Be Seen! Be Safe!

Hello again dear readers! Ben here, back with another episode of Run, Bigfoot, Run and today we are talking about safety. As a sometimes instructor, I always stress the importance of wearing reflective clothing, bright or white is not good enough. When I go out for early morning runs before the sun comes up I'm wearing something reflective, and a headlamp. I'm amazed at the number of people that are in all black or just a white shirt and think that's enough. It's a good way to get hit.

 As a BibRave Pro, I sometimes get to test products and offer a review or chat them up on the social channels. I recently received some Brilliant Reflective strips to test and here are my thoughts. Being a Pro with BibRave does not influence my decisions and if you want to learn more about BibRave visit www.bibrave.com.

Don't hold the iron up to your face to see if it's hot. 

So Brilliant Strips are super easy to apply. Simply remove the backing and apply them wherever you feel the need to be seen. Included on the packaging is a front/back image of the best places to put them. Or you can iron them on. I used the iron on strips in my testing and they held on tight, and were super easy to put on. Simply get your iron hot, they provide the temps that work best, place the strips where you want them and cover with a paper towel. I used 2 towels on top of each other and it worked fine. Press down for 30-40 seconds and BOOM, you will shine like a rock star at the Grammies!

If only I ironed everything as well as this.

Once your done, peel off the protective plastic and your reflective. The photo at the top of the page is taken with the flash on my phone so they certainly are bright.

If you want more information, or want to order your own go to Brilliant Reflective and pick up some for yourself. You can get single packs of one color or multi packs.

You can also follow Brilliant on Instagram or Twitter with the handles below.

Insta: @brilliant_reflective
Twitter:@brilliant_safe


As always, thanks for stopping by and hope to see you hear again soon.

Got Gum? Run Gum review

Welcome to the blog, today I tried a new product called Run Gum. I received free samples, but had to pay S&H, so it was somewhat free. Anyway, that fact did not influence this review.

 I received 3 flavors and tried the Mint this morning. The package contains 2 pieces of gum and each one is about the size of a nickel and slightly thicker. The taste starts off like an energy drink, and after chewing for a few minutes you can taste the mint so it's not too bad.

 After about 15 minutes the gum starts to get that stale feel and your ready to spit it out. Since I was running and didn't want to spit it out on the road I just tucked it between my gums and lip and kept going until I found a trash can.

Did I feel anything? I had one piece which is about the equivalent of a soft drink, so I did feel a little like I had more energy. I will have to try with 2 pieces and see if there a noticeable difference, but from first impression I would Run Gum
a shot. It will not replace an energy gel during a half or full, but at the start of a race could give that little boost your looking for.

back of package

All the Goals!!!

So it's 2018 and everyone and their mom are making resolutions for the coming year. While I don't resolve to make resolutions I do believe in making goals for the coming year. I always try to set some attainable goals, such as PR'ing certain races, and others like running 2018 miles for the year.

About 10 years ago I was working as a manager at a Sports Bar and the company culture used the book Raving Fans, which worked toward setting your goals at 15% increments so they are attainable. Once you reach that goal just set a new goal. It's the one self help book I've enjoyed and followed and still try to to this day. Setting a simple goal gives accomplishment and you're not beating yourself up trying to reach something unattainable.

So let's get to my goals for 2018.

1. 1. PR Everything. I've noticed that as I've gotten older and   started running with a group (Thank you Rogue!) I PR'd several distances last year. Two of those, the half marathon and 8k were over 4 years old! I PR'd my full distance but I know I can do better as I was pacing someone to get them a PR. This year I'm looking to get them all.
2. Well, I will run 2018 miles and maybe a little more. In 2017 I managed 1300+ miles but battled with injuries and health problems. I don't foresee that happening this year. I'm working on my hips and core more and cross training so I can get this goal. It comes out to 5.52 miles per day, or 38.6 miles a week.
3. Break 20:00 at a 5k. This is my white whale and I was planning on doing this in 2017 but other things came up and I only ran one 5k, which I PR'd for the course. Track work and the increase in mileage will help me get there so we shall see.

Granted none of these are the 15% I spoke of earlier, but if yo're just starting set some easy goals like running your first 5k or 10k or maybe that first half marathon. Always try to set something easy for yourself and then the harder goals will themselves become easier.

Until next time, lace up and go run!

Ben