Five favorite things I used at Ragnar

I promise legs 2 and 3 are coming soon, but this has been a rough week with two back to school nights.  I’m just plain wiped out at this point. (Case in point – I overslept this morning for the first time in ages.  Thankfully Beer Geek woke me up before I slept past when the kids need to get up.)

Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia suggested “Five Favorites” as the topic for today’s Friday Five, so I’m going to share with you five products that made Ragnar a better experience than it would have been without them.  (It still would have been good, but these were helpful.)

1.  Body Armour hydration – I was sent a bottle of each flavor to try.  From a flavor standpoint, they were awesome.  Add in the fact that they are all natural, contain lots of electrolytes and vitamins, and have coconut water as the base and I’m sold!  These were real life savers for me.  I drank one shortly before I ran my first leg and it got me hydrated and gave me some calories without upsetting my stomach.  I drank another during the time that shall not be discussed.  Let’s just say I was in desperate need of getting liquid back into my body.

2.  Shower Pills – I was sent a few of these to try and they were exactly what I needed.  I’m pretty sure I used them when I ran the Flying Pirate Half Marathon and we had to just wipe down before we drove the 6 hours home.   Baby wipes would have sufficed, but I find they leave me sticky.  Shower wipes left me feeling clean.  That’s saying a lot considering how sweaty I was when I finished my first leg and that I only got one shower the whole time.

3. Knuckle Lights – I won these at the Another Mother Runner party last year.  My initial reaction to winning them was “huh, I’ll never use those. I don’t run when it’s dark.”  To say I was nervous about running in the middle of the night is a bit of an understatement.  These turned out to be just what I needed.  They helped light my way and, more importantly, I could be seen for miles LOL.

I don’t have a picture of me, but look how bright they made Deborah!

4. My new Garmin 220 – You all know my GPS woes.  I babied my 350 along for as long as I could, but it just finally died on me.  I was a kickstart supporter for Bia, but I just couldn’t make it work for me.  It finally came down to not being able to see the numbers (getting old sucks). So, I bough myself a 220 as a birthday present and I’m totally in love with it.  It’s lightweight, accurate (my legs were spot on), and has a backlight.  I’ve got it set up to rotate two screens with information I want to see.  I know I can download info, but I haven’t tried that yet.  Such an awesome little watch for not too terrible an amount of money.

5. Lace Lockerz – OK, these didn’t improve my experience.  Why?  BECAUSE I FORGOT TO WEAR THEM! And guess what, my shoes came untied 3 times in my second let.  3!  Gah!  Seriously, the only thing I don’t love about my Altra’s is that they do come untied easily.  Last spring, Lace Lockerz offered me a pair to try out.  They totally work!  And they are easy to move between shoes.  But I didn’t…

Ragnar was awesome (I promise I’ll stop writing about it soon).  I could have survived without the above things, except maybe my Garmin, but these things certainly made it more pleasant and I’d definitely pack them again.

Disclaimer: I was given some of the above, I bought the rest.  All opinions are my own.