Fantastically Complicated Tuesdays

Lately I've feeling pretty unmotivated, a whole lot of grouchy with a bit of tiredness. It's been almost a month since I've done any long rides. The thought of waking up early, driving to the park and going for a 30 mile ride just seems stupid. Running, well I've been getting in some miles in. Takes me a long time to get moving out the door and when I start running, I just want to turn around and go back home. Swimming is swimming. Our masters group is getting bigger with weaker, just learning how to swim, got bit by the olympic bug, triathlon one and done bucketlisters. If you're reading this and you fall into that category.  A few guys were complaining about how they did in a recent OWS event, complaining about this and that. Seriously bros, if I knew you guys were bringing the whine, I would have brought some cheese.

Anyway, enough with the rambling. He's a good video from Bill Nye. I'm sure you all remember him as "Bill Nye, The Science Guy". According to Bill, he mentions " if grownups want to "deny evolution and live in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine, but don't make your kids do it because we need them.". As a biology major, I agree with Bill. We can't have the future generations not knowing how things work. All of our accomplishments would be for nothing. Seriously, what would we be doing without the internet and iphones?

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O Hard Work

Sometimes it's hard to get motivated to workout. Laying on the couch or bed seems much more appealing than going for a run or jumping into a cold pool. Here's on of my favorite songs to get me motivated on those hard days. You can download it here.

Dear Hard Work,
I used to hate you,
When you called my name,
I heard it but ran away from you,
When I knew you were coming,
I used to hide from you,
When you influenced others to talk to me,
I quickly made excuses to get away from you.
Afraid of the pain because I didn’t want to get hurt
Afraid to fail, so I didn’t even try
Afraid of the shame that you might put me through and
Afraid of your name because of what you have done to others
Who do you think you are?
Making me so afraid of who you are?
Reflection in the mirror,
Shadow behind me,
I take one step and still,
Your ahead of me,
Sweat on my face, tears in my eyes,
I keep on going,
I heard you tell no lies,
You turn the poor to rich,
F to A’s
Is there anything that you can’t do?
Now look at me,
You made me who I am today,
and because of you,
I have this never losing, never giving up attitude
Quitting?
That is not in my vocabulary
When they quit, I keep going,
When they sleep, I work harder,
When they say that I can’t and count me out, I show them that I can
When I tell them about my dreams,
And they laugh, I make sure I laugh last.
I’m a dream chaser, that means I chase my dreams, and not no one else’s
Only I can defeat me,
It’s me against this work you put on me,
There Is no losing – I will not lose,
I came this far and I’m not stopping now
O Hard work,
My dad was right about you, you do pay off, and because of that I love you.
How can I not?
I’m no longer hiding from you, I’m waiting for you.
Matter of fact, where are you?
I need you, because in hard work- I trust!

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Non-Triathlon Tuesdays

Sorry with the lack of consistency with my posts lately, things have been actually getting busy at work lately. Our new facility should be opened in a few months, so things might start to pick up.

So with no upcoming races, I haven't done much biking or running. Swimming on the other hand, well, put it this way, if I ran as much as I swam, I'd probably be a fast runner. Anyways, since I have some free time now, hiking is now the name of the game on the weekend. Here's some pics of a trail I did with a friend. The best part about this trail? It's about 5min away from my house. 

Part of the trail. It's that vertical. 

Friend making his way up the ridge

Little narrow section 

Here's a link to a panoramic of the valley Manoa Valley 

Looking out the other side. It's the other half of my long bike ride route. Waimanalo, Olomana, Kailua. 

 

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2012 Tinman Triathlon

Going to make this short and sweet. Still a little tried from work last night and dealing with a splitting headache this morning.

A few weeks ago me and some friends planned to do a co-ed relay for the Tinman. Well, that was the plan until our swimmer mistakenly requested the wrong day off. After scrambling around trying to find a female swimmer and coming up empty, I wondered if I could find a male swimmer. That wasn't much of a problem. Hit up Doug of Dirtbag Fitness and he agreed to swim for us.

