Friday, December 12, 2014

GPS Games: Zombies, Run

Zombies, Run is where I will begin my GPS games review series because in my opinion it is the Gold Standard. It does so many things and does them all so right.

The game during your run basically functions as an audio drama that plays between your music playlist. The plot is basic and makes sense.  Post apocalyptic world overrun by zombies.  

You are a runner who goes out on supply and recon missions while your base can radio mission updates and story information to you.   Occasionally you will recieve a warning of zombies approaching, then you just run faster for a minute or two and you are safe again (called Zombie Chases which can be disabled of you want).

The story mode is well told.  The voice actors are good, not great.  As the story unfolds there are some nice reveals and twists.  The "natural" way that the radio interrupts your music like in incoming call feels logical and dare I say it realistic.  Ok there is no way I'm listening to music when I need my ears open to hear zombies...

There are 3 seasons.

23 missions for season one.


40 main missions in season 2, with 24 side missions.  

I haven't even played season 3 yet but season 1 and 2 are worth it alone. And then you get the other games also.

This variety is where the game really shines. 

Airdrop missions are my personal favorite. You pick a point on the actual map and either run to that place, or to the place and back to compete your mission.


Supply missions are fun you get items to upgrade your bases. This doesn't have any effect on the game but the desire to level up your base can be a great excuse for an extra run.


Race missions are also pretty fun and run from 5k to half marathon.


For $17.99 you get everything.  Which is really a great deal since you are basically getting Zombies Run1, 2, and 3 and the race missions, and the interval training and the 3 able radio missions.  At least 5 games in one, so pretty good deal in my opinion. I have thoroughly enjoyed this app and plan of getting season 3 soon. Like I said this is the model for all comparisons, this is the Ford F150, the Nike Pegasus, the Brooks Cascadia.  So we will see.  

I give this game a very strong reccomend.

Story 4/5
Game play 4/5
App design 4/5
Replayabilty 4/5
Fun factor 4/5
Value 5/5

Thanks guys, gotta run....


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

What's in the Quiver?

So what is in my running quiver right now?  Let's start out with my Maximal options?
I have a really worn out pair of Hoka One One Stinson B's.  
I have almost 400 miles on this pair.  Definately a forefoot striker, I'm like a big, fat, white, slow, Kenyan!

Next we have two pair of Hoka One One Mafate 2's.  I have one pair I have been using on roads, and I keep another pair just for trail so the tread stays sharp.  

Classic Cascadia 2's.  I picked these up on clearance somewhere awhile ago.  Mine are red an orange, I love these shoes! I only bring them out for special occasions, like trail events.  Other than that they stay mothballed.
Brooks Adrenaline ASR.  Mine are pretty bashed up, I use them as rainy, muddy trail shoes. And they are becoming my disc golf shoes.
Brooks Pure Grit. Awesome shoe, didn't like the two, might try the three soon. Really excell on all terrains including roads, very breathable and light, and they don't mind getting wet.
Another oddity the New Balance 800.  The "Chi" running shoe,  weird because the padded landing area is on the lateral portion not the heel.  They are my road race shoes.  That's about all I use them for, nice concept but wish they were zero drop.
My Snow shoes!  The Saucony Pro Grid Razor.  Neoprene gaiter that zips up, they are for cold wet winter runs. I would love these more if they had a lower drop.  They feel like high heels to me.
Now we enter the true minimal end.
The Inov8 Bare Grip.  I bought these on clearance for fun. Would love to see Altra's interpretation of these.  The Inov8 toe box is very narrow and pointy, a wider more natural toe box would be great.  The grip is incredible .  Imagine a pair of soccer turf cleats crosses with a pair of climbing shoes. Then imagine the cleats being being longer and softer.  For a show that has no padding it actually has a soft ride because of the cleats themselves.  These are for soft muddy trails.  
The Altra Adam.  Basically a Vibram Five Fingers with out the individual toes.  I am huge fan of these and wish Altra did not discontinue them.  My pair have around 200 miles on my pair and I have no reason the believe they will not last at least 500 miles.
And my obligatory Vibram Five Fingers KMD Sports.  These are the reason I have toe socks!   What can I say about the Vibrams that everyone else has not said already?   When I saw a chance to pick up some Bikila'a on clearance...
I grabbed two pair.   Thus for much snugger than the KMD's but they feel much more like a road and grass shoe than a rough trail shoe.  That remains to be seen.
So that's the quiver for now, I basically go back and forth between my Vibrams and my Hokas. Not quite as crazy as it seems, they are both "minimal shoes" in terms  for their drops and features.
So thanks for reading, gotta run!

