RWM & SMM PRODUCT REVIEW:hDROP

hDROP WEARABLE HYDRATION SENSOR: YES or NO?

I am admittedly bad at hydration.  For the amount of running that I do, I should be taking in significantly more fluids, both water and electrolyte enhanced drinks.  And, well…I just don’t.  For no good reason, honestly.  I’m just not on top of it.  And I don’t really get that thirsty.  But I am one hundred percent sure that my training would improve enormously if I was better about staying hydrated in general and rehydrating post-run.  Particularly in the summer when both the temperature and my mileage steadily creep up.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I recently saw an Instagram post about the hDrop gen 2 Wearable Hydration Sensor.  I had no idea anything like this existed and, as with all new things, was somewhat dubious.  But after reading some reviews, most of them solid, my interest was peaked.  I reached out to the company directly and asked if they would send one out for me to test and review and to my good fortune, they agreed.  Grab a seat and I’ll tell you all about it.

First, the hDrop sensor is very easy to set up.  Once you have downloaded the app, you are walked through step by step instructions with video images to go with it on how to get it started, which I very much appreciate as I am not one to read a manual.  Beyond that, you just need to thread the strap through and charge up the device.  After that, you’re ready to roll.  You can also sync the device up with your Garmin and there are step by step instructions on how to do this as well.  Again, very simple.

The first thing I did once I had it set up and charged was to take a THUMB read.  You can do this early in the morning before you have anything to eat or drink to get a sense of how well you are hydrated at that point.  I find this incredibly valuable as I’m a big coffee drinker and if I know I’m starting my day off under hydrated I’ll make an effort to take in some extra fluids before I down multiple lattes.  I’ve started doing this reading every day before I do any activities and I’m finding it super helpful.

I have also been wearing the hDrop device when I’m running for an active hydration reading.  I’ve tried to test it out in high heat and humidity (not a problem in July in MA) but also in cooler temps when I don’t intuitively think I need as much fluid.  I’ve worn it for easy runs, track workouts and long runs.  And the data I get back is fascinating.  For example, today I ran 16 miles.  I left at 7:40am and the temp was in the low 70; so not too hot.  But, the humidity was through the roof.  So, within five minutes I was dripping.  For the record, I drank a cup of coffee and a cup of water before my run.  I stopped to drink water from fountains at mile 5, 8 and 11.  I also splashed it on my face and neck.  I was out for a little over 2 hours in total.  Below you’ll see my post-run hDrop stats.

But what does this mean, you ask?  Fortunately, the hDrop team breaks it all down for you in layman’s terms.  I won’t go into full detail but I’ll try to give you the abridged version.  My sweat rate is above average; similar to losing about ¾ of a sports bottle per hour. So, I lost almost two full bottles during this run.  Even with the water I took in during the run, I lost more than I thought I would.  The sodium concentration in my sweat is on the higher end of medium.  As far as how much I lost, it was about a teaspoon of table salt or the equivalent to what’s contained in a full can of soup.  So, I’m going to need to heavy up on electrolytes and salty foods post-run.  Not a problem.  The temperature metric indicates the device’s temperature and it changes during my activity which it can read because it is directly on my skin.  Given how much I sweated, the reading of 85.7℉ (max 88.7℉) tells me that my body temp was well regulated throughout the run which suggests good hydration.  Go me.  There is also a graph that goes along with each of these metrics which is ideal for the visual learner.  And finally, hDrop provides a suggested recovery plan based on all of this data with the disclaimer, of course, that the device and the app are not FDA approved and the data may vary in accuracy.  In other words, this is yet another tool but by no means something to live your life by.

