Monday, November 29th, 2010
In honor of Cyber Monday, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite triathlon products that you should have on your Christmas list this year. If you were a nice triathlete this year, you might find some of these under your tree.
Warm And Visible Tights
Comfortable and warm running tights are essential gear for offseason triathlon training. But for some reason, 90% of the running tights out there are all black. I don’t know about other people, but in the middle of winter it is dark when I wake up, dark when I get home from work and I can’t sneak out in the work day for a training session. So why dress like a ninja when you are training out in the dark and the cold? Saucony has a whole “visibility” line of gear called “ViZi Pro.” I recently picked up their Omni LX Tight and am a big fan. It isn’t as stretchy as some of my other pairs of tights, but are a little thicker and warmer and has bright orange side panels and reflective pieces to make sure I don’t get run off of the road or pushed into a snowbank. And at $65, they are a lot cheaper than a lot of other tights out there.
Fun Swim Gear
In the summer, I do at least half of my swim training in open water, but that obviously isn’t possible with Boston winters. When the temperature drops I spend a lot more time in the pool staring at the black line down the middle of the lane line. B-O-R-I-N-G. There are no clouds to look at, fish to sneak up on or sunsets to chase, but I refuse to let my winter swim training stay boring.
Most guys stick to plain black jammers, but I refuse. All men’s swimwear is pretty ridiculous looking and doesn’t hide nearly as much as you think it does. Trust me guys, if anyone at the pool had any interest in checking out how much “heat you are packing” it doesn’t matter if you are wearing jammers or briefs. It would be pretty easy to do the math, so you might as well own it and have fun with it, right?
I don’t own either of these, but these are some great seasonally festive briefs from Splish. Those guys rock and will help you out making a custom suit too. You can even go ITU style and get your name across your booty. SwimOutlet.com also has plenty of colorful swim gear to avoid falling asleep while doing 100m repeats at the pool this winter.
Plus, Splish has a Cyber Monday sale today. 26% off all orders until midnight tonight (PST) with the coupon code “HOLIDAY.”
Triathlon Calendar
Some crazy Europeans made a hot naked chick triathlon calendar. Awesome. Athletic chicks without silicone, what isn’t to like? Well, it turns out with the exchange rate and international shipping brings the whole calendar to around $42.00. For a calendar, that is a little tough to swallow, but some of the proceeds do go to charity. For any single athlete guys out there, this would be a pretty awesome addition to your man cave….
Speedfil Hydration System
I got this frame-mounted water bottle this summer to prep for Rev3 Cedar Point and LOVE it. To be honest, I’m not sure wh more people don’t use it. For a water bottle, it is a little pricey at around $100, but the time and frustration that it will save you is more than worth it. I love being able to take a water bottle from an aid station, dump it into my speedfil and ditch the empty. No having to juggle multiple bottles or unscrewing water bottle caps. And all the water I can drink is available right from the aero bars through the long straw.
Lazer Tardis Helmet
Scientifically, an aero helmet is a lot cheaper and will save you a lot more time than deep dish carbon wheels. They also make you look pretty nerdy, but I love the look of the Lazer Tardiz helmet. I haven’t actually worn or tested it, but definitely have helmet envy over this one. Plus, it has a hole in the top for spraying water on your head to cool you down during hot mid-summer races. Awesome idea, eh? Santa, wanna drop one of these under my tree?
First Endurance EFS Liquid Shot – Wild Berry
I’ve been a huge EFS liquid shot since I first started using it. It only came in vanilla flavor, which is pretty good. A few times throughout the year the Team Trakkes crew has been helping out First Endurance with race testing a new flavor, Wild Berry. It quickly became a huge team favorite and is finally becoming publicly available. The first limited batch is only available to subscribers of the First Endurance email newsletters. And trust me, that email is one of the best blasts of nutrition knowledge that you can take to your noggin. You won’t regret it. I’m already amped to get the big 30 oz refill bottle of Wild Berry Liquid Shot.
Triswim Shots
Good anti-chlorine shampoo is essential, especially in the Winter when I’m not doing any open water swimming. It is increasingly important if you share a bed with someone else. I’ve been kicked out of bed many times by Sam for swimming after work, but forgetting to shower with Triswim and making the bed smell like chlorine. They’ve got little travel sized shots of their shampoo, conditioner, lotion and body wash that make great stocking stuffers. I can’t recommend this stuff highly enough.
Trigger Point Quadballer
Another product that I haven’t tried, but have only heard obsessively positive reviews of. This year I’ve outgrown my foam roller and it just wasn’t doing the trick for me anymore. I don’t know if it has just gotten worn down over the years or if my quads are just so strong that my foam roller can’t handle it (hopefully the latter) but I’m in need of an upgrade to keep my legs happy and healthy. Recovery is just as important as training! More info on the quadballer here.
Pop Up Changing Tent
Say what? Yeah. This is probably the most unique item on my list this year, but it should be on more athlete’s gear list. During my training this year I did a lot of clothing changes out of the trunk of my car. Because of this, I always kept two towels in my trunk. One to dry off after a swim and one to wrap around my waist and avoid getting arrested. For anyone who isn’t as talented at getting changed underneath a towel or is a little more modest, a pop-up tent would be perfect to stow away in your trunk. You can grab on at Amazon.com for around $40.
Kestrel 4000 – Sram Red
Okay, so this speed machine might be more realistic as a dream item under your Christmas tree this year, but it is pretty damn sexy. Sure, Kestrel is a Team Trakkers sponsor but you have to admit that the new paint job (courtesy of Betty Designs) is sexy. Plus, Andy Potts just signed with Kestrel and rode his 4000 on his way to winning Ironman Cozumel. But for me, even if I got a poster of this carbon beauty to hang in my man cave, I’d be a happy boy. Plus, I’m partial to blue bikes…
Happy Cyber Monday Everyone!
| Posted in Cycling, Nutrition, Running, Swimming, Triathlon | 3 Comments »
