The KodaFit Blog

I know I’ve been slacking with this blog, but it wasn’t until I checked to see when my last post was that I realized that it has been over 3 weeks…  ACK!!!

Things have been pretty busy of late.  Work has gotten a little more involved, and my training has really been ramping up.  Both of which are things which I’m counting as positive changes in my life.

Good things have been happening however…  I’ve noticed a pretty significant improvement in all aspects of my training, from my swimming to the intensity and duration of my run and cycling sessions.

There are some other exciting things coming on the home front as well - which I hope to announce in the next few weeks (And it DOES NOT involves any more little Mike’s - just so you know!).

A rather small, but none-the-less exciting event occurred last week.  WARP -a local racing company which puts on the BAM and BASH triathlons did a twitter give-away.  It was something I was ready for, and which I almost missed at the last minute.  As luck would have it, I happened to refresh my twitter page, just seconds after it was posted, and after some blazing fast internet searching and a quick email to the organizer…

I WON!!!

The prize was a gift basket from TriSwim, which I may write about more in the future - They have awesome products!!  But included in the basket, which arrived Friday, was a can of TriSlide - their lubricating spray to assist in wetsuit removal and help ward off chaffing as well.

I did a 64 mile bike session on Saturday night, and prior to beginning, sprayed my inner thighs with the TriSlide.  It didn’t look like much, and I couldn’t really feel it, but I also didn’t feel any chaffing or rubbing, so I’m thinking that’s a pro on both counts.

Last night as I was brushing my teeth, my sweet wife commented about how our floor seemed really slick in one particular spot, and that a couple of the kids had wiped out on it when walking over said spot.

I thought that was a little strange and then I remembered the label, and a small warning at the bottom of the instructions, describing how surfaces could become incredibly slippery when sprayed.  I walked over in my socks to check it out, and almost lost it myself.  It’s really slick stuff!!  Apparently my aim wasn’t as good as it should have been when applying the product the night before.

A couple of things I learned from this:

1. It’s a good idea to read labels and take them seriously.
2. TriSlide is easy to remove from floors with soap and water (thankfully!).
3. TriSlide should probably be applied outside or on carpet - not on laminate flooring!
4. TriSlide is slicker than snot!

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I’ve been good friends with the owner of Bee Simple for a couple of years now, and as such my wife and I have served as guinea-pigs at times for her products or items which she thinks might become products!  I’m pleased to report that we have yet to develop any funky skin lesions, nasty rashes or anything like that.

The whole idea for Bee Simple started with honey, and incidentally, if you’re looking for a great source of raw honey, they sell that too.  One of the byproducts of honey is beeswax.  Actually, I was hoping to include a fun story about the history of the phrase “Mind your own beeswax”, but none of the sources I found seemed to have a consistent source of that phrase.  One indicated that women used to wear it on their faces, and it would melt off if they didn’t ‘mind it’ around the fire, and another anecdote had to do with women melting beeswax to make candles, and worrying more about others wax than their own.  The last one seems more likely, but neither have much in the way of a humor factor or historical support.

Anyway with an abundance of beeswax, she started thinking about things she could do with it and thus Bee Simple was born.  Primarily she sells lotion bars and lip balms, and then of course honey, as I mentioned before.  And the best part is that they are all natural!

I’m not sure if I’ve ever used the lip balms, but my kids have, and they all really them.  I have however tried out the lotion bars, and they rock!!  I’ve tried the natural and the citrus bars and love them both.  My sweet wife has tried the Tropical Flower one as well, but it has a flowery scent and while I may claim to be in touch with my feminine side at times, I just rather not smell that way!  I do like it on the Mrs. though!

The lotion bars come in a small tub, and when you need to use them, you just pop the bar out and apply.  It’s kind of like soap, but without the extreme slipperiness, or the soapy bubbles.  Actually come to think of it, it’s not really like soap at all, other than the fact that it’s in bar form, and you rub it onto your skin.

I like it because it goes on easy and clear, and you don’t have to rub it in, like you do with other lotion type products.   It works well, and it smells good too, so that’s a win/win in my book.

Taleen doesn’t know I’m doing this review yet, but since she just barely got her web-site up and running, I figure I would see if I could send some traffic her way - plus they are really great products.  I doubt she’ll give you a discount if you mention my name, but if you buy enough stuff, you might be able to pry some deep dark secrets about me from her, and thus have means to embarrass me on our next encounter.

You can find the products with full descriptions, pictures and all of that on her website - BeeSimpleNaturals.com.