In a nutshell, this little white cube tracks fluid loss, sweat rate, sodium loss, potassium loss, and temperature. In my opinion, the best feature is that it provides a baseline sweat zone which is calculated after you’ve done several workouts.  This number may change over time but unless you’re doing something majorly different, it will likely remain the same or close.  Mine is currently 63.5 and has been the same for about two weeks.  But, here’s what I love.  It will then give you a score for each activity based on that baseline so you can get a sense of how well you’re hydrating for each run.  Today I scored a 78/100, so pretty good but not great.  Definitely room for improvement.  Now, for those of you who are skeptical, I get it.  There are a lot of gadgets out there in the sports industry and some are definitely more of a gimmick and, let’s be honest, probably unnecessary.  “Just drink lots of water”, you say.  And that’s fair.  But, for those of you who like data, and I know you’re out there, this thing is really, really cool.  And while it might not be as helpful for those who aren’t logging as many miles, I’m guessing it’s a very useful tool for those training for marathons and beyond.  I’m guessing it’s probably very useful when you’re fighting something and your body needs more fluids to heal.  Or a good way to get a read on how well you’re hydrated after a long flight.  I can think of several scenarios beyond running where this gadget could be a game changer.  For me, what it boils down to is this, when I’m dehydrated and I’m a little out of it, having a device that sends a signal suggesting that I replace fluids lost is just the tool I need to keep me from unraveling.  And I am all for that.  So, in conclusion, I give the hDrop device two very enthusiastic thumbs up.  Check it out and see for yourself.  And, no matter what, stay hydrated!

Retail Price - $249.99

*Use code TRAX to save 20%

** Click here for more Six Minute Mile gear reviews

LISTEN TO THIS:

I Love You So F***ing Much - Glass Animals

Glass Animals · I Love You So F***ing Much

'NEW TRICKS' SERIES: ON RUNNING VS RACING

"Thank God I didn't look at the clock the whole race....if someone would have told me this morning that 3:56 doesn't make the team, I don't want to know that."

~ Nikki Hiltz, after winning the 1500 at the US Olympic trials

Checking my time. Running. Not racing.

When was the last time you raced with the goal being to beat as many people as you can as opposed to running a specific time?  Last summer I was trying to get mentally fired up for a local 5k.  It's not my favorite distance on account of how short it is.  Put it this way, I'd rather do a half than 3.1 miles.  But, I do them anyway as I know it's good to get outside my comfort zone every once in a while.  And I try really hard to practice what I preach.  So, this one was in July on Cape Cod.  The weather was calling for very high temps.  Fine, that's summer.  It's to be expected.  But also for high humidity.  Now this combo is really special.  Basically you know ahead of time that the simple act of breathing will be significantly more complicated than usual.  And, yet I still do these.  For fun.  But, I digress.  Okay, so I already knew this particular race was going to be incredibly challenging.  I was also coming back from a bout of mono last summer and hadn't greased the wheels for quite some time.  So, overall, my confidence was not super high.  I reached out to my friend and fellow coach, Halston Taylor, and asked him to help me with a race plan.  In so many words he explained that, to date, most of my races that I'd done had been for time.  For this one, he suggested, why not run to race?  Don't limit yourself to a time.  What if the goal is simply to perform?  To beat as many people as you can across 3.1 miles?  Why not try to be strategic and competitive and work to outrun your opponents both mentally and physically?  It was an interesting concept.  And he was right.  I have rarely raced for anything other than time.  More often than not, especially for marathons, a time has always been my primary goal.  So, this would be a different approach for me and I was curious if I could run this way.  For this race specifically, I knew there would be a lot of high school kids from one specific school that was nearby as they tend to show up every year as a team.  In my mind, before I even lined up, I assumed these kids were unbeatable for obvious reasons; mainly the age gap.  But also, because they're high school cross country runners. 

