McDavid USA Compression Sleeves Review & Giveaway

July 6, 2011 by 56 Comments

Since I started training for my first half marathon back in March, I have quickly become a big fan of all things compression. So when the folks at McDavid USA contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying a pair of their new True Compression Leg Sleeves, I was quick to say yes!

For those of you who don’t know, McDavid USA began as the first widely used lateral knee brace in football and expanded into a leader in sports medical products and technical performance athletic wear.

The first time I tried the sleeves on, I was surprised by how light they were. They were snug and supportive without that intense compressive feel. Within a couple of minutes I forgot I was wearing them.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve used them mostly for recovery after long runs and track work. I even used them after a long day of gardening. The McDavid Sleeves definitely did the job to help reduce any soreness in my calves. While I was reluctant to wear them during a run ’cause I just didn’t want any additional layers in this crazy heat & humidity, I did take a run in them and enjoyed how supported my legs felt (and how fresh, post-run). I will probably take advantage of these sleeves during my runs even more as the weather cools.

Overall, these leg sleeves are keepers. Now if McDavid would only consider making them in additional colors beyond black and white 🙂

Interested in trying the True Compression Sleeves for yourself? The folks at McDavid are offering a pair to one lucky winner.

Here’s how to enter — please leave a separate comment for each entry:

Mandatory:
  1. Be a follower of my blog; and,
  2. “like” McDavid USA page on Facebook
Additional entries:
  • Post a comment on McDavid’s FB page telling why you want to try the sleeves and let them know Running with Attitude sent you.
  • Follow @McDavidUSA on Twitter
  • Share about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook or Twitter (be sure to include include @McDavidUSA in your tweet) — or do all three, one comment for each, please!

You can enter from now until 11:59 EST on July 17th. A winner will be selected randomly on July 18th. If you just can’t wait to try McDavid for yourself, McDavid is offering Running with Attitude readers a special promotion of 15% off any of their products! Just use the promotion code RWA11 (now thru 7/31).

Disclaimer: The product was provided by McDavid USA for the purpose of a product review. The opinions provided here are solely my own.

Good Luck!
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Filed Under: compression sleeves, giveaways, McDavid USA, product reviews

Do you want cheese with that whine?

July 5, 2011 by 6 Comments

This morning was one of those runs where I was seriously questioning the sanity of planning to run a half marathon in August!

Despite getting out by 6, the lovely bank display showed the temp was already 70 degrees. Mercifully, it doesn’t give the humidity reading — sometimes ignorance is bliss!

4 1/2 weeks to go until 13 miles of heat-inflicted torture…er, I mean, race day. My training plan has this as a step-back week, but I’m not sure I want to cut back on my mileage too much. I think I’m just going to go by feel and see how far each run takes me – except I probably will cut back my long run to less than double digits. For today, 4 sticky thick miles felt like more than enough – ok I’ll stop whining now 😉

Do you include step-back weeks in your training?

Stay tuned for my McDavid USA compression review and giveaway coming tomorrow!

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Filed Under: step-back, training, weather

Happy 4th!

July 4, 2011 by 3 Comments

Just hanging here on my back deck with an iced coffee in hand enjoying a very lazy morning.

After going almost non-stop since Friday, including a double-digit run, lots of much needed weeding and mulching my very neglected garden, cooking and grilling, running around with the kids and dog, Pilates and more running on my own….(you’re starting to get the picture)… I woke up this morning and every fiber in me yelled “Stop!” So I’ve decided to fully embrace the rest day on the training plan today, hang with family and maybe take the kids on in a no-holds-bar game of mini – golf, and then probably eat too much! How are you spending the day?

Happy 4th!!
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Filed Under: 4th of July, Rest day

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

June 30, 2011 by 6 Comments

Crazy schedule wrapping up the school year, plus taking a a few days off after the race turned June into one of my lowest mileage months this year.

With school finally done, we’re settling into a summer routine around here and I’ve been pushing the alarm clock back to get those early morning runs in – must be working cause I woke up at 5:30 this morning without the alarm…only problem was today’s a rest day.

I loved reading everyone’s comments about how fast to do a long run. I have 10 miles on the plan for tomorrow. This will be the first time going back up to double digits since the race so I’ve decided to just run by feel and see where I come out pace-wise — should serve as a good benchmark. I’ll also be testing out my Nathan hydration belt.

Can you believe tomorrow is July 1 already?!?!
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Filed Under: 3 things, early morning runs, long runs, Nathan hydration belt, Schedule vs Training

Mixing it up at the track

June 28, 2011 by 9 Comments

Trackwork Tuesday again – The plan called for 1600 repeats again this morning, but I’ve been itching to mix it up a little. So instead I decided to try a speed workout from Coach Jerry’s Key Workouts for a Successful Half Marathon courtesy of iRunnerblog.
      
Start with 10 minute warm-up, then 3 sets of 200/200/400 intervals with matching recovery intervals. I went with 2 sets plus warm-up for a total of 3.5 miles. My main goal was consistency in my splits and as you can see, I was right on target today:

200 — 1:00;   200 — 1:00;  400 — 2:18

200 — 1:01;   200 — 1:04;  400 — 2:18

I really liked the mix of speed and endurance this workout provides. I will definitely do this workout again and next time add in the 3rd set.

Do you have a standard track workout? Do you mix it up? Or do you avoid the track altogether?