They would make a great stocking stuffer for a certain impending holiday!

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I guess this is actually more of a service review, and to make the deal even sweeter…  IT’S FREE!!!

Now in an effort for full disclosure.  I did get a free tech shirt for writing some reviews, but that was after I had already written a couple, and even without the shirt, I would have added more and make use of the site in the months and years to come.

I wrote a race report after I ran the St. George Marathon last year.  The St. George Marathon has been running for about 30 years and had over 7,000 runners last year.   If you google “st george marathon race report”  My report comes up as number 5 on the list.  That’s kind of sad, because it really wasn’t that great of a report.

It does however show the need for a place where you can find decent race reports on marathons, triathlons and the like.  If you’ve ever tried to find out information on a race prior to doing it, you know what I’m talking about.

Enter…

Racevine.com is a repository of race reports, written by real people who been there and done it.  The reports are short, and I really like the little section afterward with information on key aspects of the race.  Transportation, availability of restrooms, what the aid stations stock, etc.

Here’s the official word on the site -

Our website is called www.racevine.com.  It’s a place to easily find a race to do, write a review, read reviews of others, keep a profile of your races, and much more.  Our goal is to support the endurance race community and promote the sport by helping people find, review and share their race experiences, and also provide a great resource of feedback and to help raise awareness for race organizers.  Think of it as a “Yelp or Zagat guide for races” with our users saying “I heard it through the Racevine”.

I personally found the site very easy to use, well laid out and very informative.

It’s a site where you can both contribute to and extract excellent information.

I mentioned the Free Tech Shirt I got as well.  And if you’re a triathlete, marathoner or duathlete and would like to contribute 10 “quality” reviews to the site, you may be able to qualify for a free shirt as well.   Just shoot me an email at racevine_review@kodafit.com and I’ll send you more information.

Check out some of the races I’ve reviewed…

Rage Triathlon

St George Marathon

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As I’ve increased my swim distance over the past year or so, one annoyance I’ve had has been counting laps.  The pool I frequent is a 25 yd pool, so to swim a mile or two requires keeping count through almost 70 laps.  Sometimes I’d get thinking about something and forget to count, sometimes I’d zone out and forget to count and then sometimes I’d just forget where I was.  Probably fine if you’re swimming for fitness, but I’m a stat junky.  I need to know how far, how fast and whether I’m improving or not.  If it can be measured I want to know what it is.

I’ve been thinking that it would be cool to have a little counter of sorts that would allow me to swim normally and let me count my laps by moving just the hand it was on.  I’m not sure if I ever voiced my frustration to my dear wife, but by the time I saw the add in Runners World for the SportCount timer, apparently my wife had already ordered mine for Christmas.

First my rating of this product would be 2.5 lattes on the EveryMan Latte Rating Scale.

EveryMan “Gotta Have” Latte Rating Scale: Rating Scale (based on the amount of lattes per day you’ll give up to buy this product)

• 4 Lattes: A must have product that will make your friends jealous and your competitors cower in undisguised fear and trepidation.

• 3 Lattes: A very good investment that is well worth forgoing a year or two of your children’s college fund.

• 2 Lattes: One of those products that actually does what it says it does, but with the same pizazz as a Q-Tip.

• 1 Latte: The best thing said about this product is that I wouldn’t send it back if I got it for free.

 • No Latte: So excruciatingly lame that you would get more value by crossing the street for some discarded and well chewed gum before buying this product.

My model is the Combo Model, retailing for about $30.  Not the top of the line model, but not the basic model either.  Far more expensive than my Walmart watch, but far cheaper than my Garmin.

I wear it on my right index finger, and all it requires is a button push to turn it on.  Another push when I start swimming and then a push at the end of each lap.  The first time I used it was a little tricky.  I forgot to push it a couple of times, and a few times I registered a double push.  I think this was because I was trying to push it mid flip.  Now I have my system down, I get in range to flip over, push the button, kick, flip and I’m off again.  The button push is simply done with my thumb and the button is about perfect.  Not soft enough to get hit accidentally, but not so hard that my thumb hurts by the end of the swim.

When I get done, I click at the end of my last lap, and then anytime within the following 24 hours, I hold the button for 3 seconds and I get to see total laps, and total swim time.  Another push gives me average lap time, another my fastest lap # and the time, and then finally my slowest lap # and the time.

Once I have all that jotted down, I just hold it for a few more seconds, and the counter resets, ready for my next session.

Not only can it be used for swimming, but the manufacturer recommends it for running and other sports as well.

