Gear review: Mizuno Breath Thermo

The running store near me (aptly named The Running Store) had a Mizuno event today demoing the breath thermo running clothes that generate heat while wicking moisture.

Dave, from Mizuno, had little packets of lint-looking material. He explained that the material is the breath thermo material they weave into the clothing. The theory behind the material is that not only do you get cold because of the air temperature, but then when you sweat, you get more cold. He then put the material in my hand and squeeze some water on top of it. The material immediate soaked up the water and seemed to expand slightly. Most surprisingly, it was warm! (And no, the water itself was not warm.) Dave explained that the material reacts to water (sweat) and actually generates heat, in the neighborhood of one to two degrees.

Dave then showed me some products. I chose the Breath Thermo Layered Tights and the Breath Thermo Stretch Crew. I also got a hat, headband, and gloves. The gave me a free gift with purchase of a lovely bright orange vest with reflective striping.

This evening I went for a run with my new gear. I wore the tights, the crew shirt, and the headband, along with the bright orange goober vest (which still some ningcumpoop in an SUV decided not to see). The vest has a nylon solid, but thin, front and mesh back. The air temperature was in the low 40s. Yesterday in similar temperature, I wore Under Armor tights, short sleeve base layer, long sleeve half-zip, and a cheap jacket and was just a tad bit too warm.

Tonight, I was actually very comfortable. The first five minutes (walking) was a little chilly, but a quickly started warming up once I started running, and I stayed warm for the rest of my run. I think I would be warm in just the pants and shirt down to the high 30s.

The clothing is soft and comfortable, although I will probably remove the tag in the pants because it started itching. The sizes do seem to run small. I generally wear a small or medium in tops and medium or large in pants. I got the medium top and large pants, but they are probably still a bit too small. They are snug when on, but I though ok from the inactive dressing room try on. Once I was running the pants rode down a bit and the top rode up a bit. That meant the one part of my body that was cold was my midriff area.

Overall, I am very happy with the Mizuno breath thermo clothing. Hopefully losing a few pounds will solve the issue with the pants riding down and the shirt up.

Today I passed a road block!

Between being sick and my EMT class I haven't been quite on top of the training and I hit a bit of a road block with week 4 of the Zen Labs 10k training app. This is the first week with more running than walking (even including the warm up and cool down). It has a total of 16 minutes of jogging and increased the longest jogging segments to 5 minutes.

After about 2 weeks and 5 attempts at it, tonight I finally finished the whole thing without any unplanned walking breaks! I did pull my speed back just a bit, so next time I'll try to push the speed back up a bit.

Gear review: UR Sportswear

A friend recommended UR Sportswear running shorts, so I picked up a couple through a daily deal website.

I started running with them this week and love them! They stay in place really well and are so comfortable. Instead of pulling at my shorts the whole run, I actually just forgot about them.

When I first pulled them out, they looked really really short, but when on, they are a reasonable length. I ordered two pair in different colors, in eggplant and jade. The colors are bright and attractive.

Based on the size charts, I ordered a size large. This is the only thing I'm not perfectly happy with. I probably could have gone with a medium, but the larges aren't way too big, so they'll work. Check them out at UR Sportswear.

Progress!

So great to see progress already!

I forgot to put my water bottle in the fuel belt as I headed out for my run, which with my asthma, is generally a recipe for disaster. I noticed about 7 minutes in. I decided to keep going, but back off on the intensity a bit.

Amazingly, not only did I finish the workout without problems, but I even slightly increased my distance!

Can't wait to see what I can do on Friday when I have my water with me and I can really push myself.

First running lesson

I am a cyclist. I have my cycling gear down to a science, but I'm quickly learning I have some to learn when it comes to running. When I am cycling the air flow over me dries the sweat on my face. When I am running, the salty sweat drips down into my eyes, stinging quite a bit.

So today I picked up some cheap sweat bands to see if that will solve the problem.

Now to go test them!

UPDATE: It did seem to help, even if I did feel rather dorky in it.

The first challenge: Running

I have never been a runner. Never. I was a goalie in the obligatory season of soccer in elementary school cause the goalie doens't need to run. I never did finish a mile without walking some in middle school gym class. In high school I was on the diving team.

I always blamed my asthma- that it's just too hard to find a running pace that doesn't get to my lungs. However, with all the biking I've done in the last few years I am beginning to realize that the asthma, while sometimes a limiting factor, doesn't actually stop me if I don't want it too.

I have recently tried running a bit. But, now I need to run half a marathon. After swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56 miles. That's way more than a bit of running.

I am starting my running training using an application I have downloaded to my iPhone. Zen Labs has several running applications designed to take you from couch potato (when it comes to running, I definitely qualify as a couch potato) to a 5k, 10k, half, or full marathon.

I have used the 5k application for a few weeks before and generally liked it. I have now upgrade to the 10k app. In 14 short weeks, it says I will be able to run a 10k.

Check out the application, and check back with me to see if I make it!

Zen Labs 10k Trainer