Tag Archives: review

Two Cents: Yoga Studio App

January 23, 2013

If you’ve seen me in the gym, you’ll probably notice that I’m checking my phone frequently. No, I’m not checking Instagram (well, maybe), but I’m most likely following along with the Nike Training Club app. To this day, I haven’t found a strength training app, or any fitness app for that matter, that has beat or even matched it…and trust me, I’ve tried A LOT.

Well, that was until this month. There I was, scanning health and fitness apps like any normal person does (right?) and stumbled upon “Yoga Studio.” The name may lack creativity, but maybe they went for SEO instead of quirkiness. Whatever, I don’t really care because after one use I knew…this is right up there with NTC status. Yoga Studio is literally like having my own, personalized yoga studio in my pocket. Ready for me, anytime, anywhere, all personalized to whatever I’m after. Let’s talk about why…

Yoga Studio is a paid app (I can’t tell how much it is because I already bought it and now it won’t display the price, but I think it’s $1.99). Once you launch the app for the first time, click “Classes” an you can choose from any of the 30 pre-made yoga classes (I checked their dev site and apparently that’s more than 16 hours of FREE yoga), or create your own (more on that later).

You can scan the “Studio Classes” section based on ability (hello, beginner!), focus (balance for me, please) or duration (everything from 15 minutes to an hour).

What’s that you say? You’re a yoga pro? Well ok then…go ahead and make your own class. I’m not skilled like that so I’ll just go with pre-made classes for now.

BUT, if you are that enviable yogi, go ahead and make your own classes based on poses, type, ability or focus.

Or maybe you’re just looking for a pose, or a block of poses, click “Poses” and try one on for size.

And if you’re like me, each training cycle you vow to do more yoga because we ALL know the benefits. But then before you know it, that yoga goal has been forgotten. Fear no more! Yoga Studio actually syncs with your iPhone calendar to schedule classes.

WAIT! I haven’t even told you my favorite part: VIDEOS! Yup, all of this is in HD video! There are plenty of yoga apps that have photos and instructions, but for yoga, I need video to see the flow. Ask and you shall receive!

To top it all off, you can choose the music, if you want the instructor to guide you everything or just a single bell. I’ll admit, the instructor’s voice kind of creeps me out, but you get used to it.

Two Cents Review: 5 out of 5 stars! Worth every 199 of those pennies that I spent on it.

Tell me, because I’m an addict, what are your new favorite apps?

Happy Running!

17 Comments | Posted in My Two Cents, Two Cents

Two Cents: Fueling & Gatorade G Series Pro Chews Giveaway

August 7, 2012

Fuel.

No, not the type that you cringe thinking about how it’s going to cost you a race entry fee just to fill up your car. I’m talking about the fuel that keeps you moving better, faster and stronger throughout training.

Fuel and I have had some serious issues in the past (e.g. in the med tent after the NYC marathon because I didn’t fuel properly). I’ll admit, I used to be the person that “wasn’t hungry” or thought I “felt fine” and thought that I could do long runs without fueling. Did I mention how dumb that was? I’ve since learned that you shouldn’t think about fuel as calories in the sense of your normal diet, but rather fuel to keep your car running smoothly. But unlike a car, you can’t wait until the last moment to fuel – instead, you must constantly be consuming for optimal performance.

Throughout Ironman training, I’ve adopted the following two fuel intake guidelines:

Running: ~100 calories every 45 minutes

Cycling: ~200 – 250 calories every hour

I’ll talk about what I specifically take in another post, but Gatorade reached out to me to try their new G Series Pro Carb Energy Chews. I am an avid fan of what we’ll call “gummy energy” as they are compact and generally an easy source of fuel. Plus, it tastes like I’m eating candy – so we’re already winning.

I tried the chews on a trainer ride and an outdoor ride – let’s get down to the pros and cons:

PROS:

- You can tell that Gatorade wanted to focus on one of athletes’ biggest complaints about chews: sometimes they are difficult to chew in the middle of activity. Thus, the G Series Pro Chews are definitely easier to chew and swallow. They are a bit larger, but that’s because they are flatter than others.

- The chews come in two flavors: fruit punch and orange. Both were tasty, but I’m a fan of the orange! Nom nom nom.

- The package team was smart and made it extremely easy to rip open the top of the package with your mouth. I did it on the bike and BOOM – seamless and easy open.

- I consumed the chews per my normal fueling schedule and felt fueled and great through the 50 minute trainer ride. So far, so good.

- The chews come in a vertical package with four chews per package. It’s shorter than other packages, meaning I can shove them in my bra easier (if you look at the majority of my finish photos, you’ll likely see chew packs shoved down my bra – it’s the most secure place and easiest to access for me).

CONS:

- First ingredient: corn syrup. I’m no dietician and I know that syrups are needed in all of these crazy endurance fuel products, but I’d love for an organic brown rice syrup option like other chews.

