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Sunday, May 8, 2016

The nuun plus Benefits



I have tried many electrolyte hydration tabs over my years of running. I have even tried several recipes of my own. With each experience my reviews tend to narrow to one aspect of these tabs, whether or not I can stomach them into the later miles of my long runs.

For the most part, every tab is pleasant enough during the early stages of the run. And my experiences with the flavored nuun products have all been positive in this regard. Whatever the flavor they provide a light flavor and sweetness and a well-balanced electrolyte lift. I am a big fan of this brand as I can generally tolerate the tabs late into my long runs. But even with the nuun tabs I tend to opt for straight water, or a watered down mix hour after hour on my ultras. Enter the nuun plus, a flavorless version of the nuun line. 

When I first learned of this product I was very excited. I eagerly dissolved a tab into my water bottle and headed out onto my run. Initially the experience was interesting. There was NO flavor and really no indication I was actually enjoying an electrolyte replacement solution. But this was a good thing as the miles progressed. With each refill of my bottle there was no hesitancy regarding whether I would skip the solution or opt for water. I continued using the nuun plus throughout my run.

Over the course of the intervening months I have relied on the nuun plus for every long run. More recently I have alternated flavors and then introduced the nuun plus later in my runs. The nuun plus is a great product and it has made a vast difference in my comfort during my long runs by providing the electrolyte replenishment without any sweetness to work around.

Highly recommended!

The Saucony Kinvara 7 Review



Broken record time…

Every time I review a new pair of Saucony’s Kinvara series I feel obligated to begin my review with the same introduction. I have enjoyed every release of this shoe since my first experience with version 2. It is my “go to” shoe for every race day effort and I just love the feel of this shoe. The Kinvara series has been a consistently great shoe for this runner. And now to the newest release in the series, the Kinvara 7.

However, my initial impressions of the Kinvara 7 were somewhat mixed. On my first outing, a routine 6 mile run, I felt the she was more cushioned than its predecessor, so much so that I returned to my series 6 shoes for the next group of runs including my most recent marathon effort, the Raleigh Rock and Roll Marathon.

After the marathon I dedicated more time in the Kinvara 7 and over the next runs my impression evolved to a return to loving this new release. I guess the overly cushioned feel from my first runs was more a result of tripping out into a new shoe than any significant design change by Saucony. The new Kinvara 7 lives up to my love of it’s former selves and adds a bit of enhanced features I have learned to appreciate.

Yesterday I headed out a 19 mile run on a beautiful Saturday morning. This run was a final long run in prep for my next 50 miler June 11th. My hope was I would work through this run without any concerns with the Kinvara 7. And my hopes were fulfilled. Throughout the run the shoe provided a comfortable breathable fit. The Kinvara provided a nice soft, but never squishy platform for each step but I did not sense any motion control features. I did not adjust the laces at any time during the run there were no hotspots.

What can I say? I had no doubt I would love the new Kinvara 7. Even with the initial trepidation I had confidence the shoe would come through. The Kinvara series is the one shoe I could imagine pulling from the box on a race day morning with confidence. It never disappoints. It will be on my feet for to coming 50 miler, replaced only by the series 6 to rotate shoes in the North Carolina heat and humidity.

The Saucony Kinvara 7 is definitely highly recommended (as always)!