The next model up keeps individual lap times, and the models below lack the basic statistics, providing only a counter and a counter and timer option.

In the perfect world, I’d love it if the counter tracked my heart rate, allowed me to pause mid work-out, and synced up with my computer wirelessly.  I’m sure all this will come in time, but for now, this isn’t a bad product by any means, and being able to concentrate on my form and style has definitely helped me improve in those areas, rather than chanting with each stroke “Ele……..ven……….Ele……ven……”

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This will be my first product review on this blog. My goal is to provide a review of this product that is comprehensive and examines the pros, the cons and anything else interesting about it. To begin with, let me just say that I received a sample of this product along with a sample of regular Body Glide. I was going to combine the reviews, but I think the sunscreen version deserves a review all on it’s own.

Let’s get the details out of the way first…

Officially this is called BODYGLIDE® 2 Formulas in 1 Anti-Blister & Chafing Stick SPF 25.

According to the literature I received with the sample….

BODYGLIDE® 2 Formulas in 1 Anti-Blister & Chafing Stick SPF 25 helps protect against sunburn and painful rubbing and irritation, and help prevent and relieve chapped or cracked skin. It can be used for sun-exposed skin on the face, neck, arms and legs - and anywhere annoying irritation can occur. Apply liberally before exposure to the sun and  as needed.  Two-formulas-in1, this product is resistant to water and perspiration.

Before I get into a long explanation of my experiments with this product let me give you my final opinion.  It’s amazing stuff, not only does it have all the properties of BodyGlide, but the sunscreen is really good too.  My experience with it was that it is definitely waterproof.  It’s sweatproof too, and is the only sunscreen product I’ve tried that hasn’t run into my eyes on a long run.  It smells pleasant, and is the only thing my kids will allow me to put on their faces.  Not only does it protect against the sun, but it also appears to protect against the wind, definitely of benefit on long bike rides.  If there is a downside to this product, it’s that the sample I was sent was the smaller of the 2 available sizes.  This means I’m going to have to actually purchase some more of it very soon - But I’ll be more than happy to pay full price for it.

OK, now the long story.  I’ll be doing a review of regular BodyGlide in the next week.  In the tests I did with this particular ‘flavor’ of BodyGlide, it performed exactly the same as the original product, so if you are interested in it’s anti-chaffing properties, be sure and check back for that one.

There are two major tests I did with regard to this being a sunscreen product.  I used it on a couple of long bike rides, and it performed well.  On one ride though, I did a comparison test.  Usually I use Bullfrog sunscreen with an SPF of 36.  Basically that means I can handle the sun 36 times longer with it on than without it.  I like bullfrog because it goes on easily, dries quickly and appears to stay on longer that other products even if I’m sweating heavily.  I have noticed though that it does seem to mix with my sweat, and while it’s tolerable, it does sting a little when it runs into my eyes.

For the test I put Bullfrog (SPF 36) on one half of my face and then put BodyGlide 2-in-1 (SPF 25) on the other half.  I then went out for a 50+ mile ride.   Neither side got sunburnt, although I did get some of the Bullfrog in my eye when I started sweating.  After 3+ hour in 90 degree+ temperatures I returned home.  There was a definitely difference on the two side of my face though.  The side with the BodyGlide was smooth, unburnt and it looked good.  The side with the BullFrog was  unburnt, but it had red blotches from what I assume was wind burn, and the skin didn’t seem to be as smooth.  Even after washing, and waiting a day or two, several people were still able to see the difference on my face.  My assumption is thatwhile the BullFrog was absorbed into my skin, and protected it against the sun.  The BodyGlide remained on the surface and not only protected from the sun, but the wind as well.  Surprisingly too, even after having been out for 3 hours, I could still feel it on my skin.  It’s hard to describe.  It’s not oily, but you can feel it.  It just seems to be a unique BodyGlide feeling.

The second test I did was simply a swim test.  I applied BodyGlide 2 -in-1 to my face right before my weekly long swim.  I did 2 miles at a fairly decent speed, and then got out of the water and checked my face.  The BodyGlide still appeared to be in place, and felt just as thick as it was when I first put it on.  I know with other sunscreens, usually I would need to reapply them after an hour, and then wait 15 minutes or so, before I can return to the water.  I can’t say conclusively if this is the case, but it would appear the BodyGlide 2-in-1 stays on much longer, and I would suspect that the 15 minutes drying period required by other sunscreens isn’t need with this product.

Like I said at the beginning, I would highly recommend this product.  It’s become a standard in my gym bag and I no longer head out on my lunch time runs without applying it first.

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