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Run Commuter Bag: Grip EQ Agile A14

So as all my readers and friends know I play disc golf and I had tried to get a Grip Tour series bag to try as a run commuter bag.  This didn't happen...oh well, like 2Pac said "I ain't mad at ya" so I'll give them a little love for their newest bag that could be an even better run commuter bag for shorter daily commute runs.  The new Grip Agile A14.
Smaller
Still holds two bottles.
Still has a rainfly.
Still has the nice padded back
Looks pretty cool as a run commuter pack, if I'm getting one as a disc golf bag I'm getting the full size big boy!
So just a quick follow up to the original post, gotta run!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Ode to Gu Brew

I love GU Brew, specifically Blueberry Pomegranate.  Flavor wise it is my favorite tasting drink, hands down!  It is the perfect balance of flavors, sweet, and salty. Goes down so smooth, and the hotter it gets outside the better it tastes.  Blueberry pomegranate has twice the sodium so it is perfect for South Carolina's sweaty humid summers.
But this could be a sad tale.  I bought some on sale at Runningwarehouse, then I realized why it was on sale....
Gu Brew is getting a face lift and a new carb profile.
Original
New Brew
So a hair more sodium, slightly less potassium, same total sugars but apparently they have gone to a 50/50 maltodextrin/fructose mix.  This is exciting for me since I prefer my sugars to be as complex as they can be.
I also like the smaller single serving mix packets. 
So reserving the right to be sad at the passing of my favorite tasting drink, bit hopeful that the Nu Brew will be as good if not better than the Old Bru.  
More to come.  Gotta run!


Friday, July 25, 2014

Mud Energy Gel

So I got my first Runnerbox in so I will have fuel for running and reviews. Here is the first thing I tried out of it....
To give you an idea of size...
These things are freaking huge! They take up the space of about 2-3 gels in a pocket.  But of course this increase in size comes with an increase in calories right?
No not really, about the same as every other gel product on the market, only hugified!  That is the scientific process of making smaller things huge, hugification!
The big awesome thing about these that justifies the size is the protein.  
Gu-0,Mud-12!
So that's a huge amount of protein for a "gel".  
The taste was ok, let's face it most gels taste nasty... These are not the nastier nor the best.  I would put them in the top 5 for flavors.  
So as a running gel these seem ok.  They are originally intended for cyclists I think.  For long distance running they are something that I want to try out, but as regular running gels they unfortunately complicate the whole thing since most running gels are about the same size therefore most holders are meant to hold that standard size.  The big boys just don't fit most pockets.  

Flavor-4/5
Nutrition-5/5
Design- 4/5
Cost- 3/5

Flavor was good, I give it the 5 for nutrition for the protein addition.  Design is pretty cool, cost is the only ding.  At 37.80 for a 12 pack that's 3 bucks a pop!  But again the protein for marathon to ultra distances would be a good benefit.  
So for longer events I would recommend these but for normal training no.  


