Product Review: Hydrapak Gel-Bot

At the beginning of the month Outside PR provided me with a Hydrapak Gel-Bot to test and review. This is similar to a standard squeeze bottle but has a tube inside to provide gel as well. Hydrpak provides that bottle in both 20 oz and 24oz options. Before I get into it, here is what Hydrapak has to say about it:

"Summary: The Gel-Bot delivers two performance essentials, fuel and hydration, in one easy to use sport bottle. This patent-pending design lets you fuel or hydrate with just one hand. Perfect for racing or total gel addicts. All the Gel-Bot components can be taken apart and easily cleaned.


To USE:
1.Load the inner chamber with energy gel.
2.Fill the bottle with water/fluid.
3.When the nozzle is pulled open, you get water and water only.
4.With the nozzle pushed down, squeeze to get the gel out of the center valve."


First Thoughts:
When I first opened the package my first instinct was that it was one of the fancy filtering bottles that all of my partners carried in Guatemala. Once I picked it up and got a better look at it, I realized that it was a water bottle with an integrated gel flask inside. Since I carry both in sprint distance and shorter long runs I thought this would be a neat product.

Set Up:
To use you unscrew the lid like a normal squeeze bottle,

The gel tube is attached to the nozzle by a funnel type device.

To disconnect you just grab both pieces firmly and it kind of snaps free. I found the Gel-Bot to be ornery during the connecting and disconnecting, taking a good bit of determination.

You then fill the tube with your choice of gel. It holds 3.2 ounces of gel, but if you are putting less in it you can just push the green plunger up. You then connect the tube, add water, and then screw the lid back on. To drink it works just like a regulate water bottle. For gel, push the lid down in the closed position and suck.

The Test:

I tested the bottle four times, two run and two bike rides (one of which was my 60 mile distance PR!!!!) I used it as directed one time in each discipline. Since I am not a big fan of the consistency of gel, I usually add a few drops of water to thin it out.

Performance:

As interesting as I found the product, I am not as impressed with the results. I found the assembly easy, but more tedious then I care for. When solely filled with Gel, I was unable to get the last 1/2 inch of gel out. I feel that it is a waste. When it is a water and gel mixture, it fed too fast. The first time I unknowingly consumed the entire tube in two sips. Another problem is that if you are like me and consume a preset amount of gel, there is no way to measure your intake. Despite the problems I see, it could be very good for short triathlons as one stop source for fuel and hydration and could easily be placed in a aero bottle holder. It would also be good for hiking.

Grade- C

I am not going to give a grade of this nature without giving my opinion of how it can be improved. Although a good product, I think it could be better if it attached to the top a little easier, if I could get all the gel out, and if had some type of marker lines to measure how much is left.

The shopping dilema updated

Two weeks ago I posted about not being sure how to spend the gift card I won. Since I wanted Under Armour and the price has gone way up since I was in college and bought my last lot of it.

I calculated with our NC sales tax I had $69.44 I found no sales on Under Armour, Nike, or any other high end tech gear. However, Reebok which is cheaper was on sale. for 16.99 a piece I was able to get two pairs of shorts and two shirts. Reebok is generally heavier, but does the job. The total left me over a dollar to spare and since I wanted to get as close as possible I grabbed some of the gummy bears from the register. It ended up pushing me over to 75.16 but oh well.

Product Review: Pearl Izumi Elite In-R-Cool Tri Suit

At the beginning of this month I was given the chance to review the Pearl Izumi Elite In-R-Cool thanks to Outside PR. I agreed to wear it in my first race of the season and review it for fit, comfort, and performance. I wore it in my April 3rd race, but wore it again for a run this weekend to put it through one last test.

Fit
I was hesitant at first about using a one piece suit, first there is the obvious and well known problem of the difficulty of using the bathroom. Second I wondered how it would work with someone who is not built with measurements of a pro triathlete. I have a 34 inch waist, a much bigger gut, and then only slightly bigger shoulders. Do I pick suit that fits my waist and shoulder and let it be tight around my stomach? Or vise versa and let it be baggy. I chose one based on my waist and shoulders. It fit great, I was worried it would be uncomfortable in the areas I am bigger in but it was not. Honestly, I almost felt naked it was so light and fit so well. The only thing unpleasant about the it was the zipper opening does not open quite wide enough for my shoulders. It is quite a squeeze to get my upper half though the small opening.

