These Are A Few Of Our Favourite things...

Nomi says,

I'm alive....I'm alive....

I know I've been slacking. Joy has been doing all the hard work, cycling like crazy, working like crazy and updating the blog. I am training, sort off, sporadically with Lulu for our upcoming marathon in Gold Coast.

Julie Andrews sang to her little charges - the VonTrapp children - in The Sound of Music about her favourite things, including:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,

Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens,

Brown paper packages tied up with strings,

...

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,

Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles,

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

...

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,

Silver white winters that melt into springs

But, let's be honest, who really cares about her favourite things?  What about our favourite things?  We know that you all care about those!!!

I know that a substantial chunk of my dough goes into running paraphernalia. We all have our favorite gels, shoes, tops, socks, sun block and etc. and etc. So to relieve the monotony of us writing about running and cycling, we decided to chit chat about the things that we like best.

So, I'm going to be writing in purple fonts and Joy in bright pink (the "colour of friendly" in her view):

FOOTWEAR:

   


SHOES....shoes....I think i have more running shoes than casual or work shoes. I have tried Nikes, Reeboks, New Balances, Saucony and so far , for me, the Nike Lunarglides suit the best for long runs. For 60 min runs, the New Balance Minimus are really nice and light. For 60 to 120 min runs. the New Balance 890's work fine. By using different levels of cushioning for different runs, the joints seem to hurt less.

Joy's shoes

Shoes:  Like Nomi, I definitely have more sport shoes than other kinds of shoes...Well, I used to wear Nike Lunarglides (the same as Nomi), but this past year I've been entering the wonderful world of minimal running shoes, so I've worn Vibram Five Fingers (the Bikila version for running) when there's no snow; I've worn the New Balance Minimuses when there is snow (because I can use thermal socks!); and I just bought a pair of Saucony runners for my upcoming 1/2 marathon.  But, since I'm riding my bike more than running these days, there's a good chance these shoes will see minimal usage for a while!


Hands down, though, my Vibrams are my favourites.  They're just so damn fun to run in, and I think if I lived in the tropics and could wear them all the time, I'd still be running and running and running.  When the weather in Ottawa finally warms up, I'm going to get out in them for some fast, short runs...I can't wait!

Nomi's socks

SOCKS:

Socks (I seriously cannot remember the brand name now) with Thorla pads (left pair) : They are seriously wonderful for long runs.  They are cushioned and comfortable and cause minimal blistering.

Sugoi : (right pair and a present from Joy)

I use them for shorter runs and for the gym. They are light, thin and breathable.

Barefoot is best!

My ideal motto in life would be:  Go barefoot when you can!  As a kid I used to run around without shoes and socks, and even as a teen and young woman, I would get these thick callouses on the bottoms of my feet throughout the summer so that I could walk across hot asphalt and not feel a thing.  Only later did I start to learn about pedicures and get the message that a "lady" has soft feet.  While that seemed wholly impractical to me, for a while in my twenties I caved into that sort of thinking.  Then in my thirties I took up running and my feet became mine again, not held hostage by notions of beauty that are just as stupid as back in the day when women's feet were bound...ugh.

As a runner, the wonderful world of blisters, bruised toes, and general foot comfort becomes really really really important.  I've gone through tonnes of different types of socks, and I've found that one key is:  having new pairs of socks (old ones lose elasticity and then you are more likely to get blisters).  I have ones like Nomi's (above); I have Nike socks; I have Icebreaker socks; I have Rapha socks; I have Adidas socks; and I have compression socks.  But all in all, I'd prefer my bare feet any day!

CLOTHING:

Nomi's clothes

TOPS:
I have used my ratty adidas top for 2 years now..there still are no holes in it. With age, it has become soft and pliant and so comfortable. It important to wear something light that evaporates sweat efficiently and doesn't stink to high heaven. Nike tops are nice too with realistic sizes. Here, some brands are catered to Asian sizes and you have to be toothpick thin to squeeze into even an M or L. So normal human beings might not be able to wear certain brands.

Joy's bras: Craft (good shape), Icebreaker
(good material), Columbia (good price)

Tops for me come in two categories:  ones with sleeves and ones without.  Basically, unless I'm wearing long sleeves because it's cold, I don't want sleeves.  This mainly has to do with how frustrating getting a "farmers' tan" is to me.  If I have to get tan lines, I'd rather at least have those tan lines appear at my shoulders rather than midway through my upper arm!


