FootBalance QuickFit Insoles

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

FootBalance QuickFit Blue Insoles

One of the great things FootBalance offers is custom molded insoles… if you have access to one of their dealer locations with the molding equipment. However, they’ve got a DIY product for those of us that don’t have access to a nearby dealer but still want a molded aftermarket insole for our shoes. I received a pair of the QuickFit Blue insoles and have had a chance to cut, mold, and wear them.

I found the QuickFit insoles to be super easy to mold by following the included instructions. I simply pulled an existing pair of insoles from a pair of my shoes, traced them onto the FootBalance insoles and cut the toe area to size. While doing this, I was preheating my oven so it would be ready to heat up the new insoles. I put the trimmed FootBalance insoles into the oven on a baking sheet until the attached indicator sticker told me that the desired heat had been reached (great idea). Once this happened I just had to pull the QuickFit insoles out, place them in my shoes, and wear them. As they cooled, they molded to my shoes and feet. One step that isn’t in the instructions is to make sure you let your significant other know that you are using the oven and a baking sheet for CLEAN/NEW insoles! Also, wash the baking sheet!

Simple QuickFit do-it-yourself molding process

After giving the QuickFit insoles times to cool and form I removed my shoes and pulled out the insoles. They had definitely changed shape to fit the contours of my shoe and come a little closer to the shape of my foot. The heating and molding process seemed to do a great job of speeding up the time it would take to “naturally” work in a new insole. After I pulled the insoles out, they held their new shape and the great part was that I could use them in other shoes as well.

After heating, molding, and cooling the insoles hold the shape of the shoe and foot

For running, I generally stick to the stock insoles that come with my shoes. Where I have been using these FootBalance QuickFit insoles the most is in my casual shoes that I wear to work every day. I find they feel great on my feet and provide arch support and more stability and firm cushioning than the crappy insoles that come with many casual or dress shoes. If you use insoles for running or day to day use, I would recommend checking these out. An important thing to remember that as with anything new on your feet, you should gradually ease into them, especially if you use them for running. The QuickFit insoles aren’t going to give you what a custom pair of orthotics would, but they will give you an insole that immediately forms to your foot.

Check out the FootBalance website to see all of their products, and find out where to buy them. They have a few insole options that you can use straight out of the box – and many more that can be custom molded. They even have a heated pair that I might have to try next winter! Thanks for checking out the blog and feel free to ask questions, give comments, and share the review!

Fresh out of the oven, and ready to go!

Ultimate Direction Signature Series Scott Jurek Ultra Vest Review

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

I finally got my hands on one of the 3 “Signature Series” hydration packs that Ultimate Direction released late in 2012. They have been in high demand, and seemed even harder to find in Canada. Ultimate Direction athletes Scott Jurek, Anton Krupicka, and Peter Bakwin each put their names to a unique vest that was designed for their running needs. I tested Mr. Jurek’s pack called the SJ Ultra Vest.

Ultimate Direction’s Scott Jurek Signature Series Ultra Vest has sleeves for 2 bottles up front

Jurek’s needs included having easy access to bottles, so the defining feature of this pack is the two chest mounted bottle holsters. The SJ Ultra Vest can also accommodate a hydration bladder in the rear compartment, with ports on either side to feed a hose out to the front. The pack ships with the two bottles, but if you’re a bladder person you’ll have to buy this separately.

This pack features a variety of unique, lightweight fabric

The first thing I noticed about this pack was that it was REALLY light! The fabrics and design were obviously selected to reduce the weight carried over longer ultra distances. This light fabric also made the pack more breathable. Among the unique features found on this pack was the use of something called Cuben fibre. This stuff looked like scrunched up wax paper, but in reality is much more durable. Apparently this is the same fabric used on sails for racing yachts, and I doubt they would use something that rips or wears out easily! Along with this super light fabric the vest had a ton of mesh which provided great air flow and ventilation.

Ultimate Direction super light Cuben fibre

Ultimate Direction’s super light Cuben fibre

Two Ultimate Direction 20oz Kicker bottles come with the SJ Ultra Vest, and they are one of my favourite water bottle designs for running. I use these bottles regularly – the valve is great once you get the hang of it, and I never have issues with leakage. It’s also worth noting that if you don’t need the full 40oz of fluids, the bottle holsters can be cinched up to carry smaller bottles, or other items like a camera.