Comfort
This is what I think is a standout feature about the suit. It felt so natural. When it first arrived the first thing I wanted to check was how it was assembled. My favorite bibs have a seam directly down the center, unless I wear compression shorts underneath it chafes. This was the first thing I checked- for a race suit this was a go, no go feature (see below). The only thing I could say negative about comfort was that once full unzipped it pulls in an odd manner. Anything more than half zipped and it was uncomfortable across my shoulders. I did not have a place to change back out and it was comfortable enough to throw gym shorts and a tee over and wear home. I was just going to wear it home including to our planned stops at GAP and to get cheese steaks, but CB made me put the clothes over it.

Performance
During the swim I felt no noticeable drag. The chamois was a good thickness and a good shape. Once on the bike it provided good padding and the material dried within a few minutes. For it's performance on the run the comfort section sums up everything. As I stated above, this weekend I put it through one last test. My last race was a mild temperature and this suit is designed for hot weather. After several fails (rained out) attempts, Sunday I went for a 14 mile run wearing it in 83+ degree heat. The two things I wanted to test were how well the upper mesh wicked and if it the mesh was thick enough to prevent sunburn. The mesh does in fact keep you cool. In fact, I think it could be improved by increasing the mesh across the chest and maybe a little lower similar to the back. It was also thick enough to prevent sunburn.

What's the grade? A

I think it is great for performance and fit. I am so impressed that I want to know what improvements can be made that set the P.R.O. suit apart. At $130 it is more than I would probably care to spend on a suit, but I now reconsider as I believe it is worth the price. Great wicking, great compression, low drag,  and saves major time in transition.

Thursday Delayed....or tri geek Christmas

I wrote this post Thursday night but forgot to hit the publish button, I've have done this once or twice before, but this time it works out for the better. I am in training this week, and between working twelve hours days plus travel to and from the prison, and wanting to get my workouts in- I decided I would make some canned posts (scheduled posts). This week will be very retail centered with a a few reviews, an update,and something else in the same ballpark (I haven't decided yet).

**************************************************

Today (Thursday) was one of the worst days I have had at work in a long time. I started the day off with a abnormally high workload and more things to do than I had time for. The problem is that I had a full week worth of work and training next week so I only have today and Monday to get it done. What complicated the issue is that I had more work dumped on me at lunch with no regard to being in training. It was bad enough that once the email came out with the new assignment came out that two of my coworkers came straight to my office to ask who I pissed off. We quickly tabulated the amount of work and it was near 45 hours of work and I had twelve hours to get it done (plus the lunch I was about to skip in order to work).

To make it worse, I asked for help and instead of having some of the work redirected or assigned to someone to help, I was told to work as late as needed and not to leave until all the high priority issues were resolved.

On top of that is what sets my job/workplace apart from others. I feel like a high workload and a rude customer, or not meeting productivity or sales goals make bad days for others. However for me, in one day there was an incident of one inmate getting jumped in his cell by two others, a one one one fight in one location simultaneously with a two on one stabbing in another location. Around 5pm there was a four on one fight in our dining hall.

It is hard to complete assessments and conduct counselling when you are running every few minutes to respond an emergency or when you can not access the inmates because they are locked in their cells in order to be searched for more weapons (and a few more were found).

Due to the combination of the all the factors I had to wing large portions of my work. By the time I worked over two and a half hours I had a headache so bad I could not think. I had to stop. i didn't bring food to stay this late, so i was not prepared.

I called CB and let her know that I was changing today to my recovery day because I just didn't feel like working out. I told her I would pick her up at church and we being go out to eat.

An hour later my day started to get better after a steak, two crab cakes, and two margaritas. This speaks volumes about my day. In the last year, I can count the number of drinks I have had on two hands. Most of my drinks happen on holidays or at cookouts.

The stress of the day was completely forgotten when I got home. We arrived at the house to see that the local Fed-Ex man had made a stop.

This was tri geek Christmas to me. the 10oz bottles for my fuel belt and the my tristryke saddle. If you read this, you know I have been wanting a new saddle since my first 25 mile ride on the new bike. I really was excited like a kid at Christmas I forgot all about the day.

