out they make the whole kit and kaboodle: compression bottoms, tops, etc.  But back to the bra, I wore it on two runs to give it a proper try-out.  Here are my observations:

Color: The color choices are great.  I got the pink one, which is a lovely dusty shade so you can wear it under white tops without show-through.

Fabric: Extremely soft and stretchy.  The front is a double layer of fabric, the better to help against radar nippage and the inner layer has some gathering at the center for shape.

Style:The nice thing about these bras is they have textured detailing on the straps and back (almost like a pin-tuck pattern) so it’s not entirely plain, it has some style to it.  What I didn’t like so much, and this is just my own thing, is that the neck is a little high for my tastes, I find a lower scoop more flattering.  This might be due to the fact that I’m a small-busted gal or because I have trollop tendencies, either way it’s a minor deal and I’m sure many women prefer this higher cut.

This is the back of the bra so you can see the pretty textured pattern.

Fit and Performance: They only come in 2 sizes which, for me, is the bra’s downfall.  It comes in Small/Med and Med/Large.  This is ok for dry sports or fitness classes where you don’t sweat much, but if you’re like me when you run and end up with a soaked sports bra (even in winter), the support you leave the house with is not the same as that upon your return – as the bra gets wet, the fabric becomes looser.

Now, this isn’t specific to Zensah, my Target bras do the same but this is why, when I started running and didn’t know any better, I bought medium sports bras.  Then after a year of that, I switched to smalls and more recently, started wearing x-tra smalls.  The garment sizing didn’t change, it just took me a while to figure out what holds me up best since I couldn’t tell there was floppage just by looking down;  it took race photos and video to enlighten me (thank you very much, Brightroom).

For the record, I’m not a tiny person (5’4″ and 123lbs at the moment) though as you can see, I’m not busty by any means.  Still, I need support and the limited sizing here coupled with the stretchier fabric makes this bra iffy for smaller, sweaty runners or other high-impact sporty gals.

For low-impact activities, however, or if you’ve got a larger frame/chest, a Zensah sports bra would work like a champ and keep you extremely comfortable throughout.  I’ll wear mine for Pilates and similar activities, just not for running.

If you’ve read this blog long enough, you know I have a love/hate relationship with ibuprofen.  Mostly, I love it and think it’s a phenomenal drug that, when used with proper doses and consistency (as opposed to taking it sporadically for pain relief), can really affect the life of an injury, shortening it dramatically.

However, it can have side effects on your gut and there’s some scare info about it affecting your kidneys if you take it during a race, though the doctors I spoke to about it told me it’d have to be a huge amount for that to happen.

That said, it has been found to inhibit bone repair, so if you have a stress reaction or fracture, you do not want to be taking Vitamin I.  Also, if you have tendonosis, which means your tendonitis is beyond the inflammatory stage, it’s not going to do it much good except as a pain drug, in which case you’d be better off with Tylenol.

Now, there is such a thing as topical ibuprofen, but you can’t buy it over the counter in the US, you need a prescription.  It’s a shame really, because by applying it topically, you skip the potential side effects with oral ingestion and the idea of limiting medication to a particular area instead of the whole body seems infinitely more sensible.

While you can’t get ibuprofen over the counter, there are a couple of topical anti-inflammatories you can buy freely and that’s what this review is all about: Topricin, a homeopathic product that soothes pain and helps inflammation.

OK, OK, Get To The Review, Already
The people at Topricin were very generous to send 3 different formulations of the product: The regular ointment, a foot cream and a kid’s version. The active ingredients don’t differ much between them though the carriers are different (ie the kid’s version is formulated for more sensitive skin).  So I’ve been testing all 3 versions.

I should mention that I’m not in any way a homeopathic follower, if you knew how much Sweet ‘n Low I ingest on a daily basis, there would be no doubt in your mind that I do not consider my body a temple, it’s more like a mobile home.  So while I can appreciate this stuff is healthy (none of them offer any side effects at all), all I really care about is efficacy.