Another key point here about tops:  BRAS!  Now I'm not well endowed up there, so I don't need tonnes of support, but I still need a good sport bra.  Let me tell you, there's a huge market out there just waiting to be tapped.  I have Columbia sports bras, Icebreaker sports bras, and Craft cycling bras, and if I could combine aspects of each, then I might have one bra that works.  I'd take the price of the Columbia one (not too pricey) + the merino wool of the Icebreaker one (natural fibre is best) + the shape of the Craft one (comes in at the shoulders and doesn't cut in) = Joy's Ideal Sports Bra.


BOTTOMS:
The 2XU compression tights are the BEST. They really help with keeping everything from wobbling and help support the knees. The aches and pains post run are less with these and hoorah to these tights. 


On this one, I agree 100% with Nomi.  The 2XU compression tights are the best...they do such a good job of holding everything in and preventing unwanted jiggling, that hands down I get the most second looks at my butt when I'm out there running in my 2XUs.  You know the kind of double take that I'm talking about...I don't need to describe it.  (Also, Nomi used to make fun of my for my extra-long Nike shorts that she called my "granny shorts" that came down to my knees, and my compression tights are definitely an improvement in the attractiveness factor over those!)

NUTRITION:

Yummy, yummy GU...

FOOD/FUEL:
GU Chocolate Outrage flavour: I could eat it just for fun. It tastes so good and is so palatable. I tried other popular brands before this but they were sickly sweet and so hard to swallow/chew. Lulu recently gave me a taste of GU chomps and they are yummy. For my full marathon, I took one GU gel per hour up to a max of 4 gels. 

Joy's first- and second-place
GU flavours...mmmmm.

Back when I was training for my first half marathon, I tried Powergels instead of my tried and true, much-loved GU Chocolate Outrage, and nearly threw up at the side of the running path.  It was terrible.  I wrote about it on the blog, and ended up throwing out a whole bunch of them that sat around, gathering dust, and ultimately expiring, because they were just too gross to eat.  A very close second to the GU Chocolate Outrage flavour is the GU Chocolate Mint flavour.  Both are really tasty, and I use them on long runs and bike rides...who doesn't want an excuse for chocolate??

DRINKS:

Nomi's drinks.

100 Plus: is pretty much a Malaysian thing and i don't really know if you can get it anywhere else. It's a carbonated "sports drink' that's very popular. However, it is gassy and bubbles out of the water bottle to trickle down the backs of your thighs. 

Suntonic: Another option, but tastes too sweet for me in the correct dilution. And I am not sure if you can get it outside of Penang, Malaysia.

GU brew: is another alternative, where you mix one tab in 16oz water. It's not too sweet, a little gassy and a convenient option where only water is available at hydration stations and you want isotonic drinks.

Joy's drinks.

100 plus:  When I'm in Malaysia, I'll drink this diluted with water in my water bottle, but as it's fizzy (like Nomi says), it ends up making a high-pitched squealing sound as the gas escapes the bottle, and when I run, I want the only sounds coming from me.  No competition from my water bottle, thank you very much.


E-Load:  I used to use E-Load powder in my water bottle, and that's what I've used to hydrate at most of my races.  It's pretty good (the lemon flavour, not really any of the other flavours which are too sweet and gross tasting), but it's hard to travel with such a big container, and putting the powder in a zip lock isn't all that practical.


Endurolyte FIZZ (by Hammer nutrition):  These little tablets get dropped in the water and fizz away like an effervescent antacid for an upset tummy.  From a practical point of view, this is really handy.  You can take the whole little canister with you on a run or a bike ride, and drop it into your water bottle if you refill while out somewhere.  The downside is that the flavours aren't all that great; they have this kind of fake sweet taste like an aspartame aftertaste after swallowing a sip of diet coke.  Gross.


NUUN:  Hands-down, this is my favourite.  Like the FIZZ (above) it's a tablet that you just drop into the water bottle to dissolve, but the flavours are a billion times better.  There's a citrus fruit one, a mixed berry one etc. etc.  They all taste good and are sugar-free without the gross aftertaste that some sugar free things sweetened with aspartame or stevia might have.  Its positives:  electrolytes, ingredients I can pronounce, small size for easy transport, and yummy flavour.

ACCESSORIES:

Badass Bandana

HEADGEAR:
One does not run in tropical weather without some form of head gear and 1 inch thick sunscreen. It's a necessity, not an accessory. 

Bandanas: A bandanna or bandana (from the Hindi: बन्धन bandhana, "to tie") is a type of large, usually colorful, kerchief, usually worn on the head or around the neck of a person or pet and is not considered to be a hat. Hmmmm....fancy the word bandana originating from Hindi. Anyhow, I used to use a simple scarf when i first started running years ago. Actually Joy's Man was the one who taught me how to tie one. It was cool, light but after awhile it would slip off or go askew.