This year, the weather was pretty bad. It rained, got sunny, and poured again. It was nice since it kept it cool but I hate racing in the rain. Oh well. 3/3 for getting rained on during a triathlon this year.

The results 

Counterfit Pajama Insurgents

  DOUG - Swim 750m - 12:16 - 4th/11  

 Matt - Bike 23 miles - 1:14:51.4 - 2/11

 Lee  - Run 6 mile - 41:21 - 3/11

Overall - 2:11:01.9 - 2/11 

After waiting what felt like forever, we finally got the award. 

 I'm thinking it's a pen holder. 

Not sure how this happened. Didn't see the rider either. 

Busted carbon fiber Zipp. I'd cry if those were my Zipps. 

 

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Basil Lime Sorbet

After getting tired of the internet and Battlefield 3, I was in the mood to make some sorbet with all the warm weather we've been having lately. Living way back in the valley, any sort of plant grows like crazy. This is a good/bad thing since weeds grow x2 as fast. Anyways, my basil plant was getting outta control  si figured why not use it for something besides pesto or on salads. 

Basil Lime Sorbet 

2c water 

2c sugar

1/2c basil leaves, packed in measuring cup

1c lime juice (fresh preferred) 

Combine water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, whisk till sugar is dissolved. Once boiling, lower heat till medium-low and simmer for 5min. 

Add basil leaves to syrup and cool till room temp. Once cooled, transfer to a large bowl and place in refrigerator for two hours or overnight. 

Strain syrup through a sieve to remove basil. Squeeze basil out to get any remaining syrup out. Discard basil. Add in lime juice and stir till mixed. 

Add mixture to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufactures instructions. 

Enjoy.

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Road ID

Many months ago I was browsing the web and found out that Road ID had a new band out. I wasn't a big fan of the Sport, since it rocked the cloth band, and the Elite since it was a little out of my price range. Their new band, the Wrist ID Slim, looks like those Livestrong bracelets. It can be worn when training or not training while not screaming out "Hey, look at me, I'm a triathlete!".

One of the main reasons why I bought a Road ID is that the bulk of my training is done alone, with the exception of the swim. Having no family here on the island and no roommates, technically, no one would notice if I went missing for a few days. I'd hate to end up like those people on the news that can't be  identified because they have no ID on them.

The metal band is interchangeable and contains contact #'s. 

Rear view of metal band. It can be removed for cleaning. 

 Road ID on my wrist. Not too tight but not too lose.

The Road ID bands come in different colors and sizes. I suggest getting a few as extra in case the band breaks or gets cut. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. It doesn't get itchy on my wrist, band color can be changed if needed and most of all, it puts my mind at ease when I'm out training alone.

Also, don't forget, to make a time prediction for the visor giveaway. 

Here's some funny vids from Road ID. 

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Tinman Time Prediction Giveaway

So on the 29th, I'll be doing the Tinman as a relay instead of individually. I did a relay last year with some friends and it was a lot of fun. So with that said, I'm giving away visors to whoever has the closest time prediction. Last year our finishing time was 2:09:52.2.  The winner will have a pick of color, and the 2nd place winner will get the other color. I'll also throw some other things in with it.

Visors won't aid in performance, but at least you'll look pretty fast. It's all about intimidation. 

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Dealing With Swim Anxiety

Anxiety during the swim sucks. It can ether overcome it or succumb to it and end up with a fat DNF. Despite coming from a competitive swim background, I'll occasionally have an "episode" while doing a OWS race or just out swimming in the ocean. My biggest fear? Drowning. To tell you the truth, I was never born a swimmer. I didn't learn how to swim till I was 11. Living on an island pretty much sucked. Anyway, finally learned how to swim a year later and the rest is history.

So here's my tricks on how I deal anxiety.

