EverymanTri.com

How EverymanTri race tests the triathlon gear we review

You get it, you use it for a week or so, you write up your thoughts and move on to the next latest and greatest product.  That’s generally how it goes for product testing and reviews here for EMT and other sites.
 
Have you ever wondered, what happened to those products?  What becomes of the rest of that skin care product or that tri top?
 
Here’s your chance to peek behind the curtain and find out.  Most products are offered up with no conditions of return for the testing and playing.  They are tested, the report is written and the product either goes on a shelf, in the trash for one time use products, or into the rotation for training and racing gear.
 
If it’s good gear, there’s no reason to trash it.  Use it to its full extent and run it into the ground and see what happens.  That’s what’s currently going on with the Skin Strong Slather , BRD Sports achilles brace , and Simple Hydration water bottles .
 
See the links for each to see the initial review of the products.  For the most part, each product testing was a positive experience and the gear was quality and served a valid function and purpose in training and racing.

Gear Review: Timex Global Trainer with GPS (Part 2)

Last time we chatted about the Timex Global Trainer (TGT) was way before Kona and Pete Jacobs taking the pro men’s title.  The hot topic was what was in the box and how it appeals  to that kid at Christmas type of triathlete we all are with new gear.
 
It’s time to go to the next level.  How does this piece of GPS hardware handle the day in and day out demands of weekend warriors to competitive age groupers?
 
Setup
Setup is fairly straight forward, although you might have to do some hunting in the internet to find answers to common problem you might face.  The watch comes with a quick start manual.  If you want the complete soup to nuts of the operational features of the TGT, then you will have to hit up Timex.com for the complete user manual.  You have to be able to view adobe PDF’s and take time to sit down at your computer, but overall it’s less manuals and papers taking up space at your house.

Review: Gatorade G Series Pro Carb Energy Chews hit it the spot

If you don’t eat, you won’t finish.  Sure, you can get by on a sprint triathlon without really taken in any nutrition, but try that on an Olympic, 70.3 or 140.6 course and you could be asking for trouble.
 
Taking this to heart, EMT labs ran to the farthest reaches of the earth, to the Incan ruins, Amazon Jungle and Florida to find products that might help the everyday age grouper make it to the finish line.

Coincidentally, the tester for this nutritional product lives where Gatorade got their pro football start, in Kansas City, Missouri.  Now, Gatorade the sports drink is a staple of triathlons and endurance sports around the globe, but they have thrown their hat into the sports chew world with Gatorade G Series Pro Carb Energy Chews.

Review: SNAP Infusion SUPERCANDY

What’s in you?

Is Gatorade, chocolate milk, GU gel, Cliff shots, Powerbar Gel Blasts or SNAP Infusion SUPERCANDY in you?  Never heard of SNAP infusion?  You’re not alone.
 
Here at the EMT labs, we were hard at work in our energy nutrition test cleanroom when SNAP Infusion gave us a call to try them out.
 
Being one to never shy away from reviewing products short of illegal substances, we jumped at the chance.
 
Let’s be honest, SNAP Infusion is not a household name in the triathlon world, or is it?  Do let us know if you have ever heard of it or tried it and what you think.
 
But, here’s what I think of SNAP Infusion SUPERCANDY.

Gear Review: Timex Global Trainer with GPS (Part 1)

EverymanTri has been granted the privilege of testing out one of the big players in the GPS watch market.  Timex has long been associated with Ironman and the sport of triathlon, but only in the past few years have they dipped their big toe in the GPS market to complete with the likes of Garmin and Polar.
 
EMT Gear reviewer, Ryan Falkenrath , has been shipped a nice shiny new Timex Global Trainer (TGT) triathlon watch to fiddle with.  By fiddling, we mean use it for training in all three sports, run his training plan from the watch and support system, drown in the pool, strap to a speeding bike and bake in the sun of 100 degree runs in Kansas.
 
