Tailwind Nutrition - Initial Review

Towards the end of the last ultra/tri season, I knew that I would have to make some significant progress with proper fueling, especially if I wanted to continue with ultras and take on the Ironman challenge.

I thought I had found something with EFS, however, after a handful of runs with the product, my stomach let me know that it was not acceptable.  It was at this point I realized that I can not tolerate any maltodextrin.  I would not be too upset about this, as  I would prefer to use only whole foods to fuel my training and racing, however, water and trail mix were not/are not sustaining me for my goals.

I knew I needed to find a complete endurance fuel that could be mixed and taken in liquid form as I approach the IM challenge.  I am not very comfortable on the bike and for me to ride one-handed long enough to unwrap and try to eat solid food is an unsafe option.

A friend on DM gave an excellent review of a product I had never heard of.  Tailwind Nutrition is new to the market and their claims are quite robust.

They state that Tailwind Endurance Fuel is a complete source for energy and electrolytes and a meet all of the calorie needs.  The product is toted to be hydration pack friendly as it is not sticky and cleans easily from the containers.  It seemed to good to be true.  But I am desperate to find a product so I ordered a trial package of three packets which each contained 4 servings.

I used most of the product on three separate bike rides and an hour long run.  I had hoped to use it on a much longer run, but that did not materialize this time around.

Tailwind mixed up clear and was not too sweet or too salty.  Even my little guy, Boo, liked the taste.  On the bike, the drink was pleasant and I never felt sticky.

The best part of all is that I had NO stomach upset.  None at all.  Even after my third ride with Tailwind, the only problem I had was that I had used all of the product!!

Here are the nutritional stats from the package:

Yesterday I ordered the 50 serving package.  It occurred to me that I didn't know which flavor I liked best, which I found interesting as I usually lean in the Berry direction.  I found that each flavor was good, and honestly, such a light hint of flavor that it didn't over power the drink.

I plan to continue to try this product out over the coming months.  I am curious to try to mix it a little thicker or more concentrated for the longer training periods.  I also am eager to see how Tailwind handles the Texas heat, particularly my need for S-caps.

On the workouts that I used Tailwinds, I also supplemented with solid nutrition at rest stops.  Mostly Cliff Shot Blox and trail mix.  I have to really focus on keeping my calorie count up and I was not able to mix the Tailwind concentrated enough to sustain a 4 hour ride.  I will do this as soon as I receive my larger order.

Tailwind seems to be a great product and their customer service has been great!  If you try this product, let me know how it goes for you, and let the folks at Tailwind know too!

Shoe Review - Brooks PureProject Flow

After acquiring a pair of Brooks PureGrit back in October, (you can read my review here) I knew I had to buy a pair of Brooks PureFlow as soon as I could manage to.

Christmas provided an opportunity for my husband to gift a pair to me along with some new Injinji socks.  First, about Injinji... I love these socks.  I have been wearing them for almost 4 years so when I saw these fun, striped colors, I was so excited to put them on!  They really are like wearing a party on your feet!  If you have any problems with toe blisters or toe nails rubbing against other toes, these really do solve the problem.  The only time I can not wear these socks is when it is very cold out.  The separated toes don't have the ability to stay warm and I need warm feet to be a happy trail runner.

The PureFlows fit just as great as the Grits.  Like they were made for my fit specifically.  It must have something to do with the elastic band across the top of the shoe which holds the upper nice and snug to my foot.

The cushioning is sufficient for me.  I like cushioning, so having a much lighter shoe without sacrificing the comfort factor is a definite plus.  I have yet to run past 12 miles in the shoes as I am still transitioning into the lower heel.  I hope over the next several months to be in these shoes almost exclusively.

I can't really find anything I don't like about this shoe.  Thank you, Brooks for a nice shoe, at a great price!

Finding the Groove

I've been away from the blog for almost a month so I figured I should post a little tidbit just to let the few of you that read this rag know that I am still around, still running, and working on finding the groove for the upcoming running year.

It's been a very interesting 8 weeks for me as I have been sick enough to be miserable since Sept 16, but not quite sick enough to shut everything down.  I finally went to the doctor for steroids and antibiotics 5 weeks into this stuff and while they seemed to do the trick within hours, I have spent the last 3 weeks dealing with the effects of an allergic reaction to the meds.

I am about 85% healthy at this point and it has occurred to me that this may be as good as it gets.  So sticking with training is what I've been doing and what I will continue to do.  Things could certainly be worse for me, so I will embrace the 85% and run through the 15% yet not occupy anything other than my running shoes.

Speaking of shoes, I have been wearing the Brooks Pure Project Grit more and more and I am really enjoying them.  As soon as my budget allows, I will be picking up a pair of the road shoe counterpart, The Flow, I believe.  I hope to post more of a review soon.

For now, back to push ups and mom duty!

Shoe Review - Brooks Pure Project PureGrit

Who doesn't get excited when seeing this little blue box?!

And who doesn't love free stuff?!  All of this came with my new shoes!

I should preface this review with the disclaimer that I am NOT a professional runner.  I am NOT a professional product reviewer.  Any opinions I state here are purely my uneducated experience I have had with this shoe. 

