Go to Training Gear

A few weeks ago I put a call out on IG stories to see what people would like me to write about on the blog.  I covered one topic last week.  This week I'm going to talk about gear that I love and use.  This is NOT a sponsored post, these are products I've bought with my own dollars.

Let's start from the ground up.

Shoes:

I spent most of the last year running in On running shoes.  Specifically the Cloud Flow and the Cloud Surfer.  I much prefer the Cloud Flow, it's a very sleek, light and responsive low profile shoe and it was my go to racing and training shoe this year.  The Cloud Surfer is also quite responsive but I found it to be much bulkier.  I put over 500km on the Cloud Flows and I think I could probably squeeze out another 100km or so before I have to say goodbye to them.

I've also been running in the Hoka Clifton 3's.  I like the fact that they reduce impact but I'm not totally in love with them for anything longer than about 12km.  After that my feet start to hurt.

Socks:

I am SO picky about socks.  My go to for training runs or running races especially longer races, are Ijinji's.  Yup, the toe socks.  They keep my feet blister free.  For triathlon racing, I have been loving Swiftwick socks.  The longer ones offer a little bit of compression which is great over a longer distance ride and run.  Why do I wear two different kinds of socks for similar events?  Simple.  It's all about the ease of getting them on.  Injinji's are not pull on and go type socks, because you have to make sure the sock is pulled up over each toe.  So I have a back up in the Swiftwick.

Bottoms:

My go to gear for tri shorts for years has been Zoot.  Specifically the Zoot Ultra series.  The design of the chamois is perfect for me.  There is no seam underneath the chamois which means there is no chance of any sort of rubbing on your girly bits unless your shorts are too big and they start bunching.    Many other brands place the chamois ON TOP of a seam, which for me, is a recipe for major angry kitty and some kind of chafing.  Coeur is another company that makes their tri shorts the same way (they coined the slogan "no angry kitty", ha ha).  This year I finally embraced the one piece tri suit and I loved it.  It's not the easiest thing when you have to go to the washroom but for racing, it's extremely comfortable.   It doesn't ride up, you're never pulling your top down, nothing.

For running, I actually run in my older Zoot tri shorts a lot because I like the functionality of them.  They have built in, easy to access pockets so it's easy for me to stash a couple of gels and my keys.  I'm also a fan of the Oiselle "Roga" shorts.  They fit well, don't ride up too much and the waistband is fantastic.  For tights, I'm a big fan of Oiselle.  I have two pairs of their tights, the Portman tight and the KC tights, which they no longer make.  They are comfortable, functional and stylish.  In fact, I've worn both as leggings with tunics and boots!  That's a win / win for me!

Oiselle KC tights

Sports Bras / Tops:

Most of the time when I'm working out, I prefer to wear tank tops with built in bras so over the years I've worn a lot of Zoot tanks.  Now that I've put on some weight and my breasts have come back with a vengeance, I only wear tanks with built in bras when I'm on the trainer or working out in the gym so I don't have to worry about any bounce.  Even when I was leaner, I still wasn't that small.  More like I was a small in the back, big in the front kinda gal.   That's why I was thrilled when Moving Comfort started making bras that were based on bra sizing vs. just small, medium, large.  I review one here.   The range of bras available now is amazing.  Manufacturers like Brooks and Lole are taking into account band and cup sizes and are making sports bras that are functional, supportive AND cute.  No need to hide them under a tank top any more!   I'm currently in the market for some new sports bras so when find something I like, I'll either update this post or do a separate review.

So, there you have it.  Most of my go to gear from the bottom up.

What are your favourite go to pieces?  Any new companies you're really loving?  

~ Coach PK

Keeping the Ladies in Their Place

By "ladies", I mean breasts. Boobies. The things that go bounce on the front of your chest.

Until recently, I have always been a small in the back, big in the front kinda gal and have been since tender age of 13. Looking back, that would explain why the boys in my grade school would religiously sit by the edge of the track while us girls used to run relay. Our grade 7 4x100 relay team was a fairly busty bunch from what I remember. Back in those days I knew nothing of "sports bras" and I'm pretty sure most of the female population didn't either as womens athletics was really just starting to come into it's own.

Fast forward 25 years. I've been running regularly and racing in triathlon for several years at this point. Sports bras for me were just tight spandex crop tops. As long as they kind of held everything in place, that was good enough for me. Until I saw my finishing photo for the 2008 Muskoka Long Course Triathlon.

Oh My God.

Somehow my breasts had managed to defy the laws of gravity. One of them was bouncing up somewhere around my chin and the other was miraculously falling to somewhere around my stomach. Absolutely MORTIFYING. Sure it could have been just the angle of the camera combined with the way I was moving that resulted in that unfortunate image. Either way, it was awful.

I was wearing my favourite Nike "disco" sports bra (named such by my friend Sue because of the somewhat shiny pattern on it that looked like sequins). I thought this bra was great because it had a nice thick band around the base and thicker straps. Thick = support. Or so I thought. All it really did was squish my breasts down into lumpy quasi-pancakes. I had a ton of sports bras like this. Well, it was time to do some purging. And some investigation. Sure enough good old Runner's World came to the rescue with a review of sports bras. Lots of good choices especially for bustier runners. I decided that I should be wearing a bra that actually reflected what my bust / cup size was. What a novel idea!!  And since I have such a wonderfully attentive husband, guess what I got for Christmas that year?

The best sports bra EVER. The "Fiona" bra by Moving Comfort. You can check it out here.

This bra uses both encapsulation and compression to offer the best support and shape.   Bras that use encapsulation usually have molded cups, while compression bras flatten the breasts, thereby restricting movement.  So you are getting the best of both worlds for your ladies!

It fit perfectly.  And it was actually fairly nice looking!  I have to admit some of the bras for bustier runners were NOT incredibly attractive.  But this one could actually be considered cute.  Especially since it comes in more than just black or white!    The straps have velcro closures on the front so you can adjust it accordingly like you would a regular bra.  Very handy in making sure that the straps are secure.   I was a little concerned about the hook at the back causing chafing but they have covered it in a very soft fabric so you don't even feel it.  It also fit me a lot tighter than I was used to.   It did flatten my chest a bit but still offered a relatively nice shape without making my breasts look like torpedoes.
My first run in it was a joy.  There was no bounce.  None what so ever.  A-MA-ZING!

However I do have 2 very minor complaints about this bra.  1) the strap style.  I wear a lot of racer back tanks in the summer and this bra is literally an over the shoulder boulder holder so you see the straps.  Call me conservative but I'd rather not look like Madonna when I'm out on my run.  2)  The velcro at the front of the bra can cause chafing on very long sweaty runs if it's not properly secured.  I did a 34 km run on a VERY hot and humid wearing that bra and I came back to some rather unpleasant chafing.  


Moving Comfort has become quite the popular line with the introduction of this bra.   Their Canadian sales reps have had bra fitting clinics at various running stores across the GTA.  The most recent one was last weekend at Running Free in Markham.   If you're in the market for a new sports bra for yourself or perhaps your wife (if you're a guy reading this) then I would highly recommend this bra.  The ladies in your life will love you for it.

You can purchase it online here.    If you enter this coupon code at the check out, you can save an additional $5 off a purchase of $50 or more before tax!   Using this coupon gets me points towards my team passport.  The more coupons redeemed, the more points I get.  And points are what I need to make it back on to next year's team!  So feel free to spread the savings around!