1. I like to warm up for at least 5-10min. I see so many triathletes just standing around before the start shooting the shit before the race. Nervous energy + adrenaline + shock of cold water = disaster.  Warming up helps gets the blood moving and your body used to the initial shock of the water.

2. Pace yourself. Don't join the masses and sprint at the start of the race. I see no need in sprinting the start of a 1.2mile race. If you can keep that pace, that's great.

3. Position yourself accordingly. If you don't mind the taking a few hits during the swim, the middles for you. I like to swim on the outside, preferably so all the turns are on the outside. You'll have to swim a bit more but it sure beats getting punched, pulled or kicked.

4. The most important thing. Be positive. Don't let your mind drift and have negative thoughts. Think about other things other than swimming (cute girl/guy you'll ask out, post race meal, first non-triathlon thing you'll do). Have fun.


These may or not work for you but it's worth a shot. Anyone else have any other tips?

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Non-Triathlon Tuesdays

I love infographics! Who knew online dating brings in more revenue than the porn industry.




Source: EasyFinance.com

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Non-Triathlon Tuesdays

It's a damm shame real life wasn't like this. Maybe I'd actually run more often and even enjoy it! Maybe it's just me, but running is a little mind numbing. My running routes are never the same (except track workouts) since I get bored. Maybe it's the same view at a slow pace or the lack of obstacles (drunk/high dancing bums) that gets to me.

So what do you do to make running enjoyable?

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Mini Blooming onion bread

With a work week of work two days and off one and work two more, I was pretty lazy to do anything really productive. It just so happened that I had these mini sourdough buns in the kitchen and wondered what I could do with it. First thing came to mind was the Blooming Onion bread.

Well not exactly but you get the idea.

Mini Blooming Onion Bread
1 mini sour dough bread load
1/4 stick butter
3 stalks green onion (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 chili peppers (optional)
Cheese (your choice, I used cheddar) 

Slice bread vertical, then horizonal creating the "blocks". Be sure not to cut all the way though.

Place cheese in between  the bread slices. Put as much as needed.

In a small sauce pan or pot, melt butter. Once melted, add in garlic, peppers and green onions till butter turns brown.

Drizzle butter mixture over bread.

Wrap whole thing in foil.

Place on a baking sheet or pan. Bake at 350 for 15min. After 15 min, open and bake for 10min or until browned. Be sure not to let it burn.

Enjoy!

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Non-Triathlon Tuesdays

Today's one of those days that I really don't have anything to do at work. Since tomorrow is a holiday, it feels like a Friday but it's not. Weather wise, it's overcast, occasional showers and a slight breeze. Not very encouraging weather to go out for a bike ride. Days like these make me miss my old jobs and the characters that made it worthwhile.

On slow days we'd go and play with the snakes

Well not all the snakes

These were pretty cool. 

For another job we visited a mango orchard every week. I ate mangoes every day for the whole summer. 

As a student worker, we'd do overnight trips to work. Couldn't complain about the view. *Any guesses where this is?* 

So do you guys get to see/do interesting things for work or are you stuck at the desk like me?

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Non-Tritahlon Tuesdays

It's a little slow and cold in the office soup for lunch kind of day. Finally got to try some new recipes this past weekend and I'll share those soon. Here's some Tuesday randoms. Enjoy.

Masters swim meet a few weeks ago. Meet was super casual (thus the no swim cap), most of the swimmers were from our club and I was the only one in my AG. It was fun despite the small turn out.

Also did some hiking on the trails near my house this past weekend.

Friends chocolate lab fetching a small stick. 

It seems a lot higher once you're up there. 

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What is a normal life?

It's almost 3 weeks after Honu, I'm finally getting back into running, however haven't been biking much since the bike still needs to be fixed. Swimming was going great until my rotator cuff decided to act up again. Due to financial reasons I probably won't do any more triathlons maybe till October or hold off until next year. It would be great to go out and do some but it gets expensive. Most races here are around ~$90+ for a sprint. Hard times if you ain't balling.

