First: My top 5 favorite triathlon/running pieces of equipment from 2012
#5 - PowerBar Double Latte Gel
My favorite product from PowerBar is without question their gels and specifically the Double Latte flavor. I love me some coffee!! The gels have maltodextrin which contains good amount of CHO and electrolytes to help replenish what was lost during exercise But what I love most of all is the consistency of the gels. Like most gels, you have to take in a liquid to get the gel down, but with PowerBar, you can actually take it without any liquids...yes having water to flush it down helps, but in a pinch without any liquids the gels work!
Swim Bike Run Inc. is a great company out of Santa Ana, CA. They have great products for swimmers, such as specific shampoo, conditioner, and lotion for chlorine, and Foggle, which reduces goggles to fog up, and my favorite, Trislide! Trislide is a lubricant spray (so you can share) to help reduce shafing and help put on your wetsuit/speed suit. I don't go any where without my Trislide. It is great for your long runs!
As Triathlete Magizine wrote...PI Iso Transitions are the best shoe in the PI line-up! They are triathlon specific because of the elastic shoe laces built in and the lining is completely a single sock so you can go sockless. They are super comfy and took down my 13.1 PR at the Rev3 Venice Half with 1:28. The shoe is very flexible, especially the toe box. I am a forefront runner so the flexibility of the toe box is a must for me.
Any athlete will tell you that recovery is a must to perform at your best...whether at a race or training. NormaTech is a compression boot that not only compresses the muscles in the legs to aid in blood flow, but also introduces pulsing changes to help massage the muscles. I could not get through my full distance training without my NormaTech. They allowed me to consistently put in 20 hour weeks without fatigue and lower performance.
By far the greatest wetsuit I have ever used! I did many races over the year in different areas of the country (Portland/Knoxville/Cambridge, MD) and I got to use a wetsuit much more this year than previous years. The Helix gave me bounacy, range of motion, and most importantly...speed. I had a major PR 1.2 mile swim at Eagleman 70.3 with a 28.51.
Next Up...Second - Disney Marathon (less then 4 weeks)