Nomi's multipurpose headwear.

Multipurpose Headwear: Then I started using multipurpose headwear by Buff. They come in such pretty and varied designs. They do stay put, do not get water logged with sweat and slowly slide off your head.

Ever-important hat!

Hats: For me, hats are the best thing to wear here. Scarves and bandanas do not shade the eyes. My favorite is the Halo. It's got a band inside that lies like a strap across the forehead that wicks water  away from your face. And , it really works. While running, you do not get water mixed with sunscreen streaming down your face, getting into your eyes, making them burn and turn red. Plus, it does offer the face some protection against the strong sunlight and stops you looking like a boiled lobster.

I totally agree with Nomi...you CANNOT go out and do any kind of sport in the tropics (or even under a Canadian sun) without some kind of head protection.  Now, I HATE HATE HATE hats, bandanas, babushkas, scarves, toques etc.  Anything that goes on my head and across my forehead makes me think of sweaty zits.  It probably goes back to my teen angst years, who knows?  The truth of the matter is that hats make me very nervous.  But I don't have much of a choice, do I?


Now the complicating factor in Canada is that it's not always hot.  Sometimes the hat isn't so much about protection from the sun, but protection from the freakin' cold.  

Joy's headgear!

Hats:  For me, bandanas and scarves and even the cool multipurpose headwear that Nomi uses (and that she's bought for me to try) don't really work.  I think it's because I've got a huge head (or at least a vast forehead), and so these sorts of things tend to slip back.  What does work for me, though are hats.  I finally caved in and bought a hat for the summer (the pink Adidas one in the pic), and what I love about it is that I can throw it in the wash right after using it.  It's lightweight material, and it dries quickly, so I don't have to worry about it getting sweaty and bacteria-ie in between uses.  Then I also have a Craft balaclava (the bank-robber ski mask in the pic), which I use when I'm running and/or skiing in the very cold weather (like -20C or so).  It's necessary, but uncomfortable.  The part around the mouth gets all wet from the condensation from breathing, and if I wear sunglasses, then usually I can't have the balaclava part all the way up over my nose, because then it fogs up my glasses.  But it's better than nothing on those really cold days.  I also LOVE LOVE LOVE my winter Rapha hat (the one that says "rapha" duh).  Rapha is a relatively new company that makes cycling clothes and accessories.  It's amazing.  We buy tonnes of stuff online (even paying the exorbitant duty to bring in our items from the UK).  And their winter hat is great.  I use it cycling and skiing in the winter, and I've never had such a cozy hat.  The only downside is that there's no space for me to pull my ponytail through the back, so I have to wear side braids or pigtails on either side of my ears, making me feel like I'm 9 years old.  My Nike running hat (the grey one in the pic) remedies this.  It has a hole in the back, so I can pull my ponytail through, and...presto...I'm set to go.  The only downside, is that this hat isn't really for very cold weather.  Only about -10C or so.  


If I could get away with it...I'd be a no-hat athlete, but sometimes you can't get exactly what you want!

SKIN PROTECTANT:

Nomi can't live without BodyGlide.

Bodyglide:  Any body part that rubs against each other will chafe after hours of running. Or body parts that rub against certain parts of clothes like seams of bra tops of the buckle of the water bottle carrier. These anti blister balms do help up to a certain extent. It's the only product that i have tried. I know some friends who use plain vaseline and say they work as well.

Joy's skincare arsenal.

Bodyglide:  I'm with Nomi on this one.  I need BodyGlide, especially where my water bottle carrier rubs against my lower back on long runs.  Without BodyGlide there, I get these horrible wounds that hurt when the salt from my sweat gets in them.  


Sunscreen/Bug Spray:But for me, I have more problems than just chafing.  While Nomi's from the tropics, my Canadian skin can't take the tropical sun or the tropical mosquitoes.  Even though I'm from Winnipeg, a place known as the Mosquito Capital of Canada, those Malaysian mosquitoes pack quite a different punch when they get their little stingers into me.  I get these bumps nearly an inch in diameter that are SO CRAZY ITCHY.  So for me, I need sunscreen to prevent me from bursting into flame (or frying like bacon, as Nomi put it once in a post), and I need bug spray to prevent me from becoming some sort of puffed up creature made insane with itches.


All in all, that's a snapshot of our favourite things, things that help us do the sports that we love, that help us run, and that help to keep us sane!  We also have a battery of other items - like our technological gadgets (our garmins), like our favourite sunglasses, like our favourite water bottle carriers - and maybe we'll tell you about those one day.  For now, get out there and buy up all the GUs you can...you won't be disappointed!