How will is shape up?  How will is compare to the Garmin 310XT?  Keep reading EMT for installments of the TGT as we put it through the paces.
 
In this introduction, we’ll look at what comes with the watch and rescuing it from the box and firing it up.

Review: Core Power recovery shake is worth a swig

While training for the Jackson County Triathlon that went down this past weekend, I utilized the opportunity to try out a new player on the recovery drink market.
 
Well, that’s not entirely accurate.  New is a relative term since Core Power was originally Athletes Honeymilk.  Through some transformation and what I can only imagine as a large marketing push, birth was given to Core Power.
 
It’s a healthy 11.5 fl ounces with a healthy set of lungs.  You can’t help but notice their website that screams at you with hip designs and a list of pro athletes in their nursery such as Craig Alexander and Tom Danielson.
 
But enough with the glitzy wrapper and big marketing budgets.  Is this stuff worth the deductible to bring it home to your house?
 

Review: HDX Hydration mix is a solid contender in the sports drink market

It was early last Sunday.  It was way too early for anyone with a shred of sanity to be up ready to ride 100 miles.  But, when a friend training for Ironman Louisville begs and pleads on the BT forums for people to suffer with him on his last century ride, how can you say no?  Besides, there was a sweet pint glass up for grabs.
 
It was the Cider Mill Century ride last Sunday and Jon was out for 100 miles on the bike, followed by an hour run.  Forecasters for the Kansas City area were calling for the hottest day of the summer so far, around 108 degrees.  No problem.  Set off at 6:45 in the morning and wrapped up around 2:30 in the afternoon.  It was a leisurely jaunt through the Kansas countryside baking in the afternoon sun in a way only comparable to how an ant my feel subjected to being fried under a magnifying glass.  You’ve seen that mean kid in your neighborhood frying insects on the driveway with a magnifying glass, or you were that kid.  Shame on you.  Everyone riding the Cider Mill Century has a new found respect for that ant.

Review: Simply Hydration is a clever & useful new water bottle

When you’re out running long distances, fluids are a must.  You need to stay hydrated to stave off heat exhaustion, cramps and bonks in general.  Even when the temps are below freezing, you need fluids.
 
It’s easier when you’re on group runs with planned aid stations or running around developed areas with at least water fountains here and there.  Fluids are aplenty and mobile hydration isn’t as much a necessity.
 
But, what if you’re on a lone 18 miler that leads you on long open roads with no water fountains or aid stations to speak of?  What if you race using your special hydration mix that’s more than the standard sports drink?  How do you carry what you need?
 
There are several options for water bottle belts.  Some have small bottles that hook on at various points on the belt.  Some will support a large water bottle situated to minimize bottle movement and chafing.  Some runners even use water bladders in specially designed backpacks for long runs.

Review: Skin Strong Sunscreen for endurance athletes

It’s damn hot out there right now.  If you’re stupid, I mean brave enough to peak out of your door or car long enough to get a workout in the heat and humidity of the summer, hopefully you are taking the proper precautions.
 
For those of us not able to consistently get out of bed in the early morning hours before work to avoid the heat and sun, then you have no option unless you’re getting all of your workouts at the gym or in your pain cave in the basement.  It is heat and sun for you.
 
Hopefully you take the proper precautions.

Review: Headbands aren’t just for girls

It’s hot.  Almost d@mn hot!  As we approach July and the heat of the summer for most us in the States, you can’t avoid the heat.  Even at 4am, some places are already 80 degrees and 80% humidity.  There’s nothing wrong with a sweat fest workout in the heat, as long as you are prepared.

Sure, you need hydration, sunscreen and eye protection, but what about those rivers of sweat pouring down your face?  Most of us have been there.  Running or riding along (usually isn’t as much of a problem in the pool) and you have to use your jersey or shirt to constantly wipe your face and eyes.  Sometimes it stings your eyes, and other times is covers your sunglasses making it hard to see where you are going.

