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The other day I finally made the purchase of some gadgets to help assist me with my training to hopefully increase my running and cycling potential.  Nothing like that instant performance feedback!  I’ve seen that many of you cannot live without your Garmins and I couldn’t help when I saw that Amazon had the Garmin 305 on sale for 48% off!  I’m a sucker for a sale, well I really don’t buy most things unless they are on sale, and I’ve been searching different brands/models for awhile now. . .

My wrists are pretty tiny so this thing looks like a brick on me, but hopefully it won’t bother too much.

Of course I had to get the cadence senor and the bike mount too!  Amazon you are so clever with your ‘you might also be interested in’ or ‘other people who bought this also bought’ . . .  yes, very clever 🙂

I also have been looking for something to hold my iphone when I run and some earphones that actually stay in my tiny ear canals.  For now I’ve just been holding it when I run outside and just blasting the volume as loud as it can go so everyone can hear that goes by 🙂

I tried out all these products on a run on Thursday and a bike ride/run today.  I was really interested to see how they work.  I really like how you can also log your workouts/runs on an included computer program with the Garmin.

My first attempt at using the Garmin was an epic failure!  I tried to read up on the manual to see how to use it and apparently I missed the memo on actually making sure the satellites find me before hitting start.  I guess I turned it on inside and it decided not to track me since there wasn’t a signal.  oops!  Well, I ended up running for about 45 minutes straight thanks to the timer, and I was feeling really great.  I actually think I popped a few big grins 🙂  but then all of a sudden I had this painful stitch on my side something fierce and it forced me to walk.  Noooo!  But I don’t want to stop, I feel good, I’m not gasping for air, why oh why did this happen??  If you guys have tips on stitches I’m all ears, but the gentleman at the running shop said to practice belly breathing?  We ended up going 4.3 miles.  I think I like the budfits, and although the armband was secure, I think I had it too high as it rubbed the skin under my arm pit, ouch!

Second attempt at using the Garmin was a little better.  This time I attached the cadence sensor for a bike ride.  We left fairly early in the morning, and while the sun was out I was FREEZING!!!  We don’t really have any winter bike gear (really important for chilly winds doh!), so I had to cut the ride a little short 🙁  But on our little detour we did find a new aquatic center that just opened up only about 8 miles from us!!!!  Super excited about that to start my attempt at swimming 🙂  Next on the list is a swimsuit *gulp*

Here are the bike stats:  (We stopped a few times and I didn’t stop the timer, oops)  Is there a way to make it stop automatically?

Time:  58:24

Distance:  12.6 miles

Avg Pace:  13 mph, Max Pace:  24.3mph

Since we didn’t get that great of a ride in, Chris and I decided to go for a little run and simulate a transition.  Chris is getting ready to run a 1/2 marathon in March and we both want to sign up for a triathlon for our 4th Anniversary in September.  I’m debating about doing a sprint or Olympic length.

My knees feel really good now, but my hip joint has started giving me problems.  I think something keeps getting out of place surrounding the socket, but I certainly don’t want to make it worse and just went for a short run & Chris kept running.  Not that great, but I’m determined to get there!  Aerobically I already feel A LOT better 🙂

Time:  18:00

Distance:  1.89 miles

Avg Pace:  9:30 min/mi

After the run and ride Chris and I re-fueled with a new product we are giving a try called Recoverite.  Even though I firmly believe in whole foods before supplements, I like to try, experiment and research different sports products out there to keep up to date and see if they are really worth it.  The main premise behind this product is its 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein which is ideal for endurance athletes (of course this can always be obtained with regular food too).  It contains 3g of glutamine which has been shown to regulate protein synthesis, spare glycogen, prevent over training syndrome (next FYF topic!), improve recovery and immune system function.  Much of the research on glutamine and athletes doesn’t really show any added immune function in healthy individuals, but can be extremely beneficial for trauma patients or those who are compromised.

I actually liked this strawberry flavor a lot.  It doesn’t taste really weird like most fruit flavored products.  I like to mix it with about 1 cup of NF milk and it tastes like strawberry milk!

Per serving (2 scoops):  180kcals, 10g protein, 33g carbohydrates + 3g glutamine, Carnosine, Tyrosine, Glycine, B6, electrolytes and chromium.

Other goodies that I’ve been trying include:

I bought 1 carton of Siggi’s yogurt the other day since it was on sale (this stuff isn’t cheap, geezsh!)  and it was very unique and surpassed my expectations.  I tried the pomegranate and passion fruit flavor and I like how there weren’t chunks of weird gooey fruit, but it was smooth like butta’.  It wasn’t quite like Greek in texture, but I’m not sure how to explain it?  More like creamy cheesecake maybe?  It was very rich and filling with 13 g of protein.  I also like how it was fairly low in carbs with only 13g, unlike most fruited yogurts, which preserved that slightly tart and tangy yogurt flavor.  I’d like to get them again, but they are pretty pricey for the budget.

I found these ‘less guilt’ tortilla chips at TJ’s and thought to give them a try atop a Mexican casserole I was whippin’ up for dinner.  They are actually really good!  Of course they have a slightly different texture than regular tortilla chips, but I actually enjoyed having less oil and more crunch. *note to self* do not open tortilla chip bag while making dinner or else too many will be consumed, munch on carrots instead lol

I’m still tweaking this Mexican casserole recipe, but it sure tasted great and was vegetarian, as I used veggie crumbles. Chris couldn’t even tell the difference until I told him!  hehe

Do you have any training gadgets you can’t live without?

Any tips on preventing stitches?

Thanks for reading, hope you’ll join me on my triathlon training adventures 🙂  Let me know if you have any biking questions!!

If you haven’t yet, make sure to enter my Giveaway which ends Monday!