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Run Commuter Bag: Ultraspire Fastpack

I am an unashamed Ultraspire fanboy.  I love almost all of their products, I run more with their products than anything else.  I picked up a Fastpack about a year ago and it has sat. I have never really used it, it is too big for training runs.  I had bought it specifically for a two day run/hike I was going to do with my son next year (he's going to ride his bike). 
But since I am having such a problem finding the perfect run commute bag I figured I would knock the dust off an take it for a whirl.
If you have ever used anything Ultraspire then you are familiar with "The Front".  It is the same front they use for most of their vests, and for good reason.  
Right side has a stretch mesh bottle holder and above that is their magnet closure small pouch, meant for electrolyte  
pills but also great for cash since it is sweatproof.  I stow my iPod shuffle in there when it rains.
Left side has a small upper stretch pocket good for gels and a larger zippered pocket below with an external stretch mesh pouch.  
The back has a nice stretch zippered pouch on the flap that snaps down to an external stretch stow pouch.  
Large bottle storage holders on both sides.
The main compartment is just over 16L.
And the waist belt  straps have a stretch pocket and zippered pocket.  
The real genius of this pack is it's form.  The usual side adjustment straps are replaced with one continuous strap that slides through the back portion.  This means as you swing your arms and swivel the pack does not shift and pull as much.  It also means there is only one adjustment that needs to be made for the 
sides. No more trying to make sure both straps are even.  In conjunction with the waist strap the fit can get really dialed in.  I do find it takes about the first half mile running and messing with it to get it right but once it is there it is there. It becomes a part of you.  
Now let's get to my beef with this design.   
First there needs to be two chest straps! They have then on their smaller bags so this their biggest should also have two.  
I would also like to see the torso sections a little longer.  They ride up a little on me but then again I am bigger than the average runner.
The other gripe I have is only specific to evaluating this as a run commuting bag and that is bags zippered access.  It is very narrow.  Great for stuffing things down but bag for trying to get folded clothes in flat.

Function- 4/5
Looks- 4/5
Quality- 5/5 
Weight- 5/5
Price- 4/5

Like I said earlier I have the older model.  The newer one has the better mesh and even lighter materials. I have to ding function as a commuting bag due to the 
narrow opening.  Over all probably one of the best options I will have for run commuting for awhile.  Thanks for reading.. Gotta run!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Run Commuter Bag: Grip EQ

Another hobby of mine is Disc Golf.  I play about once a week.  I'm ok.  I birdie
, I bogey, I par.  I won't tell you which one I do most often.  But as I mentioned in an earlier post I am run commuting to work and have been looking for the perfect bag.  
In discgolf most people carry a bag to hold their various discs.
Smaller ones look like this...
Slightly larger ones look like this...
These would obviously suck as running bags! But so that you are now luggin abunch of weight on a strap on one shoulder, companies started making back pack style bags.  One of the premier bags is the Grip EQ bag
Now as you can see it is a large bag with lots of storage.  Dual water bottle holders, I don't know of you can access them on the run. 

Here is some stuff for Grip's site showing off the theoretical storage of the bag...
They even imply that you could run in it...
The question is can you? Well that remains to be seen. I'm not in a money position to drop $250 dollars on a bag that might work...I got burned by the Salomon Commuter RX so I'm buy shy about spending right now.  I have been corresponding with Grip about getting a bag to review and I hope that they can make it happen. Until then I think it could be a great bag.  Lots of storage, lots of padding, large structured area for disc storage could  easily be used for shoes and clothes.  
So until I can get one to try, this is all theoretical.  
Update... I have been in contact with a rep about trying to get a bag to test out.   

Gotta go throw!  Then run... 

Run Commuter Bag: Salomon Run Commuter RX

So I have started run commuting both ways to work.  It's just under 6 miles. So in and out it just over 11 miles. 
So when I saw the Salomon Commuter RX back pack I thought I had found my perfect solution.  
Sleek, black, lightweight, it looked perfect... So I made the classic mistake of trying out something new on "race day".  I tried it for inaugural run into work.
I put in a few changes of clothes, and some other accessories and I was off.

The straps are really thin... And there is no chest strap!  Absolutely nothing across the sternum!  This combined with the thin straps made for a miserable run but I was already on the way and didn't have time to turn back.  