So after 6 months of training, I've found myself with not much to do that didn't involve swimming, biking or running. Even had the crazy idea to go out on a date. That didn't go so well. Really didn't know what to say I do for fun besides training for triathlons. Swim for fun? Err....

Anyways, so what do you guys do when triathlon season is over? Do you do a relaxed SBR schedule, work on weaknesses or do you go out and do non-triathlon stuff for a while?

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Honu 70.3 Nutrition

Thought I'd share my nutrition for race day. It may work for you or it may not. I strongly recommend trying different things while training instead of experimenting on race day.

Breakfast  - 2hrs prior to race start

1C quick organic oatmeal - 307 calories, 5mg sodium, 11g protein 
Gu Brew -  100 calories, 250mg sodium, 8g sugar

Total - 407caloriesm 255mg sodium, 11g protein, 8g sugar

Bike - Every 10min, approx 22oz per hr

Custom Infinit Drink Mix (x3 bottles)  - 1 serving - 243 calories, 379mg sodium, 110mg potassium, 59g carbohydrates, 15g sugar, 2g protein.

Total - 729 calories, 1137mg sodium, 330mg potassium, 177g carbohydrate, 45g sugar, 6g protein

Run - Hammer gel at start, Gu Roctane at miles 6 and 9, Perform at each aid station, Clif Shot Bloks when felt a cramp was coming on

Hammer gel (x1)- 90 calories, 21g carbohydrates, 2g sugar, 25mg sodium, 25mg potassium
Roctane Ultra Endurance Gel (x2) - 100 calories, 25g carbohydrates, 5g sugar, 125mg sodium, 55mg potassium, 1220mg Roctaine Amino Blend, 480mg Orthanine Alphaketoglutarate, 35mg caffeine
Clif Shot Bloks (3 pieces per serving) (6 pieces)  - 100 calories, 24g carbohydrates, 12g sugar, 70mg sodium, 20mg potassium.
Ironman Perform (1/2 filled cups, 4oz?, 10 aid stations) - 70 calories, 17g carbohydrates, 10g sugar, 190mg sodium, 10mg potassium

Total -   From gels and CB - 490 calories, 119g carbohydrates, 36g sugar, 415mg sodium, 175mg potassium, 70mg caffeine, 1220mg Roctaine Amino Blend, 480mg Orthanine Alphaketoglutarate.

Not sure on the info for the Perform, memory is a little fuzzy if I drank one at every station or not. 

Overall, I was pretty happy with my nutrition strategy, didn't experience any cramping on the bike like last year. I didn't have any GI issues while on the run so apparently the run strategy worked out well.

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2012 Honu Race Report

You know the worst part about taking a week off from work? Coming back to work with a ton of things to do. Little late but here's my race report. Oh yeah, congratulations to the Tri-N-Hawaiian for winning the time prediction contest. I'll hit you up later on how I can give you your winnings.

Race Day
Woke up around 3:45, had my usual everyday breakfast of 1cp of oatmeal with about 1tbs of brown sugar. Washed it down with some Gu brew. Did some light foam rolling, filled water bottles, taped up VMOs and headed out the door to the start. Race marking was inside the building and out the back rather than outside and around. This seemed to back up a bit but it was pretty smooth. Had a cute volunteer girl marking me up, I think she asked me something and being a bit dazed by her cuteness, mumbled something, she replied in Korean...I was like "huh?" Guess she asked what I was so I said "Japanese" then she said something in "Japanese". Being the worse Japanese person ever, I had no idea what she said again..anyways, saved myself and had a good short conversation with her. Thanked her for volunteering and I was on my way.