The Ultra Vest ships with two 20oz Kicker bottles

The SJ Ultra Vest had lots of great storage options up front, as well as in the rear pack section. The bottle holsters had mesh sleeves on both sides that were great for sliding gels (and empty gel packages) into. The upper chest straps had small mesh pockets with velcro closures that held my ipod, and car key (along with an emergency whistle that came with the pack). Below the bottle holsters were two smaller horizontal pockets with velcro flaps closures. One was mesh, and the other was Cuben Fibre that could carry stuff you want to keep dry(er). Under the arms there was a large zippered pocket on each side. I used this to carry larger items, including a camera and small tripod and didn’t even notice they were in there. This section of the vest also had even larger velcro pockets that could be used to stuff bars, gels, a buff, or a hat for quick access. Of course, the pack section of the vest had the main storage volume. There were two main pockets with vertical zipper closures. A smaller pocket was a good spot to stuff extra clothing and anything you wanted to prevent from getting wet (though I wouldn’t call it waterproof). The larger pocket had a bungee cord lashing system inside and would be used if you carried a hydration bladder. Because this was the part against my back, I found that perspiration definitely made its way in. The outside of the rear pack section has a series of bungee cords and lash points to secure even more stuff including poles, and even an ice axe.

Loads of storage accessible from the front

Overall I was really impressed with this new offering from Ultimate Direction. They have obviously invested the time into listening to their athlete’s needs and building super functional packs for running. A smart move when you’ve got the knowledge of guys like Jurek, Krupicka, and Bakwin to draw on. This was the first time I had used a pack with bottles up front, and I was honestly surprised at how well it worked. The bottles bounced, but always with me and it felt totally natural. I expected that I would have had to cinch the vest up really tight to keep everything in place – this was not the case at all. I could close it up so that it was comfortable, and it still stayed in place. In the video I linked below, you can see the bottles moving, but always with my body. This is a great pack to consider if you like using bottles. Based on how much I liked this Signature Series pack, I would definitely recommend checking out the others as well if they are more suited to your needs. Ultimate Direction has done their homework with these packs, and it really shows in how the SJ Ultra Vest performed.

Gran Fondo Niagara Falls Pre-Ride

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

The organizers of Gran Fondo Niagara Falls sent out invites to a pre-ride event on May 11, 2013 and I was lucky enough to get one. The plan was to ride a portion of the actual Gran Fondo route that riders will follow in September. I was really looking forward to participating in the pre-ride to get out for a good ride, meet some people that I had only corresponded with electronically, and experience what a Gran Fondo Canada event is all about. I wasn’t disappointed with any of these three expectations!

The weather wasn’t great – after a few weeks of warm, sunny days the clouds, cold and wind weren’t welcome. That being said, with a couple extra layers the ride was quite comfortable. The rain stayed away and everyone seemed to stay warm.

Registration at beautiful Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery

Gran Fondo Canada pulled out all the stops for this pre-ride. The start/finish area was Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery, a beautiful facility with great staff. We arrived to tables full of water bottles, gels, hydration mix, water, coffee, and anything else you might need prior to a ride. After signing in, we chose whether to ride a 50km or 90km route. I chose 90km so I could take full advantage of having this available time for a ride. Each of the distances had a number of group leaders from a local cycling team – Team 905. They did a great job keeping us on the right track.

The route had a couple of fully stocked aid stations set up – more gels, candies, and waffles from Honey Stinger and lots of water and fruit to keep us fuelled up. We were definitely spoiled on this group ride!

Fully stocked aid stations greeted us on the route

Eventually we made it back to Jackson-Triggs where a great lunch reception awaited us. We refilled the tanks with a delicious lunch and lots of wine from the folks at Jackson-Triggs. Everything was perfect, and I was wishing I came back to that after every ride!

3 of 4 Gran Fondo Niagara Falls Blog Ambassadors! Laura, Cherry, and I

Following lunch Dean Hachey shared his passion for Gran Fondo Niagara Falls, and updated us with some great news about the event. He described how Gran Fondo Niagara Falls will benefit a number of causes like Share the Road, The Big Move Ride to support the local Walker Family Cancer Centre, and Variety Village. Dean also broke the news that the Niagara Wine Festival would be extended by 1 weekend to coincide with Gran Fondo Niagara Falls. This is awesome, and hopefully people will come down and experience the region by bike, and then by sampling its wine!

I put together a little video to give a feel for some of the terrain and scenery along the part of the route we rode at the pre-ride. Hopefully the weather in September will be even better, and the scenery even more beautiful. This will be such a unique experience, and I can’t wait to share it with thousands of other cyclists. This pre-ride gave me full confidence that Gran Fondo Canada will make sure that each one of the participants has a great experience, no matter what level of cyclist they may be.