The list of things this stuff can be used for is large and varied:

• Arthritis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and joint pain
• Repetitive motion and other neuropathies
• Lower back pain
• Eczema, bug bites, poison ivy, sunburn
• Diminish bruising

My Tests
It would have been easier to test efficacy if I had something like arthritis or other constant nagging issue, which I don’t, but I do have a chronic, intermittent annoyance that seemed perfect for testing: bursitis on the ball of my foot.

I’ve had this thing for almost 2 years and even taking those 4 weeks off didn’t affect it either way which told me it’s here to stay.  It’s not terribly painful, just an annoyance that, when bothersome, I’m able to massage out.  So anyway, I figured this would be a great little test spot for the foot cream.  I put some on the area and promptly forgot about it.  About 30 minutes later, I realized the pain was totally gone.

I knew that one time doesn’t qualify as a real test, so in the next couple weeks I tried it on 3 or 4 different occasions, same spot, to confirm it wasn’t a placebo effect and yep, it really did remove the discomfort entirely.  Cool beans!

Another place I tried it on is my calf muscle.  I had massaged it quite a bit the other day, leaving a small area that was very tender to the touch.  This time I paid a lot more attention to the pain scale to see if it was diminishing or not.  Despite me poking at the area every 5 minutes (my scientific testing method), it really did feel better from that one application.

The last area I used it on was the bottom of my pinkie toe (the one I stupidly removed the callus from many months ago).  After 4 weeks off and the low mileage surrounding it, I’d lost the reformed callus, so I’ve had some blister action while a new one reforms.  It’s been tender at times so this last week, I dabbed some on a couple different days and it took the sting away.

So I have to say, I love this stuff.  I think it’s a great addition to any medicine cabinet, not just a runner’s.  You can get it at health food stores, some drugstores or Amazon for cheap.  Read the reviews, buy a tube and test for yourself.  I’m sold.

My history with sunglasses is mostly populated by cheapie pairs acquired at Target.  A couple years ago, however, I did splurge on a pricier pair of shades by Smith Optics.  My reason for spending real dough on them was that they had switchable lenses and I had a bright idea that the clear ones would be useful for pelting rain or snowy days.

Unfortunately, those conditions left me constantly fidding with them due to condensation, my breath fogging them up and making them more annoying than anything, so they’d always end up in my pocket by mile 2 until I eventually gave up and only used them on sunny days.

Still, I liked the darkest lenses quite a bit, never got into the yellow ones (supposed to brighten up a cloudy day, but I love dark days) or the rosey ones which I never did figure out why anyone would bother with.  Anyway, I spent some moolah for a feature I never used, so when I mistakenly left them somewhere at the Carlsbad Half last January, never to be seen again, I didn’t bother to replace them with another fancy pair – I went to Target and got a $19 pair from their Ironman line.  They’re ok glasses though they leave a red mark at the bridge of my nose, dirty up easily and don’t block a lot of sun.  OK, maybe they’re pretty crappy after all.

So when the folks at BTB Sunglasses offered me a pair of their specs, I was super excited.  It’s way more fun to review something you want and use anyway and I was really in need of a better pair of shades.

The thing that’s great about this company is that their glasses are inexpensive ($35-$50) but the quality is equivalent to high-end glasses.  Aside from the fact that I can’t change lenses (which I never did anyway) these are just as good as my $100 Smith Optics.

What I like about the site is that they tell you what size face each style is made for so you’re more likely to get a proper fit right off the bat.  My only complaint is that they should include photos of the glasses straight on, not just at an angle, but that’s my only quibble.

They let me pick the ones I wanted so I chose Model 420 which sell for $34.95 and honestly, I love ‘em!  They block sun well, they’re light, don’t leave a mark on my nose and they have one more thing the other companies don’t…they’re “Ballistic” rated.  If you check out their website, they’ve got an entertaining video of someone shooting the glasses with a shotgun.  In fact, when my glasses arrived, I got a fun little doodad in the box: a necklace with a BTB lens that’s been shot at.  Not sure if that’s standard with every purchase, but it was quite a kooky little trinket.

Not that I expect to get shot in the eye on my runs, especially on a bright, sunny day, but it does speak to the resilience of the lenses.  And you never know…this is Philly after all.