- As I mentioned above, the team did a great job at the easy rip top. However, because these chews are “gummier” than others, it was hard to get the final two chews out of the package (I usually just put my mouth over the package and slide them up, but I couldn’t easily do that). Thus, if the team can make the easy rip package on BOTH ends of the package, then we’d be in business!

- At first I was a bit shocked by the outside texture as it wasn’t as smooth as others, but you get used to it and inside texture is smooth as it should be.

For those that are curious, here’s some additional info on G Series Pro Chews:

Usage Times: Consume within one hour before the start of your training or race and during prolonged activities.

Nutrition Information (per 4 chews/38g)

> Calories: 120

> Electrolytes: 105mg Sodium, 50mg Potassium

> Carbohydrate: 31g

BUT WAIT…THERE’S A GIVEAWAY!

Remember how I mentioned that Gatorade sent me a sweet package? Well, IT CAN BE YOURS! Here’s how you can enter to win a G Series Pro Carb Energy Chews kit:

Leave a comment describing a win from within moment – this could be a time when you hit the wall, PR’d, or pushed to achieve something (mandatory entry).
Tweet @Page and @Gatorade how you #winfromwithin (second entry option) then leave a comment saying you tweeted (both handles must be in the tweet).
Send a messenger pigeon that wears running shoes with a special message.

The contest will close Friday, August 10^th @ 11:59 p.m. PST and the winner will be announce Monday morning.

Good Luck and Happy Running!

59 Comments | Posted in Two Cents

2011 Goals in Review

December 30, 2011

It’s that time of year. The time that we look back and say, “Where the freak did 2011 go?!’” Once that thought has settled in, time to copy and paste the goals I jotted down 12 months ago and go through them, scratching my head wondering, wait, wait, that really all just happened this year?!

So here’s a look at my 2011 goals and their status:

1. Complete the Boston Marathon within my goal time: Sorta check. I didn’t get my goal time, but I still finished with a new marathon PR, an amazing experience and a race that I will never forget.

2. Complete the Boston to Big Sur challenge alive: Check! Two marathons in two weeks and my legs didn’t fall off. I’d consider that winning.

3. Complete a half marathon in 1:30 or less: Close with a 1:30:22 at the NorCal half, but no cigar.

I just found this photo of Katie and I at the NorCal half. Perhaps if I spent more time focusing on my run and less about smiling for the camera, I’d be as kick ass as her.

4. Track all of my running and run 2,011 miles in 2011: Bahahahahahahhahahaha, that is a miserable fail. I am so bad about tracking my mileage, but with a coach now by my side and someone holding me accountable, things may change in 2012. Maybe.

5. Re-learn to bike and swim: A proud CHECK! I can honestly say that I feel like I’m getting stronger with each swim.

6. Stay INJURY FREE: LOL wouldn’t suffice here. Instead, I’m opting for a hardy guffaw. This one is a major FAIL.

7. Get MARRIED and honeymoon with Chicken Face in July 2011: CHECK, a million times over, CHECK! This day is still the happiest day of my life and these videos with our first dance song brings everything right back. Excuse me while I cry…

8. Find a new place to live (preferably something that is more than 600 sq. ft. and has a frickin’ bedroom door): Check! We are no longer in a studio, but now a 2 bedroom, 2 bath place. But 2012 is the year of buying our first place!

9. And some more personal ones that I’ll leave you guessing about I guess I kind of spilled the beans on that one…

How did your 2011 goals turn out?

Happy Running!

16 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized

Two Cents: Speedo Pace Club App

November 3, 2011

Lately, I feel like I’ve been blabbering on about swimming more than I have been talking about running, but perhaps it’s because that’s all I’ve been able to do lately. But the question is, where does a die-hard runner learn anything about swimming, let alone get a structured training plan fit for their personal level? Sure you could Google until your eyes turn an array of Google-icious colors, but I spared myself and joined/downloaded the Speedo Pace Club site/app (this link will open up your iTunes to download the free app).

You may know how much I love the Nike Training Club app, well, the Speedo Pace Club app is pretty much just as amazing and here’s why. (NOTE: This is my two cents on the iPhone app more than the official site itself – enjoy!)

First thing first, creating a login is easy: connect via Facebook. Easy, buh bye, we’re done.

Once logged in, you can see your training progress. You’ll notice that I haven’t been using this feature – I have enough trouble trying to remember to add my workouts to DailyMile, let alone another app. Wouldn’t it be amazing if these both worked together?! A girl can dream…

The app features five simple options along the bottom: Home, Training, Add Swim, Swim Team, Pools. Pretty self-explanatory – well done Speedo Pace App UI guys!

The Training section is where my heart starts to pitter patter. It begins with the “Training Guide” where you can determine what training program you should adhere to; I’ll take “Beginner” thank you very much.

