 what to say I'll say this much we're gonna be wearing a lot of blue on the vlog in the coming months oh my goodness this is way more than I expected I'm ever grateful and I was seriously considering buying a little more winter running gear in the not so distant future because it's starting to get cold it snowed yesterday two days ago here in Denver but I think I'm set now oh my goodness again a shout out to USA track and field Nike providing all of this goodness here I'm just blown away and again remaining grateful all the time so okay we're gonna talk about running gear that I have been trying and testing for frankly months now and I just have not had the chance to talk with all of you about so we're gonna do something a little different here in a minute I just got to clear all this off oh yeah and I'm gonna test all this tomorrow in tomorrow's vlog I frankly ran out of time today just unpacking and laying it all out laying it all out so I will try on the gear in tomorrow's vlog oh my goodness ah you guys are the best you're the best keeping me honest keeping me going get me to the mountain to Argentina for the world mountain running championships mm-hmm mm-hmm mm-hmm mm-hmm okay everyone it's a long overdue vlog talking about running gear oh yeah you know how much we love running gear here on the channel and let's see gonna ask the question of the day here in a minute but I'm filming in the house right now not in the studio because in the studio I have to stand up and I'm trying to preserve my legs as much as possible for New York City in about eight days from now seven days from now so that's why I'm sitting in here to talk to you yes about running gear that spans many different running gear categories and that's the question of the day what what category of running gear are you most excited about or intrigued about and let's say the next three to four months between now and let's say early January 2020 and it could be running socks running shoes outerwear recovery gear recovery supplements or food um sunglasses it could be watches running gear tech all of these different categories that are out there so if I had to pick one hmm I do love running recovery gear I must say that would probably be my choice but let us know down in the comments that would be amazing okay let's dive in we're gonna run through all this is as as efficient as possible I'm not gonna go into as much detail as I usually would about the running shoes because I'm busy so I with all the travel all the races it's very exciting but it's definitely I've noticed cut into my time and remember when I was doing the double publishing in July and August the blog and running shoe reviews I just it's been a little difficult lately with all the travel so that's why I'm doing a catch-all catch-up blog right now let's go okay starting over here on the left we've got my Smith chroma pop max sunglasses you know how much I love these I actually got these on sale I think they're still expensive though I realized sunglasses break you lose them I love these because of the how big the lenses are in my eyes are pretty sensitive to the sun but these are my Smith chroma pop max sunglasses I just love them pretty durable and yes the if I can pop them off there there we go so the arm actually pops off in case you step on them I've dropped them stepped on them a couple times and that the arm does not break it just pops off so it's really nice design for that and as far as the lenses go they're very dirty right now but not too many scratches because I realized as you buy expensive sunglasses but then they get scratched that's no fun so anyway love these so so much okay over here the stability disc from power systems this is to work on my foot strength especially and my lower ankle I really my massage therapist knows I have a few little aches and pains some niggles in my feet and that has always been my my weak points with the plantar fasciitis the stress fractures so I'm just can I just pick this up maybe a month ago I should have picked this up 10 years ago and do ink I do ankle rotations in the gym but now I can do them at my house all the time ankle rotations balance exercises so many different ways to use this stability disc but it does not come with a pump just so you know I had to go to Target and pick up this you know $6 pump so if it'll arrive at your house flat if you order it from Amazon just so you know okay moving on here we go to all man so at the end of 2019 I will do a vlog all about the best running gear of 2019 I don't know how anything is gonna trump the hyper I can never remember the name the hyper ice viper 2.0 this is the vibrating foam roller and it's amazing you all know how much I use this every single day and it's just incredible so hyper ice viper 2.0 it might go down as my 2019 running gear of the year item if that makes sense okay moving on here we go I think I'll save the watches for here in one second let's jump to the Unibed elite recovery mix this is the creamy vanilla flavor and over here we've got the cocoa turmeric flavor so I was running 100 plus mile weeks leading into Amsterdam and I was tired and I was I was tired and immediately after the runs especially the long runs you all saw me how much I drank one of these packets every single day and is it working at the end of the day it's hard to really really really know but I must say I felt better and I was able to train at 100 plus mile weeks for three or four weeks leading into Amsterdam and what I've been able to do it without those recovery mixes yes I probably would have been able to but I'm telling you I felt better after drinking these recovery mixes so I'm a fan I'm gonna continue to use them and as far as a few supple ingredients real quick I mean it's a 4 to 1 carbohydrate to protein ratio which I know is good for recovery it's got 610 milligrams of electrolytes a hundred in CG of vitamin K 2 7 for muscle cramp prevention and cardio respiratory fitness 25 mcg 1000 IU of vitamin D 3 which we all know is important for injury prevention and bone health and then a bunch of a bunch of other things bottom line I'm a fan so far of the Unaved elite recovery mix now onto the gels I'm not quite as excited about the Unaved gels only because I think these gels are too intense for shorter races or shorter training runs meaning they pack a punch when you put this back you know you're putting something back and it's it tastes good but it's it's just very rich you know what I mean and I could see these Unaved gels being very very effective for like 100 mile races 50 mile races 50 case longer races especially toward the end when you're just totally depleted anyway I just don't know if I would be using Unaved gels too too much in shorter distance races shorter meaning like a half marathon or a marathon which I know is crazy to say but when you've done longer races like I have I could see these being good for later in the race okay moving on I am really loving though the spring energy gels okay here's the peanut butter flavor and then the icy mango on top peanut butter I love these gels they taste like real food you know what I mean some gels like I am not a fan of goo sorry if you're a fan of goo but they just I don't like gels it tastes so sugary and it's probably because