The back is broad and has very poor ventilation and minimal padding.  I can appreciate this for the minimalness but in practice it was miserable.  The buckles on the straps ended up riding pretty high so they were rubbing on my ribs.  I have a long torso but I'm not a freak of any kind. 
The storage was nice and as an everyday backpack it is great.  Like I said ninja black, sleek, sexy, great around town bag .  
As a run commuting bag... This is a fail.  

So evaluating this as a run commuting bag...

Function-1/5 
Looks-4/5
Quality- 5/5
Weight- 5/5
Cost- 4/5

So as you can see over all it is a great backpack.  But as a run commuting backpack it just falls too short for me, overall score...

2/5

Thanks for reading, gotta run!

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Toe socks?!?

Ok this was not a planned review or event.  If you asked me about toe socks I think about all the cute sorority girls I knew in college with their cutesy little toe socks and flip flops...
Prior to this I owned one pair of Injinji toe socks that I wore exclusively with my Vibram Five Fingers KMD Sports. That's it! No toe socks for me thank you.

Then this happened...
I received some other samples with my Hydrapak Wooly's for review (pleae read the review of you haven't).

So here I am with not one, not two, but three new pair of Injinji toe socks!  What am I going to do with these?  I run with my vibrams about once a week and I do laundry so I don't need 4 total pairs of toe socks.  

Then it happened...slowly, accidentally really.  I had the socks on to try then on for size and it came time for me to run.  I am a frugal personal sometimes, or sometimes lazy.  I already had socks on so why not wear them, even if I wasn't going to use my Vibrams.  The idea was insane but I did it anyway.  

It felt weird at first, I won't lie, like little wool condoms on each toe. Then it felt less weird, I mean nobody knows I'm wearing girly toe socks but me.  

Then a weird thing happened, I started getting hot and sweating (this is not the weird part, this is quite normal) but my toes felt dry and cool.  There was almost a breeze between them.  Then it hit me!
They were like 2 in 1 shorts, the kind with built in compression shorts.

I used to chafe like a... I don't know thing that chafes a lot! But then I found the beauty of compression shorts under my shorts or shorts with built in compression shorts. That's what these are like!

So I received a pair of Original Weight Performance 2.0 Run No-Show Length
A pair of Mid Weight Performance 2.0 Trail Micro Length
And a pair of Light Weight Performance 2.0 Run No-Shows, which look the same as the original weight, they are just slightly thinner.

The Trail Midweights have become my go to socks for my Vibrams.  I love the absolutely seamless feel of the socks.  They are slightly padded and thicker so I find they work very well with my Vibrams giving them a snugger feel and adding a bit of cushion.

The Run 2.0's are pretty much indistinguishable from each other.  The one pair is slightly... thinner.  

Again I would never have gone out to buy
a bunch of Injinji socks.  Hell I don't even know how to pronounce it (looked it up apparently it's In-Gin-Gee) I was saying it like it was Injini! Like N-Genie! I was totally missing the extra J.  

My toes feel fresher and dryer after my runs now.  I am a big toe splayer so these don't inhibit my toe splay at all. In fact they even assist with toe splay.  And just like compression shorts for your thighs, no chaffing or sweat pooling.  They keep your toes drier and I cannot even imagine generating enough friction to get a blister in these.

These are a strong reccomend.  I recently   
subscribed to Runnerbox which is a subscription box of the month club type thing and apparently they often give out Injinji socks.  The thrill of random nutrition, the chance to get new products from obscure companies, these all intrigued me.  Knowing that there was a good chance I would get more toe socks... Priceless.  

So I learned that toe socks can go in non-toed shoes and that I really do like having my toes dry and comfy.  

Pros:

Virtually seamless construction
Very sturdy feeling construction 
Nice heel tabs, socks stay at right height
Excellent sweat wicking
Eliminates toe on toe friction

Cons:

I feel kinda like a sissy wearing toe socks...but I'm getting over it.
Fitting can be tricky (I got lucky) some people have longer or shorter toes relative to their foot length.  