Unlike other triathletes (noticed a lot just standing around), I need to get a good warm up before the swim. Found out that it takes me about 5-10 min to be "race ready". According to an article by "Mark Montgomery" on Slowtwitch 

"I’ve noticed an example of good behavior that is usual in the pro ranks and rare in the age-group ranks. Most AGers don’t go into the water before the race. I know that it is cold, and who wants to stand around shivering before the race? But here is what happens when you don’t get cold before the race. You run to the water, with your legs telling your body that they need the blood flow. Then you hit the cold water, and now your skin needs the blood for warming. Your arms and lungs fight for whatever blood is left. You basically start to go into shock. Your breathing gets quick and labored, your arms start to burn. A mini panic will ensue and you will have to slow down to recover.

Your body’s survival mode will shunt the blood to the vital organs and skin under these circumstances. If you get in and warm up prior to the race, then the body has time to adapt and the blood is already where it needs to be. "

Swim
After warming up for a bit, decided to head to the starting line. Just when I was getting there, the pro's went off (don't remember them doing that last year). So since I was a little late, getting a water start wasn't much of an option (already crowded) I decided to do a walk in start. Saw a friend and joked around with him, said "gee is there some kind of race today?". Guns go off and the fun begins! So as I'm walking to get in, I notice that for some reason everyone is walking in, turning left and going though the yellow start buoys which are right by shore. Seeing this, I run right by the yellow buoy  and get right in. Awesome. No congestion. About 500m into the swim I see another athlete resting with a lifeguard on a stand up board. Wow, hard times. Took the first two buoys wide and avoided all the congestion. Pace was good, having positive thoughts, feeling awesome. So kept swimming, sighting the buoys and having a great time until I noticed a boat by the buoy I was sighting off of. Thinking "WTF" is going on, I stopped and noticed that I was way off course. Looking back a whole bunch of people where following it to. Aww shit my swim time will suck because of this. I'm guessing the buoy got loose due to the wind, and all the lifeguards were busy helping people no one was around to tell us were going off course. Got back on course and finished the swim.Was hoping for low 30's but my little sightseeing tour cost me a few minutes. Still beat last years time by a min.

Rocking the SLS3 fobic speedsuit.

Time - 37:37
Pace - 1:56/100m
Div rank - 38
Overall rank - 509
Gender rank - 362

Bike 
For the bike I knew it would be a challenge due the strong winds and new bike. However, I never doubted myself that I wouldn't be able to finish it. Apparently the exit area changed from last year and they had us go up some slippery bumpy carpet instead of right up to the road and up the hill. Since I did it last year, I knew getting out was a bitch due to the steep exit, prior to the race, I set the chains to make exiting easier. Not sure what was going on this year but it seemed like a big mess. I got on easy and got going and got a push from a volunteer for some reason. Feel bad for the ones that had to push heavier guys (I'm only 120lbs). Since I was using 58mm wheels, it was a little hairy riding on the aerobars. Felt bad for whoever was using anything larger than 60mm. As expected, I got passed on all the hills and I passed a lot on the hills. Gravity is a bitch. Heading out to Hawi, I saw the grey blur otherwise known as Lance.. It was like "Oh dang, LA...There goes LA". Talk about moving.

Almost into Kawaihae I came upon Doug of Dirtbag Fitness , joked around and asked him if he'd like to go for a short jog after the ride. It's always nice to saw a few words other than "On your left" while riding. Heading into T2, slipped off the shoes so running would be much easier. Last year they had volunteers catching your bikes so all you had to do was jump off and get your gear bag. This year, we had to rack our own bikes. Oh well. Overall ride was pretty fun despite the windy conditions, really missed my old bike but the replacement was just as good. Little bummed out that I was 5 min slower than last years bike time.