I don't like candy that I don't like those types of gels so but spring it just like this literally tastes like peanut butter and it goes down easy anyway I'm really enjoying spring energy gels a lot a little bit more so than the Unaved gels okay moving on here we go I know we're covering a lot kind of quick here but thanks for sticking with me alright here we go to the watches we got the Sun 2 5 and the Polar Vantage V two very different price points you see it on your screen there two different price points and I'm gonna say you know the Sun 2 5 is more the introductory introductory GPS watch if you're just getting into running this would be perfect easy to use easy interface easy menus I only lost GPS signal once or twice in the last three months and then it picked it up again maybe a minute later now pretty good syncing with Strava okay pretty good syncing with Strava and again just simple easy GPS watch to use I'm a big fan and it appears that the barometer and our yeah the barometer is accurate for tracking my elevation gain so I like that a lot I like it Sun 2 5 bonus I'm a fan and I think the price point is pretty good given what you get out of the watch okay Polar Vantage V holy guacamole I'm not a data guy I'm not a heart rate guy it has been pretty fun though to use this watch I must say I'm trying not to glance at the watch too much on training runs but it was very effective well I shouldn't get us to be careful what I say in Amsterdam it was nice to be able to glance down at the watch now I obviously was going hard a little too fast at the beginning a little too fast maybe way too fast but it was fun to have the data I must say after the race especially about the cadence I thought was pretty neat so you don't need to wear a foot pod or a stride on your on your shoe now how accurate are both of these watches like take everything with a grain of salt I think technology will just continue to improve as the years go by but it appears that the data from this Polar Vantage V is pretty spot on I'm just gonna say it I think the heart rate is pretty spot on and altimeter as far as tracking the elevation gain and what else okay oh it has been a little bit of a pain in the neck sinking to Strava in fact the day of the Amsterdam marathon it took it didn't sink to Strava I actually had to download from it was like a five-hour process trying to get my Amsterdam marathon up to Strava which I love doing to share with all of you who are on Strava so it has struggled a little bit with sinking to Strava I will just say that much so far so good now price point maybe a little high okay that's a pretty significant cost but I would say like once you buy this watch like if you're okay with it like just use this watch for five years or 10 years so if I think it will last for a long long time okay all right moving on real quick I'm gonna try and be concise here so the Skechers Max Road 4 and the A6 glide ride again I'm gonna throw up a few titles on the screen for you as far as some data about the shoes but I will continue the full running shoe review videos as soon as life calms down a little bit and I'm not traveling quite as much okay Skechers Max Road 4 it's that knit upper the midsole is that hyperburst midsole and then the outsole is these little pods of rubber to help protect the outsole I'm just gonna say a little concerned about the durability of the bottom of the Max Road 4 I foresee the shoe topping out at 400 miles is that's just based on the mileage I've already done so you know if you want a shoe that goes the distance this might not be for you also it's a booty style collar here that wraps around your ankle I am not a fan I don't like it I like the comfort but I don't like how my it just doesn't feel like my ankle is locked into the shoe so I'm not a fan of the collar the rest of the upper is just fine just the the eyelet chain is great as far as lockdown and the midsole I must say it feels a little bit like a hoca it has that rocker feel to it through the midsole if you're a hoca fan I bet you'll like the ride of this this hyper this Max Road 4 with a hyperburst midsole foam so it's a maximalist shoe road neutral and today I was finally thinking well I took the insole out of the Max Road 4 and put Spenco plus the insole plus this hyperburst midsole and my legs were so happy because yes I am recovering from Amsterdam they were so happy in this shoe it was amazing in fact between now in New York City I think this will be my go-to shoe just to help the legs feel better recover better from Amsterdam okay moving on to the ASICS glide ride here we go there it is the ASICS glide ride this is my first ASICS shoe since high school I think I think a lot of you would agree that ASICS is kind of catching up a little bit in the comfort category with all running shoes a lot of running shoes have become a little more softer through the midsole a little more comfortable through the gate cycle a little more forgiving and I think ASICS is starting to figure it out like we need to soften up our midsole well this is still a firm ride but compared to a lot of other shoes like Nike or hoca of course but I must say overall the midsole feels really really good and how Mizuno and ASICS they are crushing the competition when it comes to the lifespan and durability of their running shoes I'm telling you the build quality of this shoe you could get I'm telling I think you could get a thousand miles out of this shoe so if you're someone that's pinching pennies and doesn't like to buy shoes every month or every two months get an ASICS or get a Mizuno if you can withstand the a little more firm ride I'm telling you like the build quality I can just I can sense it and feel it as you hold it now it's a little again it's a little more stiff compared to other shoes but I really appreciate how ASICS and Mizuno but how this ASICS glide ride it just will I can tell it's gonna go the distance so very um I'm excited about it I'm excited to try and yes like that outsole there it is like nowhere in tear after quite a few miles already in it and there's a few stats on your screen for the ASICS glide ride with respect to weight and drop and price and I hopefully I put that up there for the Skechers Max Road 4 as well and that is that I know that was a very brief overview but would I buy the ASICS glide ride again yes yes I would the Skechers Max Road 4 maybe yeah probably because of this collar I put it in a maybe category but it was really nice today to help my legs recover that is that I hopefully hopefully that helps kind of summarize all the gear I've been talking about or sorry that I've been testing in the past two to three months and thank you for your patience with respect to the full running shoe reviews they will resume at some point but it's probably gonna be after New York maybe even after Argentina it's just like there's only there's only 24 hours in a day as I like to say so that is that all right I love you all we're gonna toss it back to two vlogs on the right and the left that talk about running gear in the past six months on the right and the left there and we'll just you know I cannot wait to read your comments by the way I'm excited to do that so all right see beauty work hard and love each other see you tomorrow