Once you’ve chosen your level, there are 24-36 specific workouts to choose from, but I believe that they are designed to build on skill and progress. Thus, start with week one and go from there. Within each week, they break it down even further. For the beginner level, it’s two workouts a week: workout A and workout B. This is why you’ll see things like “1A and 1B” in my Vegas training plan. The beginner training plan starts you off at two workouts a weeks and builds to three in the advanced training plan.

Each workout is broken up into a warm-up set, a drill set, a swim set and a cool down. If you don’t know what something means in each of the sets, just click on the set and it will expand to even more detail. What’s even more amazing is that there are YouTube videos that demonstrate the technique or drill. GENIUS! If someone said to me “Head Lead Balance Drill,” I’d have no idea what they mean, but thankfully, Speedo is there for me!

After you’ve completed a swim, you can “Add Swim” to a training log. Similar to DailyMile, you can add all of the details to track your progress. But as noted above, I don’t need one more app to track yet something else. Can’t we all just work together? Another finicky thing, you can’t log a workout unless you’ve completed ALL of the fields. What if I don’t remember my time? I’d like to see the field completion optional.

The social element of this app comes into play with the “Swim Team.” My team is depressing as I only have one friend (holler, Rebecca! She’s a MUCH better swimmer than I am). Much like DailyMile, you can comment on your friends’ workouts, give them high fives and follow their training.

The last feature of the app is “Pools,” where apparently you are supposed to be able to find pools based on your location. This feature has yet to work for me, it just keeps saying “Finding your location…” Lame.

But then the question arises: it’s great that all of this is on your iPhone, but don’t you know that iPhones and water don’t mix?! Fear not, young one, a ziplock baggy to the rescue. I simply place my phone in a ziplock back and leave it at the end of the pool (my gym is pretty safe…knock on wood). I am actually able to use my iPhone through the ziplock baggy, keeping it safe and dry.

Two Cent Takeaway: This app is the begging swimmer’s dream. I’d love to hear two cents for a more experienced swimmer, but as someone who is new to the sport, the structured workouts, the instructions and the videos have been key to my new relationship with swimming – without it, I’m sure I’d be singing a different tune.

Two Cent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. I’d love to see the “Pools” feature work for me and the tracking is cool, but I can’t keep up with all of these tracking sites! Also, you can find the entire Speedo Pace Club site here.

Happy Running (and Swimming)!

P.S. These thoughts and opinions are my own. No one reached out to me to do this review – just sharing what I love.

9 Comments | Posted in Swimming, Two Cents

Two Cents: Columbia Peak Power Jacket

September 1, 2011

There’s no shame in it: I love gear. What do I love even more than gear? High quality gear. When Columbia reached out to me to check out their Peak Power Jacket with their “Omini-Dry technology,” I said, “SIGN A SISTER UP!” However, I received the jacket and the poor thing was left alone, just hanging in my closet as the summer sun blistered away and the thought of putting on a jacket would equate to putting a fork in my eye.

With the potential of a hurricane on our honeymoon, I thought that our trip to the Dominican Republic might be a perfect opportunity to put the blue beauty to work. So that’s exactly what I did: I put the jacket in some of the most extreme conditions I could find while facing hurricane Irene. Including…

Extreme basketball!

Extreme cycling!

Extreme exploring!

Extreme rock climbing!

But in all seriousness, this jacket is extremely amazing…

I’ve never had gear quite as nice as this…there are so many small features that if you were to look at the jacket on the rack, you would never notice all of the finite details that make this jacket a keeper. Columbia will claim that the best part of the jacket is “an ultra-light laminate membrane that’s over 50-percent air, making this jacket insanely breathable and lighter than other 3-layer shells like it.” Here are a few of my favorite features:

These bungee-things (I have no idea what they’re called) pull to fit the jacket perfectly around your waist. While this isn’t an innovative feature, they pull tight without the rest of the jacket poofing up like you’re in third grade. There is also an innovative bungee-thing around the hood. Pull it just right and the hood literally stays on your head – even in a hurricane. It was amazing.

The zippers! They’re everywhere and amazing. Under your arms for extra ventilation and two-way zippers with a silicone seal (keeping me absolutely dry in the hurricane).

The front of the jacket hits right around my waist, but the back goes a bit below my booty, which is perfect for my long torso. I also have abnormally long arms, so a jacket that didn’t make me feel like I was shoved in a junior jumpsuit is a win for me.

There are a ton of other specs that make this jacket great, but you can check them all out here.

But I’m not going to lie to you…the price tag of this jackets is pretty dang steep ($350!). As someone who loves high-end gear, that doesn’t necessarily mean I have much of it and it’s usually because I’m a cheap ass. I don’t know if I could bring myself to drop $350 on a jacket (even if it is as amazing as this).

So tell me, am I crazy? Do you have high-end gear? How much would you pay for an amazing piece of gear that would last you forever?

TWO CENT RATING: 4 out of 5 stars. The jacket is amazing. The price? Not so much.

Happy Running!