My Couch to 5K Must Have Products

My Couch to 5K Must Have Products

This year the urge to run a marathon has hit very hard.  Honestly I can’t say for sure it just isn’t the urge to get a medal more that anything.  LOL.  Yes I know it’s odd to want to run a race just to have a medal but it’s something I’ve never done and I think I would love to give it a try.  Later this year my family and I are doing a family fun run with Pathfinders for Autism, it’s called Run Wild for Autism and Team JB is already registered and getting ready to race.  Participating in this fun run really made me want to try a 5K race.  I’m not a runner so I need a few essentials to get me ready for running a 5K race.  Here’s my Couch to 5K Must Have Products. I’ve received some of these products for review purposes.  Any opinions expressed are my own.

I’ve never ran a 5K before but I had seen lots of friends who have.  One thing I knew I needed was to get my body in share for the endeavor.  You can’t just jump up from the couch and run a 5K.  It requires some training.  I hit up the iPhone app market and searched for Couch to 5K apps.  I found quite a few free versions and I just picked one that I thought would work for me.  What I liked about the app is that although it’s free they do have a paid pro version with much more features for when you are ready to take it to another level.  It’s super easy to use and it slowly helps you build up your endurance to be able to participate in a 5K race.  I will admit though that my first day was rough.  It was much harder than I thought it would be but I did get started.  You can download the app I choose 5K Runner: 0 to 5K run training, Couch to 5K running, Pro – Clear Sky Apps LTD from the iTunes store.

My Balega running socks is the epitome of comfort.  I just love them because they are the best no-show socks I’ve ever owned.  I’ve never had them slip down into my shoes when I was walking or running which is great.  I wish I had these back in April when I visited Disney and I was walking around for eight plus hours.  My Balega socks fits my feet like a glove.  They aren’t bulky in my shoes and as I mentioned before they never slip down into my shoes no matter how much activity I am doing.  These socks are so comfortable you can easily forget about them on your feet even after you take off your shoes.  Some features of the Balega Second Skin Fit Socks include:

• Hand linked toe closure
• Reinforced cushioned heel and toe for comfort and durability
• Second skin fit
• Enhanced elastic grip construction in both arch and ankle provides ultimate support
• Broad elastic arch support in both the arch and heel keeps the sock firmly in place
• Heel tab helps prevent the sock from slipping into you running shoe
• Sculptured mesh panels aid ventilation
• Balega’s Left/Right construction method ensures the perfect fit
• Unique triple-Y heel creates a heel pocket which is ergonomically formed to the actual shape of your heel. In essence this creates a more formed and deeper heel pocket for ultimate fit and comfort.

If you’re a runner, whether you’re a beginner like myself or a pro you need to check out Balega running socks for your running needs.  They are worth it in my opinion.

You can’t have a favorite list of products for running and not cover hydration.  I’ve tried all kinds of water bottles over time but my Avex Autoseal Water Bottle is by far my favorite for when I am out for a run.  My favorite feature is the push to use seal that makes it easy for me to get a drink of water but it also securely keeps all the water inside the bottle.  The mouth of the bottle is the perfect size and not too big like other bottles I’ve used in the past.

The Avex Brazos has lots of great features that makes it a great water bottle for anyone that’s active.  My daughter loves taking it to school with her for gym.  The Brazos comes in three different sizes, 24 oz, 25 oz and 32 oz.  They are also available in a wide variety of colors.  Other features include:

• AUTOSEAL® lid automatically seals between sips to eliminate spills and leaks
• Easy, one-hand use with no caps or spouts to remove
• Convenient clip-on handle that attaches to gym bags, backpacks and gear
• Protective spout cover to keep out from dirt and germs
• Rugged high-impact resistant design and materials
• Top-rack, dishwasher safe
• 100% BPA-free

The Avex Brazos Autoseal Water Bottle in the 32 oz size retails for $15.99, making it a great price for a product you will be using over and over again.

Since hydration is a new area I plan to focus on during this process I have to increase my water intake.  I don’t really like drinking water.  When I do it must be iced cold.  When running and exercising cold water could cause cramping so drinking room temperature water is more ideal.  Thanks to SweetLeaf I have help to get more water in my body.  I’ve been using SweetLeaf Water Drops to improve the taste of the water I am drinking.  These water drops are a convenient Stevia-based water enhancers and come in four delicious fruit flavored blends: Lemon Lime, Raspberry Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi, and Peach Mango. Water Drops were created to help people improve hydration by providing great taste without the artificial ingredients that many water enhancers contain.

My favorite flavor is Peach Mango and Strawberry Kiwi.  Since using these water drops I’ve increased the amount of water I drink and cut down on some of my soda intake.  That’s great because now I am consuming less sugar and the drops are calorie free.  The bottles are convenient and perfect for traveling so I don’t have to quit being healthier when I am eating out or traveling.  Each bottle has 32 servings and this is just want I needed to help me get all the hydration I need while getting ready for running.

My Fitbug Orb helps tracks all my steps, whether I am running, walking or exercising it keeps track of everything for me.  I can set my goals for each day on the website based on what I plan on doing each day.  The Fitbug Orb tracks different kinds of activity.  To get started it requires you to download the app for your smartphone.  It’s available on both iTunes and the Google Play Store.  Once you download the app you can sync your Fitbug Orb to the app and you’re ready to start tracking steps.  The orb tracks regular steps and aerobic steps.  Aerobic steps are counted as steps you take continuously for over thirty minutes.

Another great feature is the sleep feature.  My orb can keep track of how I am sleeping.  It lets me know how much sleep I got each night, how many times I woke during the night, how long I stayed awake and the quality of sleep.  Overall its a great way to keep track of all your activity and goals.  I use my Fitbug Orb in connection with Kiqplan, they have exercise apps to help you with losing weight.  I am using the Goodbye Baby Bump app, they give you daily exercises for 90 days to help you lose weight and focus on toning your mid section.  They also have other apps like their 5K app that’s designed to help both men and women get ready for their first race in 12 weeks.

That’s my list of items helping me prepare for running a 5K race.  Be sure to stay tuned for more on my journey.  Have you ever ran a race?  What did you do to prepare?  Let me know all your tips in the comments.