HoneyMaxx Sports Drink Review

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

Disclaimer: As mentioned in my announcement post, I have been selected as an Ambassador for HoneyMaxx. Obviously that gives any review of the product a bias, but I will say that I wouldn’t choose to use this for the amount that I train if I didn’t truly like it. Please be aware of this as you read my review, and try it yourself to see if it works for you!

HoneyMaxx is a newcomer to the vast sports drink industry, with a product that brings a couple of unique features to the table. It is a powder based mix that is now available in Lemon-Lime and Orange flavours. In terms of its unique features; first, the main ingredient in the powder is honey, a natural source of energy that has been shown to have highly desirable properties for athletes. Secondly, its’ ingredient list is all natural. While sports nutrition products obviously don’t grow wild on trees, it is nice to find products like this that use natural ingredients rather than a mixture of chemicals.

During the development of the first two HoneyMaxx flavours I had the chance to try out the prototype mixes and provide my feedback to the company. The product was good, but I felt it needed a few tweaks to make it great. At the time I was impressed with how my body digested it, and its balance of carbs and electrolytes. I have now had the opportunity to try to the production version of the mix that was just launched, and it is great. I am still happy with how my digestive system handles it, and improvements have been made in the taste and dissolvability of the product.

HoneyMaxx comes in 500g bags which is about 20 servings

One of the greatest benefits I have found with powdered sports drinks is the ability to mix it to my own desired concentration. This allows me to control the level of carbs and electrolytes in my bottle, but also the flavour strength I prefer. When I mixed HoneyMaxx according to the recommended ratio of powder to water I was happy with the strength of the flavouring. The taste was noticeable, but not overpowering. I have found that over long periods, my tolerance to flavours drops off, so with HoneyMaxx I have simply mixed weaker bottles for later in my training. I liked having this level of control to avoid reducing my intake because I am craving a lighter flavour. HoneyMaxx didn’t have any chemical taste that I have found in other sports drinks, especially those that are powder based. Having two flavours was nice because I can’t stand the same flavour of anything for too long! The two were unique, and I didn’t sense any underlying similar taste that the flavour simply tried to mask. They tasted like two different drinks, as they should.

HoneyMaxx now comes in two flavours, Orange and Lemon-Lime

Depending on the duration of my training, HoneyMaxx may be all I would need for fuel, or for longer runs I would supplement it with other concentrated sources of calories (ie: gels). I have found it best to continually sip on the HoneyMaxx and have had no digestive issues when doing this. Honey has been shown to provide a more even absorption of energy, and with HoneyMaxx I haven’t noticed the spikes and drops in energy that I have had with some sugar based drinks.

As I have said before, sports nutrition and fueling is among the most individual decisions anyone makes in endurance sports. I have been happy with this product, and hope others consider giving it a shot if it sounds like it might work. If you have any questions about HoneyMaxx, check out the website or send me a message and I can try to answer. One tip I will give is to make sure you shake your bottles a lot to get it properly mixed – I have found its best to mix them and let it sit for 3-5 minutes, and then really shake it again.

Polar RC3 100th Anniversary Tour de France Edition Watch Giveaway Winner!

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

After a couple weeks worth of great comments on the Polar RC3 Tour de France Edition GPS Watch a winner has been selected…

Congratulations to Erik Kroman who will be using this watch for running and cycling while he trains for his first ironman this August. The RC3 will be great for this. It sounds like he needed some good luck after having his bike recently stolen.

Keep an eye out for my full review of the RC3 coming in the next few days. I’ve been using this watch for road riding, mountain biking, and lots of running and its been great.

I recorded the selection process just to make sure everyone could see the process was legit in (a terribly shot) video clip. Hopefully we’ll have more contests here in the future, so stay tuned! Thanks again for reading and following the blog!

I am a HoneyMaxx Ambassador!

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

I occasionally find myself in the (enviable) position of responding to requests to represent organizations or products, which in social media is commonly known as being an “ambassador.” This has become a common thing in the world of sports and social media, and many companies use this marketing approach. When these opportunities are presented, I give them careful thought. If the organization or product is one that I believe in and would be comfortable representing, my next consideration is how it will impact my objective gear reviewing ability for runbikerace.com. In the past, I have accepted two of these opportunities as I was happy to represent the organizations (GranFondo Niagara Falls and Northern Park Apparel), and I felt they would not impact my gear reviewing objectivity. I have turned down others that met my “believe in” criteria, but would have limited my perceived objectivity.