This is my first total recommend. As in I would recommend  these to everyone.  The only people I cannot recommend these to are those people who like the narrow toe box shoes with no room for toe wiggle.  Those people are called crazy so I don't even think they are reading this.  Well I'm going to go to sleep now. I'm going for a Father's Day run tomorrow morning so if you will pardon me... I gotta go sleep....


Made from Skratch Labs

So Mary from Skratch Labs sent me some samples to try of their Exercise Hydration Mix.  They have an everyday and an extreme version, the everyday has l
ower electrolytes while the extreme has... you guessed it an extremely large amount 1700mg I think.  

In the interest of transparency... I got these free, free does not change my review, it only makes the review faster because I don't have to buy it! 

On to the actual review you came for!

Here is what it looks like...
I am a child of the 80's, I was raised by an NES system! So the 8-bit graphics for the fruits and the packaging appeal to me visually, but as I will explain later the logos don't fit the product for me.

What's in it?

Lemons + Limes: Serving Size: 24g- makes 16 oz prepared.
Amount Per Serving: 
Calories 80, 
Calories from Fat 0, 
Total Fat 0g (0% DV),
 Saturated Fat 0g (0% DV),
 Trans Fat 0g, 
Cholesterol 0mg (0% DV), 
Sodium 360mg (15% DV), 
Potassium 40mg (1% DV), 
Total Carbohydrate 21g (7% DV), Fiber 0g (0% DV), 
Sugars 20g, 
Protein 0g, 
Vitamin A (0% DV), 
Vitamin C (35% DV), 
Calcium (6% DV), Iron (0% DV), Magnesium (10% DV).
Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Only 80 calories but it's got a good bit of sodium which is nice this time of year.

What does it taste like?


Seriously this stuff really does taste like it is made from scratch.  If you gave me this and told me that you had made it your self at home from fresh ingredients I would believe you.  This could be a running DIY internet recipe.  

Now I'm not saying it is the best tasting, though it does taste really good, like a salted Margarita version of lemonade and Gatorade.  But not too sweet, just salty tasting enough to be quenching, not acidic at all.  I tried it out in the heat and had no GI issues at all, very satisfying. And I cannot stress enough it really did taste fresh to me.

There are some drinks that taste good when you are sipping them while chilling on the sofa.  Most of these don't taste good on a hot run when you are very thirsty.  By the same token most drinks that taste awesome when you are sweating and dying of thirst tend to taste a bit flat and dilute when you are piloting the sofa. This is definately a taste you earn, the hotter and harder it gets, the better it tastes.  

My only real reservation is the carbohydrate profile... It's all sugar.  I would like some long chain maltodextrins or something with a longer burn time.  Other than that it really is satisfying and does not taste like it was made in a factory or a lab...which brings me to my main gripe. And it's a petty one!

With their logo and packaging and name...
I am expecting a very artificial, chemically, like it was made in a "lab", candy taste.  Instead I think the logo and name should be changed to "Skratch Kitchen" and have an old fashioned font and logo like this
Or this
Or this 
Or this
I would love to see the packaging redone as a super retro turn of the century product.  

So this is a definate recommend and I myself will be buying some more next time I have to get running "groceries".

All the flavors were good, I don't think I really have a favorite. I'll probably just go with the lemon lime, actually I think combining the orange and the lemon lime might make the perfect flavor. 

They have a hot cinnamon flavor that might actually be good on a very cold day kept hot in an insulated running bottle. 

Pros

One stop fluid and electrolyte shopping
Tastes very fresh
Very smooth, not acidic or overt sweet
Single serving packaging very easy to use 

Cons

Questionable carb profile for longer activity 

Petty Crap

Techie/Nerd Logo just doesn't fit what the product tastes like!

Steong reccomend, especially in the heat, and especially if you can keep it ice cold in an insulated bottle, might I suggest the HydraPak Wooly?
See my review earlier...So go out and pick up a bag of Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix. Or as I will be calling it...
"Skratch Kitchen's Miracle Energy Salt Tonic and Banjo Liniment" 

More to come soon! But right now... I gotta run!