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Filed Under: keeping it interesting, track work

How fast is your long run?

June 25, 2011 by 9 Comments

While training for my first half marathon, my main goal during my long runs was to basically “survive” the distance and try to get comfortable with the concept of being on the road for a couple of hours at a time. I tried to run each weekly LSD without stopping, and while there wasn’t much attention to pace, I was always well ahead of the suggested pace from Smart Coach. On the other hand, there was very little difference between my “easy” run pace and the long run pace.

But, as I’ve started to get into my long runs for my next half, I’ve been wondering what’s the best way to get the most out of these runs. Unlike before, I now know I can do the distance – yet, Smart Coach still suggests a pace 1:30 slower than race day pace. And when I googled long runs, it’s amazing the collection of differing opinions put out by different running coaches. Some argue that the goal of the LSD is just to build mileage, to get time on your feet without straining and risking injury. However, other coaches/programs have target paces that are far from leisurely.

Of course, every runner is different and what works for one won’t necessarily work for another — but I am curious to know:

                How do you treat your long run? 
                Does it change as you move through your training and get closer to race day? 
I’ve got 4 double digit runs left between now and the Providence R’n’R, (combined with tempo runs, track work and easy runs), and I’d like to get the most out of those runs as I can if a PR is possible.

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Filed Under: long runs, Smart Coach, training

Decision made – Hello Team Sony

June 24, 2011 by 6 Comments

So I decided to accept the invitation to join Team Sony Walkman – thanks to all of you who weighed in!

To answer some of the questions you raised:
— Yes – there will be free products and giveaway opportunities.
— Yes – free running apparel.
— The 5 race commitment runs from now through January 31st.
— I was initially a little nervous about the idea of doing 5 events, but then when I looked at my race schedule for the rest of the year, the reality is I’ve already committed to 3 races, so adding 2 more doesn’t seem like a big stretch, especially since I confirmed that I can mix up the distances (it would definitely be a different story if they all had to be halfs!)
— No – the races fees aren’t covered.

I think it will be a fun opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the other runners and trying out the products! I should be getting more information in the next couple of weeks.

 

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Filed Under: opportunities, Sony

Fun in the mail

June 20, 2011 by 5 Comments

I love getting new stuff in the mail!

So first the UPS man showed up with ….more new shoes! I know I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion how much I’m loving my Saucony Mirage. I started rotating these shoes into my runs in March and have steadily increased my miles in them – I even ran the half in them! I’d been thinking that once I put a fair amount of miles on them I’d look to add the Saucony Kinvara into the mix – one more step on the minimalism path.

Well, lucky me, Beth at Shut Up and Run recently hosted a giveaway with Online Shoes.com for a pair of Saucony Running Shoes – and  I won! So yeah it’s not hard to see where this is going…I selected the Kinvara! To say I’m excited to have these shoes to add to the mix is an understatement! Big thanks to Beth for the giveaway and to Online Shoes for getting them to me so quickly!

Then, the folks at McDavid USA sent me a pair of their new True Compression Leg Sleeves to try out! I’ve already used them for recovery after my 8-miler yesterday and will try running in them this week. Stay tuned for a full review and giveaway!
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It was a pretty good training week last week, but I did end up missing one of my easy runs. On tap for this week:

Monday — Rest day. I’ll be spending part of the day at my oldest’s school picnic and then my youngest is having a friend over so I’m not sure how much rest will actually take place!

Tuesday — Tempo run (5)

Wednesday — Easy run (2) and strength training

Thursday — Yoga

Friday — Long run (8)

Saturday — weekly Pilates class

Sunday — Easy (3 or 4). If I make my schedule work, I might try a group run. I always run solo, so running with a group might be a nice change.

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Filed Under: giveaways, Kinvara, McDavid USA, Saucony, training

An interesting opportunity

June 19, 2011 by 11 Comments

On Friday, I received a great surprise in my email inbox – an invitation for an opportunity to be a part of Team Sony Walkman!

As an “Ambassador” there are a variety of commitments you make in terms of working with Sony, but the two big commitments are to agree to Sony as your exclusive sponsor of music/mp3 products and to participate in at least 5 events wearing their custom branded apparel. Of course, my first thought is, this sounds pretty cool…though the five events has me mildly panicked (that Fall half marathon would have to become a reality).

Has anyone ever done this kind of sponsorship before? Can you think of any downside I should consider? I have until Friday to make my final decision and would love to hear any opinions.

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Filed Under: opportunities, Sony

Trackwork Thursday

June 16, 2011 by 7 Comments

Just as I thought, between the weather and crazy schedules, the theme this week has quickly become – fit the workout in when you can! So this morning Trackwork Tuesday became Trackwork Thursday.

By the numbers:

6 – # of high schoolers I have to weave around – I’m still not sure what kind of PE class that was they were doing but they didn’t stay long.

2 – # of 1600’s, with splits of 9:31 and 9:11! (Smart Coach target was 10:18)

4 – # of total miles run

3 – # of times I thought I was going to throw up during the first 1600. Fortunately I didn’t and the second interval felt much better.

4 – # of times I cursed myself for not getting up earlier to get ahead of the heat; followed quickly by the number of times I told myself to “get over it and get it done.”

0 – # of times I felt any knee pain!!

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Filed Under: Schedule vs Training, Smart Coach, track work