Now here’s something extra nice: The cool cats at BTB gave me the coupon code GIRLN20 so that my readers could get 20% off when ordering, which makes these glasses a super great deal.  So, until next time, happy non-shooting-in-the-eyeball-sunglass-wishes to you and yours.  Happy running!

Knock on wood, I’m not someone who has a lot of aches and pains, a lucky thing considering my non-spring-chickenness.  But if I was to pinpoint one part of my body that is my weak spot, I’d say my ankles.  In 2008, I had an ankle injury that was diagnosed as heel bursitis with possibly some peroneal tendon involvement that lasted for weeks.  In the interim, I bought a couple different ankle braces, one neoprene and one more “official” lace-up brace that eventually did the trick of stabilizing my ankle till the injury finally abated.

I haven’t had an ankle injury since then, but there is the occasional morning when I get out of bed and the first few steps to the bathroom remind me that I do indeed have a pair of ankles.  It’s not really painful per se, just that I notice them.  So when I was offered a couple of compression sleeves from Tommie Copper, I was all over the ankle ones like white on rice.

While checking out their wares, I read about the proprietary fabric they use and that it’s got copper in it.  Now, I’m a cynical broad so any mention of metal, magnets, crystals or other mysterious healing catalysts will always get an eyeroll from me.  I can’t help it, it’s an involuntary reaction.  That said, you don’t have to believe in the healing powers of copper to know compression is a valuable healing method unto itself and the fact that these were said to be really light and all-day comfortable, seemed like it might just be the thing for occasional ankle stiffness.

There were some email back-and-forths to determine what size to order because the sizing chart has you measure around your heel and ankle and I was exactly on the cusp of both Small and Medium.  I left it up to the representative to choose, citing my shoe size as another measurement to judge by.

I received two Medium ankle sleeves.  The timing was good because I’d been having a couple days of ankle wake-up stiffness.

As far as the fabric goes, I love it, very silky and thin. I put them on and had to agree, they are extremely comfortable, enough so that you can wear them all day.  So I did.  I didn’t run with them but as soon as I got back, I put them on, wore them all day and even slept in them.  They’re comfortable enough to do that.  Actually, they feel like dress socks with an elastic band at the top.

However, they seemed only slightly more effective than wearing tight dress socks.  I woke up with the same ankle stiffness that I had the previous morning which was disappointing – I really wanted them to make a difference.  I wore them the next day/night but again…no love.

Now, part of the problem may be that the Medium wasn’t tight enough, I’m not sure how they’re supposed to fit, though from the photo on the site, it seems to look right with no sausage squish going on where the elastic hits the leg. But if they’re too large, it would stand to reason that my result wasn’t that great.

Nevertheless, I’ll wear them from time to time anyway – I think they’ll be good directly after a run when I’m sitting here on the computer.  After all, compression is our friend (remember my do-it-yourself compression sleeve) and while I’d never bother wearing any of my sturdier ankle braces unless I was injured, these are so transparent with their light compression that they’re worth donning.

I went around the web and found tons of great reviews for these, so take my experience with a grain of salt, it’s just one cynical woman’s opinion.

Last word on my ankles… I’ve taken to massaging them along with my feet before bed and it’s been really effective, the morning ankle stiffness is gone.  The more I go the self-massage route, the more I believe in the magical healing powers of fingers, hands and that ole standby, a tennis ball.  Not to say the hands-on approach replaces compression, it certainly doesn’t, but it might help you avoid getting to the point of needing any in the first place.

One of the great things about being a runner is the lack of equipment needed.  Basically, all you need to run comfortably are some wicking bottoms and tops, a great pair of shoes and some non-cotton socks.

There have been long threads on RunnersWorld Online discussing favorite styles and brands of socks and while it’s not the sexiest subject, for many of us it’s an important consideration.  Aside from comfort, they can also affect the fit of a shoe quite dramatically depending on their thickness which makes them a potentially pivotal accessory.

Here's my splayed foot looking all weird (you try splaying your toes and making it look cute), the better to show the individual toes.