Time - 3:09:39
Pace - 17.72mi/h
Div rank - 48
Overall rank -659
Gender rank - 515

Run
The run. Last year after mile 3, my IT bands were so sore, I walked the last 10miles. It was a really long day. This year, I managed to run/walk the majority of the course despite the top of my calves being super tight and sore. Guess that's what happens when you never run past 9.5 miles in training. This year it was pretty tough, the with the strong wind it felt like I was running into a wall. Learning from last year, I wore a hat again, brought a long a Ziploc and slapped on some sunscreen. Why I chose to wear a hat? Well, first off, I don't want to get sunburn on my scalp, secondly, a wet sponge can be placed under the cap, and smashed down occasionally to allow water to seep out. So why the Ziploc bag? I used to to store ice from the aid stations and place it in my tops back pocket. Bag got refilled at every aid station on the course. Nothing like having a cool source on the back and a source to soak the sponge that's under my hat. Overall the run was alright, it's my weakest of the three and not my favorite thing to do. However, I was really glad that I was able to run/walk instead of walk the whole course.

Time - 2:51:10
Pace - 13:03/mi
Div rank - 57
Overall rank -981
Gender rank - 717

Overall, I am happy with my results, beat last years time by over 30min. Guess running this time around makes a huge difference. Nutrition wise, things went well, pretty much spot on. Will I do this race next year? Definitely. In my personal opinion, I really do enjoy doing 1/2IMs over sprints/oly distance races. Not to mention, 1/2IM are a better bang for the buck than sprints/oly races.

 Best part of the race? Sitting down and eating real food.

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2012 Honu Pre- Race Report

After walking the whole 1/2marathon last year and almost finishing last in my AG, you'd think that I would never do this race again..However, I'm one not to throw in the towel so easily.

Since I'm originally from the Big Island, use this as a home visit, see my parents, friends and see what's new in town. Last year when I went back it was in the low 50s and raining. Not very fun. This year it was in the mid 50's to mid 60's and SUNNY! . It's pretty rough when on Oahu it's always in the mid 70's to high 80's.

 

Sun!

 

Cows in my families pasture

Long roads 

Glenwood 

So on my way home, I have to drive through Glenwood. It's probably the most sketchy place to drive though (hazard and people wise). This is definitely not the place you want to breakdown late at night. Put it this way, all your cars windows will be broken the first night and on the second, it will be stripped down. Think the airplane strip scene from "Lord of War"

So after a few days of freezing in Volcano, it was time to head out to Kona. After checking in it was time to check in/drop off run bag/pick up bike with the Honu folks. If you haven't done this before, athlete check in is pretty easy. All the volunteers there are really nice and there are a lot of them so it goes by really fast. I decided to bring my run gear with me so I wouldn't have to drop by the next day. 

View from the condos balcony 

Wild turkeys. So tame when you don't have a gun/bow. 

Bike drop off. All ready to go. 

I really like these racks instead of the pipe rack. With my QR, it's too small so to hang from the seat so I have to hang it from the bars. I'm sure the Cannondale would have been fine. 

I dropped of my bike during the athlete pre-race meeting so T1 was pretty much a ghost town. 

Mr. Armstrongs sweet ride. Colors not so sweet..Needs more black.. 

Other pros bikes. 

Pretty cool stickers.

Once everything was taken care of, it was time to head back to the condo and prep for the 70.3 miles of fun that awaited me the next day. 

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Honu Time Prediction Giveaway

Predict my finishing time for Honu (Hawaii Ironman 70.3) and win a white or black SLS3 visor and some other miscellaneous goodies. One prediction per person and ends on June 1st, Friday at 11:59pm, Hawaii time. In your prediction time, state what color visor you would like. If it helps, I would like to break 6hrs and smash last years time of 7:20ish (walked the whole 1/2 marathon). Good luck!

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Well, the bike shop called yesterday and informed me that my rear dropout is bent. Unlike newer bikes, my rear dropout aren't really replaceable. Which pretty much means my bike is now a very expensive plastic decoration in my house. Unless I find a few thousand bucks or find a bike to rent before Honu, it looks like I'll be riding my road bike for the race. Put it this way, it's like going from a Porsche 911 GTS to a Ford Fiesta.

This vid pretty much sums up how I feel at the moment...fuck..blah..argh..fuck...

