Loose Ends

Perfect Phatgirl Shorts

I heard about these great compression shorts from RaceReady that had a strip of five mesh pockets sewn just under the back waist band. Five pockets! How could I not order them and yet imagine my surprise when the men's XXL fit me about as generously as would a pair of hot pants from Malibu Barbie's Island Summer collection. Not to be defeated I purchased a pair of big bike shorts from Aerotech Designs, removed the strip of pockets from the size baby butt shorts and had them sewn onto the back of the size rotund rump shorts and presto-chango, a perfect pair of phatgirl pants with plenty o' pockets! I took them on a test run on my last 20 minus 1 miler training walk and they were awesome! The pockets held several Cyromax Energy Gels, a small pack of Kleenex, a Larabar, and my cell phone.

Just imagine how beyond perfect they're going to be after I sew yet another strip of the pockets onto the front of them! Even as I type they are in the care and keeping of the local dry cleaners. Just enough additional pockets for my digital camera, earphones for my Ipod Nano, several wads of hydration chewing gum, and my emergency kit including blister pads, safety pins, and a couple tablets of Alleve. A plethora of pockets! Oh joy oh bliss!

Cytomax Energy Gel versus Clif Bar Shot Bloks

After a fair amount of experimentation, I'm leaning toward Clif Shot Bloks for the marathon instead of the Cytomax Energy Gel I've been using through most of my training.

The Cytomax Energy Gel is limited to two flavors (orange and vanilla) but both are pleasant tasting enough and the orange has the bonus of a caffeine jolt. Not much variety to speak of but when I'm dragging at mile 18 I don't even have the mental capacity to choose between Wild Berry Blast with French Toffee Cream and Chocolate Fudge Chocolate Chip Mint Crunch. I'm in a marathon people, not standing in line at Ben and Jerry's! The other downside to the Energy Gel is the same as it is with every brand, namely I'm a messy eater and I'd feel like a major goof ball licking my sticky fingers in front of the throngs of spectators six or seven random souls that remain on the sidelines.

When it comes to the Shot Bloks there's a lot to be desired in the firm gelatin texture and the flavors have a bit of a medicinal aftertaste to them. In other words, visions of Bill Cosby holding a J-E-L-L-O box don't dance through your head. In their favor there are more flavor options and two of them, orange and black cherry contain caffeine. I would imagine in warm or hot weather they'd get a little sticky themselves but in cool weather they're easy to handle. Three bloks equals one energy gel and takes up about the same space in my precious pockets so I'm going with Clif Shot Bloks.

With all the free advertising in this entry for RaceReady, Aerotech Design, Clif Shot Bloks, and Cytomax Energy Gel I'd think I'd be offered at least one endorsement contract. DId I happen to mention I'm wearing a Nike Dri-Fit teeshirt and Brooks running shoes...