Product Review: Aftershokz Trekz Titanium Wireless Headphones

I'm really excited to say that I was picked as one of the weekly winners of Bibchat, and received a free pair of Aftershokz Trekz Titanium Wireless Headphones Click to go to Website. I really had fun during Bibchat that week so to win was very cool. So you definitely have to join us for Bibchat every week if you don't already! It's on Tuesday's 3:00pm Hawaii time (with the current daylight savings).

The topic of that week was running awareness and how headphones tend to lower our awareness of our surroundings. These headphones are the solution we have all been looking for: the ability to listen to music while we get our workout on, while still being able to know what's going on around us.

It's really easy to just plug in your headphones and tune out the rest of the world while we are running or biking.  But how safe is that really? One of my more infamous stories was the time I was running on my usual trail which is a retired golf course, very overgrown with tons of plant an animal life. Well I was plugged in as usual and heard a weird sound coming from my right. I figured that it was some kind of phone alert, but then I realized that the alert would have come through my headphones, duhh! That meant that the noise I heard was loud enough for me to hear over my music, so I stopped and looked to see what it was. I was face to face with a wild boar, like tusks on the nose Pumba status wild boar. But then the funniest thing happened, we both mirrored looks of utter terror, I screamed, and then we both ran in the opposite direction. So in the end nothing bad happened to me, I wasn't trampled, but the point was clear: I need to be more aware when running!
 
When I first got these in the mail, I dropped everything a got ready for a trial run, pun intended. Naturally I had to go to that same trail I saw the boar on just for that sake of proving a point to myself. At first I wasn't quite sure how to wear them or arrange them on my ears. Upon fidgeting with them I found what felt alright, then realized that there was an instruction sheet about how to place them. Silly me, but I had placed them properly on my ears.

During the run I noticed many different things than normal, sounds mainly but also animals too that I would have otherwise ignored. I was bombarded with the sounds of nature that are normally non-existent with my other headphones. Birds were chirping, crickets buzzing (it was close to sunset), the wind was howling, so many things that I had been deaf to, had been present. It was so relaxing to be so intimate with nature while running.

Next stop was to take them on the beach-path in Kaanapali. For some info on this area, the beach-path starts in front of Honua Kai Resort and continues south for 3 miles to Canoe Beach just past the Hyatt Regency with about 6 other resorts in between. Aka tons of pedestrian traffic of people on a morning walk, other runners, people heading to the beach. As I was approaching the first traffic jam as I call them, or couples taking up the whole path themselves *sigh*, I did my usual "Excuse me, on your left," and realized how much of an ass I sounded like, but could never hear. I felt horrible, then realized why I always got so many nasty looks from people, because I was the one who started off sounding hostile. So they were definitely a blessing for me.

My last test with them was race day, which is why this blog post has taken so long to write, I have been waiting to finish a race with them to give a perspective from that. Here is where they became my downfall, by no fault in the product mind you. The race I ran them in was all hills and the weather was very stagnant and humid. While trucking up those hill I was more aware of runners who were passing me, making sure to give them room. I think that was so helpful. But I could hear my breathing while running up the hills, more so than usual because of the dense humidity. So I was working harder than usual because of less oxygen in the air. Hearing my breathing I thought that it sounded different from normal, which it was, and tried to change my pattern to something forced and not my natural reflexive pattern. This caused some cramping and a lot of walking in my future. Even more reinforcement that they bring more awareness while running.

I don't consider that a negative aspect by any means, but as a reminder that your perception of things will be different with these headphones. I have found no issues with them whatsoever! They are very comfortable, I actually wear them while cleaning around the house, talking on the phone, and just listening to music while hanging out at home. I think they are a must have for any runner for a.) to be safer and more alert on the road or trail, b.) to open you eyes (and yes ears) to how you come across to others, and c.) to broaden your awareness to nature and enjoy the little things that we take for granted.

Mahalo nui for taking the time to read my blog, I hope you found this useful. Please feel free to leave any comments for me, I'd love to hear what you think!

Race Recap: Kahakuloa Half Marathon & Relays

This is one of my favorite races of the year! It's a great time of year to be running, it's a super scenic course, and it's a great training run for my fall marathons. For my full race review on Bibrave click here. Proceeds for this race are donated to on organization that is restoring the Hawaiian Congregational Church in Kahakuloa. So running for a cause was just another reason for me to sign up.

I have to admit that I didn't train as hard as I should have for this race. I had recently started a new job and my training had been put on the back burner. But I got in a 10 miler with all hills a few weeks before and I felt confident enough that I would do great, maybe not beat last year's time but at least still do good.

I carbed up nicely the night before, got a great amount of sleep, and was all prepared for my 4:15am alarm. I had to arrive at the race by 5:00am to receive my bib and shirt as I couldn't make it to the expo the night before, due to my new work schedule. The only unforeseeable element was the weather. It was a cloudy day, so I was super stoked. More on this later.

My race buddy was a fellow co-worker and marathoner Lisa (middle lady in the picture to the left), and she was equally feeling slightly unprepared but ready to tackle it anyway. We lined up for the start and before we knew it we were off. To explain the course a little it is a constant battle of uphill and downhill along route 30 until you hit the town of Kahakuloa. There is maybe a quarter mile throughout the course that is relatively flat, then rest is all hills. For this reason there is also a 2 person and 4 person team relay available. I think the worse part about having the race be full half and relay is that there always seemed to be people blowing by me with so much energy because they were just starting. They didn't have to conserve their energy for 13 miles but could breeze through their 3 mile leg. But it was good to add the relays that so that the race would appeal to more runners and therefore more money raised for the Church Restoration.

I was keeping up with Lisa for the first 3-4 miles around the Honokohau valley, the steepest hill of the course. Remembering from last year breathing was key going up hill. I made sure to have certain songs on my playlist to help me keep my breath regular. I also was wearing my Trekz Titanium headphones. Where I love these headphones in every other instance this is where they were my downfall. The idea of these headphones is to leave the ears open to hear the surrounding as they play the music into you cheek bones. That meant that I could hear my breathing, I thought that it sounded different than usual so I changed my rhythm, WRONG. That with a combination of the humidity of the cloudy weather and lack of wind was a recipe for cramping as I wouldn't be able to supply enough oxygen to my muscles.

At about mile 9 I reached that point and everything was getting so tight that I had to reduce to walking. It was utterly defeating for me to have to walk because I know I can do better. For the remaining miles I ran downhill when I could and continued my power walking up the hills. I really did get to enjoy the scenery more than I anticipated this way. It's a route that I don't usually take so the view was very excited to me.

As I rounded the corner of the finish line I was so happy, I just wanted to sit down and stretch my cramping legs out. I finished in 2:26:26 which was 24 minutes slower than last year. But I was greeted with a glass of champagne from Lisa and my friends. Lisa who actually won the race for females placing 7th overall. I finished, so it is a victory for me, and I will be back next year with a vengeance to do better! Lessons learned is that I need to be prepared for different weather than I have trained in, and to stick to my training plan for the best results.