Thinking...

How is your weather today?

For the majority of the week we have had rain. This has resulted in me spending about 6 hours on the trainer, if not more. Today is beautiful but is my rest day. Despite working an eight hour shift already today, my bike (still nameless) and the sun are calling my names. I am currently staring out a window pondering whether or not to risk my legs for my 14 miler tomorrow to have some fun today........

Hope your Easter weekend is going great!!

Respect for Morning Workouts

I just wanted to share with you my utmost respect for those who put in morning workouts, particularly long morning workouts all before going to work. With over a year of trying it is something I have not had much luck at.

Last Saturday I was able to mow three quarters of my lawn before it started raining. When I got done cutting trees I cam home and mowed half of the remaining quarter Monday but ran out of gas before i finished the entire section.

I know that I need to finish mowing as soon as possible this afternoon because I share a lawn mower with My father-in-law who commuted to Atlanta during the week. He is coming home this evening and I know he will need to mow his lawn. With this in mind I also knew that my workout schedule called for a brick with a 20 mile ride and 3 mile run. In order to get the lawn mowed I knew that I would need to do this before work.

I planned accordingly and got my work clothes ready, got my bike and accoutrements ready, set up a transition area, hung my (clean) workout clothes on the bed post near me, and set the alarm for 4:30 AM.

I was up and down every two hours anticipating my workout. I was awake at 4 Am thinking- I should just get up. I fell back asleep and when the alarm clock sounded I hit the snooze button. Or at least I thought I hit the snooze button, because it went off again at 6:20 AM. Entirely too late to workout since I needed to leave for work in 50 minutes.

So again, I have the utmost respect for the morning workout warriors!!

Numerical Oddities

Ever since the Monday after my last race I have been pondering the results. I love numbers and both at the race and the next day when I saw the results, I noticed some interesting things and I learned a few lessons. This is also my check in with my 2011 goals.

My overall time was 1:09:08. I had the goal of finishing one sprint under 1:10 during 2011 so one goal is accomplished for the year. That time is 44 overall and 4th in my AG. The race was a time trial start by 100m swim pace, overall there were only 8 people who had slower swim time who finished higher than me overall. This makes me think that in terms of well-rounded progress I am doing well. Also I started out at #112 and finished at 44 so I think I can probably run and bike faster than the average person with my similar swim speed. If I had been in the 20-24 AG I would have won, if I had been in the 30-34 AG I would have been next to last, and in the 35-39 AG I would have been dead last by a large margin. Apparently I need much improvement before I can be competitive with the old guys :). Had I competed in the elite division I would have beet #3 by a full minute, but behind the #2 by 16 minutes. Apparently elite is somewhat ambiguous.

Seeding me at 112 for the swim, I looked around at gear of others with similar swim abilities and except for one carbon tri bike, we all had very similar equipment. This leads me to believe that I am where I need to be in my progress. Last year I took my training very serious, but at my last race I was seeded 406 by 100m swim time and in transition I was surrounded by relay teams of 300 pound men and women on beach cruisers. At that time it made me feel as if my results were not in the same place as my intensity. Overall I was 66 and I was 8 in my AG. This tells me this is the area that I need to work the most in, far cry or my 1:30 per 100m goal for the year.

On the bike I was 62 overall and 5 in my AG. I could have gone faster, but I don't feel I could have made my 10 mile TT goal for the year. These results indicate to me that I am faster than I think I am (on flat ground), but it is still an area that needs work. I think all the time in the saddle for HIM long rides has been a benefit.

While being 44 overall I was 32 on the run and #1 in my AG. I had a 2011 goal of a sub 24 minute 5k. With a time of 22:42 I hit that in the head. Oh, and per the garmin it was 5k dead on. My previous 5k PR was 26+. Crushed that. Apparently I got fast. I have reevaluated my goal and I now want to get in a 5k under 21 minutes by the end of the year. I was trying to make a 2 minute improvement to meet my original goal, I now need less than that to  make my new goal.

I now have my marching orders- work on swim, bike, and then run. Now I just need a strategy.


Have you had to reassess your goals yet this year?