I am proud to announce I have accepted another “ambassadorship” for a new sports drink called HoneyMaxx. I have been working with HoneyMaxx through their product development process and had the opportunity to try some of their early versions and provided feedback. With the official market launch of their first two flavours, I have been asked to represent them. I am proud to be doing so. I use the product, and am happy with it.

In the wide world of sports drinks, HoneyMaxx offers a good balance of the nutrition and electrolytes I need, it’s all natural, and uniquely features honey as a main ingredient. I’ve been happy with how my body handles HoneyMaxx and plan to use it in my training and races. I always expect my relationships with companies to be mutually beneficial. Of course, I get something from the company, but I also want to help promote what is good about them, answer questions people have, provide real life experiences, and share feedback on the products. I am confident that I can do all of this with HoneyMaxx and that it will be valued.

I also recognize that representing this product certainly impacts my perceived objectivity in the realm of sports drinks. I have accepted this, and made my decision based on the fact that I feel any detailed review of a sports nutrition product is inherently subjective. Beyond the ingredients used, every other judgement of these products is based on how they react with my body. Since everyone is different, there isn’t a good way for me to objectively suggest that a product is “good” for anyone beyond me. I have shared my opinions on nutrition products in the past, but they are just that – my opinions. This differs from something like a shoe review, where there are many technical features that I can describe and review objectively. In this case, I have had a great experience with the product (and the company) and will represent it as something that works for me, and will work for other – possibly even you!

I want to spread awareness of HoneyMaxx as a sports drink option, and share why I like it. I believe in the product and the company. Hopefully that will result in people trying it for themselves, and deciding whether it works for them if it provides the energy, hydration, digestibility, and taste that suits them.

I am happy to say that HoneyMaxx works for me, and I hope you consider giving it a try and “reviewing” it yourself!

HoneyMaxx makes nice shirts too!

GranFondo Niagara Falls Training – Flat tire? No Problem!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Kent @runbikeraceblog

The other night I was out cruising some trails on my mountain bike when I encountered a guy pushing his bike towards me. Based on a quick look, he and the bike appeared physically fine. I slowed and asked if he was alright. “Yeah” he said, “but do you have a tube?” This isn’t the first time I’ve come across a rider, or been riding with someone, who had this problem. Turns out I did have the tube he needed, and the air he needed, and the tire lever he needed, all in a tiny little unobtrusive pack under my seat. No problem – my question is, why doesn’t everyone arm themselves with a similar kit?

As mentioned, I carry everything I need in a single small pack that straps under the saddle of my bike. I actually have a separate one for each of my bikes, which saves the hassle of repacking with an appropriate sized tube and tools for each ride. The stuff is always in the pack, and the pack is always with the bike. It’s there if I need it, and I rarely have to think about it.

My road bike seat pack – its not much larger than the tube itself

At a minimum on my road bike I carry a spare tube, CO2 cartidge and valve adapter, a tire lever, and a small cloth rag. I would also suggest a pair of thin rubber gloves if you’re worried about getting your hands dirty while changing a flat (especially for those with white bar tape!) This basic kit is going to keep you rolling if you end up with a flat, and adds very little weight to your bike. The whole thing is contained in a pack only slightly larger than the tube itself. If you’re racing, or in an event with mechancial support (like GranFondo Niagara Falls!) you can just take the whole thing off and leave it at home to save some grams. Every few weeks I will open it up and make sure everything is still there, clean, and ready to be used if necessary. Aside from what is in my seat pack I will sometimes supplement this with a small multitool in a jersey pocket (and usually a cell phone for major emergencies).

My MTB seat pack – a little bigger, but still barely noticeable until you need it

To me this is a no-brainer. When I get the chance to get out for a ride, I want to spend it riding and not pushing my bike down a trail or waiting at the side of the road for someone to pick me and my flat tire up. Of course you also need to make sure you know how to change a tire with the repair tools you are carrying. Practice with the CO2 cartridge and tire lever. Having this stuff with you, and knowing how to use it will make for a much better Gran Fondo training experience!

I have been selected to represent GranFondo Canada’s inaugural GranFondo Niagara Falls in 2013 as a blog ambassador. I will be posting a series of entries like this one leading up to the event, and wrap it up after participating in the ride in September.

runbikerace

somewhere to share my experience related to gear, races, and training. Posts are mainly focused on sports such as road and trail running, ultramarathon racing, cycling, and multisport.