I have been running in Brooks almost my entire running career, a short career of 5 years.  I had a brief stint with Asics when I first began, switched to Brooks Adrenaline shortly thereafter, and after a hip stress fracture, I realized that I was running in the wrong shoe and had too much structure to my shoes.  While running trails, I have ALWAYS run in the Brooks Cascadia which is a neutral trail shoe. It should be said that I LOVE my Cascadias. What was interesting to me I could not understand why I needed so much support in road running, but seemed to need less on the dirt.  Running in the neutral Cascadia gave me the confidence I needed to switch to the Glycerine last year and I have felt very, very comfortable in my neutral road shoes.

I did read Born to Run and while I can appreciate the minimalist approach to running, I don't think it is a good fit for me, at this point.  I am always interested in a lighter shoe with trends toward the "less is more" approach.

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune of winning a gift card to Luke's Locker at the Casa 5K.  With that in hand, I headed to Luke's to see about some shoes.  I have been watching and waiting for the launch of the new Brooks Line of shoes, Pure Project since early this summer.  A few reviews had come across my path and though I am not a "minimalist" runner, I was intrigued by this new, lightweight, but not necessarily minimalist style shoe. 

I tried on a few others that have had my eye as well. Specifically, the NB Minimus and the Merrell Trail Glove.  While both of these shoes appeal to my sense of "less is more" and at first glance were very comfortable, a few steps on the treadmill and I knew that there is no way I was ready for them.  They are very minimal in nature and I am just not there in my gait yet.

I then asked about the PureGrit.  What I knew is that the heel drop was 4mm, so not quite at the same level as the other two shoes I had tried on, but certainly a shift from the 12 mm heel drop that I currently have on my Cascadias.  The shoe jock brought them out and I gave them a whirl.  They felt great going on and I took a spin in them on the tread mill.  I could feel a difference in the heel, but I knew that I would experience this from the outset.

I was ready to take the new treads home only to find out that they could not be sold till the next day, October 1st.  I was heartbroken.  Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love new shoes, especially new running shoes.  Knowing I would have to wait to come back and purchase them was Pure alright, pure torture.

I left the store, dismayed and deflated, but I did return to pick them up on October 2nd, exercising my patience muscle.    Probably the best part about buying these shoes was the final out of pocket expense for me.  With my gift card and running club member discount, these beauties cost me 16.00!

I knew I was going to have to wait a day to try them out since I had already run on Sunday morning.  I also knew that I would not be able to tolerate a long run in them as I needed to get acclimated to them over what I figured would be a few runs.

Last evening was the moment I had been waiting for.  I took the new babies out of their box and slipped them on.  First thing I noticed when putting them on was how very, very light they were.  7.6 ounces vs the Cascadia 10.4 ounces makes a huge difference.

I also loved the wide elastic strap across the nicely padded tongue of the shoe.  This made for a comfortably snug fit without the necessity of having to tie the laces too tightly.  I love a snug shoe, but I have found that if I tie the laces as tightly as I'd like, I end up with numbness in my foot.  This is not an issue with the Grit.  Very nice feature.

The shoes truly feel like as if they could be your favorite house slipper.  Comfortable, cushioning the boney areas of my feet, under the ball of the foot.  They were springy and yet, I could feel the ground beneath me.
The sole of the shoe has a one piece construction and seems very durable with rugged tread needed for the dirt.  There is a small split between the Great toe and the others and I believe this helps with the flexibility of the shoe and therefore the foot while traversing the rocks and such.

I headed out to the trail to run a short while before Yoga class.  I have been experiencing some Achilles Tendon pain in the right foot the last week or so and hoped that this would not be an issue.  The trail I ran had a nice flat, compact dirt aspect with a few rocks and sticks scattered about.  I could "feel" the trail much more effectively than in any other shoe I have run in.  Right away, I noticed the heel drop.  While running in the store, it didn't seem too significant of a change, but within 15 mins, I knew I was going to have to ease into these shoes.

My feet felt very comfortable.  My toes had plenty of room, and the legs felt much lighter than normal.  I run a few inclines and interestingly enough, felt like my legs were doing a bit more work than usual.
I even noticed my pace was up quite a bit, but that was short-lived.

By mile 1.5, both legs were feeling the effects of the lower heel drop and the calves were burning.  I took several walk breaks of a short duration to ease up the unpleasant feeling I was experiencing.  That feeling coupled with the Achilles issue on the right foot, gave me reason to stop at mile 3.   I figured out very quickly that the next two weeks should not be about trying out new shoes.  I have a 100 coming up and that needs to be my focus.

I also realized that though my running gait has changed quite a bit, I am still quite the heel striker.  I am definitely not striking the heels as hard as I used to, but I am not by any stretch of the imagination a mid to fore-foot runner, yet.


If I had to offer any negatives about the shoe thus far, my suggestion would be color.  I always feel drawn to the colors of the mens shoes.  I wish shoe folks would get that women don't always need "girly" colors.  I prefer power colors like red, orange, black, neon green, etc.  I love my bright yellow and bright green Cascadias.  Getting them dirty is a badge of honor and seemingly a right of passage for any trail runner.  Somehow, brown trail shoes seem somewhat anti-climactic.  How can I possibly get these things dirty?

I really, really like the PureGrit.  And I look forward to getting home from this race and taking them out for a few miles.  I will need to keep the runs shorter at first until I feel that my gait has acclimated to the change.  I am not willing to risk an injury at this point or really at any point just for a shoe.