Review: Zipfizz is th new hydration kid on the triathlon block

The sports drink market is booming these days.  With Gatorade making a 3 step drink series to prime, energize and recover, Powerade, and Powerbar Perform, who knows what they should be drinking while working out or competing in events.
 
GU, Hammer Nutrition and Push Endurance make powders that mix with water that supplies you with essential vitamins, electrolytes and calories to keep you going through long and hot days on the roads.
 
A new kid on the block is Zipfizz

Book Review: Chrissie Wellington's a Life Without Limits is a personal window into Ironman's fastest female competitor

Chrissie Wellington is one of the greatest Ironman triathletes to ever enter the crystal clear Hawaiian waters of Kona's Dig Me Beach.  Mirinda Carfrae calls her a tenacious competitor and indeed Chrissie Wellington, a 4X Ironman World Champion has never lost an Ironman triathlon in her life.

But perhaps more importantly she holds every significant Ironman World record including the World Championship course record. There can be no doubt that Chrissie Wellington is the fastest living female Ironman competitor, and yet her journey from everyman to Ironman has not been easy, straightforward or without a painful personal struggle.  

Chrissie showed up at the 2011 Ironman World Championships with road rash and a few other injuries that she let on about, but after you read her book, “A Life Without Limits”, you see her in a completely different light and realize she had more than road rash and some minor injuries to content with in 2011.

Gear Review: Hey, you smell. Why don’t you Stuffitt?

Hey, you smell.  Why don’t you Stuffitt?  That’s not exactly the phrase uttered in every triathlete home after a long day on the bike, on the road or in the pool.  After a 2 hour run in the heat and humidity, that last thing a triathlete cares about is washing your nasty gear.

Admit it.  You know you crammed that chlorine laden jammer in your duffel bag with all the intention of washing it as soon as you got home from the pool.  You know you also left it in your gym bag or hiding in your floorboard of your car over the weekend and forgot about it.  Now it reeks to high heaven along with anything that was within 25 yards of your nasty funky clothes.

 If you’re of the environmentally conscious type that tries to use your training clothes for more than one workout, just because you lay it out to dry doesn’t mean the smell magically disappears.  It permeates every piece of clothing in your closet, car seats or any upholstery in your house.

Video review: Welcome to Ben's bathroom as he reviews the Tanita BC-1500 Scale

Check it out as Ben reviews the Tanita BC-1500 Scale, which measures body weight, body fat, and lots of other stuff - using bioelectrical impedance.

Follow on twitter @everymantri or view latest videos onYouTube.

Coaches Corner - BRD Achilles Ankle Brace Review

If you have been training and participating in triathlons for any length of time, you undoubtedly have had injuries or been hurt. Personally, I’ve always had my issues. 

A pulled hamstring plagued me for 2 months one year.  I pulled groin muscle plagued me for the better part of a year.  And, the most lingering problem is an achy achilles tendons.  I stretch, I do strength work and I see a massage therapist for it, but throughout the year I can have flare-ups here and there.

That’s where the product review of the day comes in. BRD Sports braces had the exact brace for my achilles condition, The Achilles Ankle Brace.

In the past, I’ve just grinned and bared it.  Maybe I’d make an extra massage appointment to get it worked on or RICE it.  (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).  Lets get real, though.  Massage therapy is not cheap.  Most of us cannot afford to put up our feet all day.  Ice isn’t always accessible and you can’t wear  an ice pack on your body all day.  And rest, what’s that?

But now I had a brace to help me out and from my time with it, here’s what I learned:

Coaches Corner - Puma Trailfox 4 Trail Running Shoes

We went off on a tangent about nutrition and all of the choices out there a few weeks ago.  EMT even posted about SIX Nutrition recently.  Choices choices…  Nutrition isn’t the only overwhelming aspect of triathlons and endurance racing facing today’s athlete.

Nike, Adidas, Asics and more have more running shoes to choose from than I have toes (I’m still at 10, but less on remaining toenails).