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Be safe out there..

I had a bad feeling about today. After waking up late, forgetting my flat kit and having an extremely late start for my long ride things only got worse. On my way back into town, on a 4 lane road I got sideswiped by a car. I'm ok, didn't crash out or anything, and nothing hurts yet. How did it happen? Well, I was riding in the middle of the farthest right lane since bike lanes are pretty much non-existent here on Oahu. So a car behind me honks his horn, I look back, yeah asshole, I see you, sorry for holding up your fucking commute but if you noticed, if I go anymore right, I'll be riding in pot hole city (another great thing about living on Oahu) so yeah, go around me like the other 6 cars and what ever driver has been doing for the past 2 fucking years. Next thing I know I'm getting rubbed by the side of the car. I yelled,  I threw my water bottle and chased the bastard down. I was pissed. I was ready to throw down with the driver. I didn't care if it was some big ass moke or some rich asian punkass. Lucky for me he got stopped at a light. I got in front of the car, got off my bike and yelled "You fucking hit me!" "Get out of your car!". Walking over to the drivers side I noticed it was a really old man with a handicap pass. I yelled again, his reply "I didn't hit you". Seriously, why the fuck would I chase you down, get off of my bike and yell at you? For fun? The light turned green and he took off. I should have dragged him out of the car through the window. I asked a guy riding a motorcycle in back of him if he saw that and he said "yeah, he hit you!" ok, glad I wasn't delirious from the riding.  Called the cops to see if anything could be done about it. Sadly, I didn't get a license plate so nothing could be done about it. Lucky day for him.

So, please if you have elderly family members or friends, please encourage them to consider alternatives to driving. I know it's an "independence" thing and it's hard to give up. Old people are stubborn. It's a small inconvenience, but I'm sure it beats sitting in a jail cell. Seriously, things could have turned out different. I could have been a statistic and he could be on his way to jail.

Sorry for the rambling. Today is just not my day and it's still getting shittier despite it almost being over....

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SLS3 Compression Day Sleeves review

As some of you may or not know that I'm doing the Honu race next month. Yes, I will be back for more fun in the hot Kona sun. Last year a combination of bad decisions, training angry and improper recovery led to me walking 10 of the 13 miles of the run. With three weeks to go, everything is feeling great *knock on wood*  and working great.

Yesterday was one of my longest runs to date. A whopping 8.5 miles! First off, I'm not a runner nor do I want to be one so anything above 3 is a lot for me. For this particular run, I donned my SLS3 Compression Day Sleeves instead of the compression socks. I wanted to give these a try since 1) you can wear your own socks 2) see if my calves became tight 3) my socks were all dirty. The compression sleeves come in white if black isn't your thing. Black is my preferred choice since 1) hides most stains 2) I like black.

Initially the sleeves can be felt hugging your calves but after a few hundred yards, you'll never notice you have them on. Overall, the whole run felt pretty good, legs didn't feel tight, had a decent pace, and felt like I could have run a little longer (didn't since I start work at 6:30am and it was already past 6:30).

Here's some info from the SLS3 website. 

"The SLS3 Day Sleeves provide increased calf muscle performance during training and racing.
Our seamless TekWeb technology makes this the ultimate must have garment for the serious athlete. The SLS3 Day Sleeves will aid your body in getting oxygenated blood into your legs, removing lactate and other waste products. They also provide muscle support by reducing muscle vibration and energy loss, while increasing accuracy and efficiency of movement.
The honeycomb design on the back provides special support while the space in between allows for optimal ventilation.
Seamless TekWeb technology
Muscle Stability20-30 mmHG of graduated compression
Increased Bloodflow"

Honey comb design

 Sizing is pretty accurate (I'm 5'7 and have chicken legs) 

View looking down

Stitched on, not ironed on

This review may be a little one sided since I have nothing to compare. So, if anyone want's to send me a pair to try out, I'll be more than happy to do a comparison.

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