While I have my favorite socks (and recently bought a boatload to replace my worn ones), I was super happy when Injinji sent me a pair of their new “No Show” Performance Lightweight socks to try.  My friend Audra has been wearing Injinjis for years and swears by them as blister-preventers.  Since blisters aren’t typically a problem for me, I was never driven to buy a pair but this summer, with the toe annoyances I mentioned in my last post, I wondered if they might make my Kinvaras more inviting until the temps start falling.

Now, on the postcard that came with the socks is a list of five features the 5 toe seamless design provides: proper toe alignment, superior moisture management, blister/hotspot protection, no bunching or sagging, better gripping and balance and lastly, “strengthens muscles in foot”.  I will have to take their word on toe alignment, helping with balance and strengthening foot muscles, but the other bulletpoints seemed obvious instantly.

They’re a very comfortable sock, which surprised me since fabric between the toes doesn’t sound that great.  Plus, I remember wearing rainbow “fashion” toesocks in Jr. High; with a thick wad of acrylic/wool yarn between each toe, they were downright painful.  But these are nothing like that.  In fact, several reviews I checked out said “they feel weird at first but you quickly get used to them”  but they felt fine to me from the get-go, the fabric is so smooth and thin that it wasn’t a big deal.

I took them out on Monday’s recovery 8-miler with my Kinvaras.  While my go-to sock is very cushy on the bottom, I do own some thinner socks but rarely wear them because they’re too thin for my liking.  The Injinji socks, while thin, feel more substantial due to the supportive stretch while also giving me extra room in the shoe, helping with summer foot spread.

Since it was only an 8-miler, I didn’t get to test them in full shoe slosh, but I was pleased with them. I could also see how it’d make a huge difference as far as blister prevention – you wouldn’t have to Bodyglide hotspots on the toes if you’re a person who has trouble with that,  just put on these socks and go.

So my final word on these are Thumbs Up!  If you’re looking for a thinner sock and have problem feet, or even if you don’t, give Injinji Lightweight Toesocks a try.

It’s no secret, I love listening to music when I run.  The headphones I usually use are some cheap Phillips earbuds with a hook over the ear which looks kinda stupid but keeps them from falling out.  Sound-wise, I’m sure they’d make an audiophile have a Klipschit fit, but for my purposes, it’s been fine.  That said, when the lovely people at H20 Audio offered to send some of their waterproof earbuds my way, I was pretty excited to try something new.

The cool thing about the Flex Allsport Waterproof Headphones is that they’re waterproof for 30 minutes down to 3ft.  While I’ve yet to need that, it’s a handy thing to have in my back pocket should pool running ever become a necessity (knock on wood that I never have to test this, but in theory it’s good).  And despite my affinity for land running, my outings leave me wringably soaked 3 months out of the year, so it’s nice to know these earbuds can handle this sweat machine.

The things I really liked about these earbuds are:
1. The fit: They don’t have hooks going around your ear but they don’t need it.  The soft rubber tips (3 different sizes are included) are very comfortable and kept them in place without falling out once.  Thus, I looked infinitely less dorky than usual (in my mind, anyway).
2. The cord: Unlike my cheapy earbuds which have a stiff wire cord, the cord on these is really soft, so I didn’t even have to neaten the excess into a bundle, I just tucked it into my shorts and didn’t notice it.
3. Noise Cancelling: It’s really amazing how well they cut out all background sound.  I imagine this would be great in a gym or anywhere you want to zone out.

The things I did not like about these earbuds are:
1. Sound Quality: I was hoping for something better than the ones I currently use but there’s too much bass in these (or more likely, I’m conditioned to like the amount of treble in my usual earbuds) so they seem a bit muddy to me, I prefer a brighter sound.
2. Noise Cancelling: While this isn’t in any way a fault of these headphones (it’s a bona fide feature) when I run I need to hear what’s going on around me.  Between traffic on my way to the park and then cyclists zooming by once I’m on the loop, I don’t feel comfortable being unconnected with the outside world.  But for any other use (I keep thinking these would be great on an airplane), this would be a pro, not a con.

Aside from that, the price is super reasonable, especially considering they’re waterproof, and they come in 4 colors.  So if you swim, row, pool run, paddle or simply want to ignore the boor sitting next to you on that long flight, consider the H2O Audio Flex Allsport Waterproof Headphones.