Coach Taylor laying it out

But, why?, Taylor challenged me.  You have know idea who you're up against.  There are a million factors that contribute to a good or bad race day performance.  Did you get enough sleep, are you feeling under the weather, did you do a hard workout two days beforehand?  Maybe you slept like a champ and Susie was up all night with her friends.  You should look at every race as an even playing field.  Make no assumptions.  Go out there with the plan being to run people down or, if not, to make them work for it.  In thinking about them versus yourself, you're taking the "me" out of the equation.  You're playing offense as opposed to defense, if you will.  And this changes everything.  Rather than thinking about yourself and what might go wrong you're thinking about your opponent and how you can best compete against them.  You're racing, not running.  And that became the goal.  I was going to try and truly race.  Not just show up and run for time.  I made a goal to pass five people in the second half of the race.  The weather?  It didn't matter anymore as we were all running in the same hot garbage.  Even playing field, right?  It's anyone's game.  Let's do this.  So the gun blew and we all set out.  There was a clear pack in the front, lead by the same gal who'd won the race the year before and followed by a handful of her teammates.  I ran in the back of this pack but kept them in site and tried to work off of them.  After the first mile, I'd managed to pass one of them and was close to a second.  I was hurting, don't get me wrong.  But, I knew we all were and I was thinking about who was in front of me, not how I was feeling or what might go wrong.  After mile two I had managed to pass two more runners.  And, get this, I was having fun.  Three down, two to go.  I could see the leader and one more guy in front of me.  I wasn't close but I was there and they knew it.  In the third mile, the guy walked off the course and I saw him leaning over his knees, most likely overheated and possible getting sick.  Not good.  Are you okay? I screamed out.  He nodded and waved me off so I kept going.  I watched as the leader looked behind her to see where I was.  

RUNNING TO RACE (& having a blast)

We were getting near the finish and I didn't think I could catch up to her but I was sure as hell going to try.  And, yes, she took the win, but it wasn't easy as it had been the year before.  I had given her a challenge and made her work for it.  And on top of that I'd passed three other people.  So, in my mind, I'd had a freaking great day and ultimately accomplished my goal.  I was pumped. And realized at that moment how racing can feel very different when you approach it from this angle versus just trying to run a time.  I joined a local racing team about five years ago, primarily to find more people to train and race with.  As I've gotten older, I've realized that I'm no longer as excited about running for time.  As a member of a team, I'm running to place high and score well.  Every point matters.  If I can edge someone out in the last kilometer it helps my team score higher.  I can honestly say that thinking this way puts a whole different spin on the mental aspect of the race for me.  Sure, I'm still nervous.  But, I'm also a hell of a lot more excited.  And at this stage in the game, that's really what it's all about.  As the great Coach Frank Dick once said, "Don’t look at the scoreboard (or, in this case, time), look at your performance and stay in the moment."  Words to live by.  

Listen to this:

Carousel by Until The Ribbon Breaks

UntilTheRibbonBreaks · Carousel (feat. Homeboy Sandman)

'NEW TRICKS' SERIES:ON BIOMECHANICS

As an athlete & a coach, I am always learning. Even at age 49 with 12 years of high school coaching & 33 marathons under my belt, I still find myself asking questions, trying new methods & seeking new solutions. As I begin training for my next marathon I plan to share the things I’m working on changing or improving in this cycle. And this is mainly for myself, yes, but with my athletes in mind. I’ll be working with my friend, fellow coach & mentor, Halston Taylor. Today, I'm launching my first in a monthly series (so, hopefully four of them) from June through race day in October.  I'm calling it the 'New Tricks' series and, yes, it is because I do, in fact, think you can teach an old dog (that would be me) new tricks.  This one is specifically on proper lower body mechanics which stemmed from my own efforts to get my heels up when I run; something I have been working on a lot and that sounds much easier than it is.  Below you'll see photos of me running that show the breakdown of the foot's cycle from front to back; things I'm not doing very well and then photos of pro runner Kate Grace doing them beautifully.  Dive in and see what you think.  Questions and feedback always welcome.  Thanks to Kate for helping me out with this topic.

PROPER LOWER BODY BIOMECHANICS FOR DISTANCE RUNNERS

While there is a school of thought that a runner will naturally do what is right for their body with regard to biomechanics, that is not always true, and in some cases is more likely to lead to injury than not. Just as there is proper form that will provide the most efficiency and success in throwing, swimming, diving or any other movement, for most individuals, proper running technique must be learned. 

*Leaning too far forward & no dorsiflexion in foot

Rather than begin with the foot strike, let's start with the back part of the motion as this is where mistakes happen that can't be corrected afterwards. In order for the foot to come back in a proper motion once it leaves the ground, the upper body must also be in a proper position. If the runner is leaning forward too much (see above photo), the motion and pattern the foot follows will be an elongated elliptical path that will make for a longer radius. To simplify, it takes longer for the foot to travel that path. However, if the upper body is more vertical, then when the foot leaves the ground, it can cycle up straight towards the gluteal muscles (the butt) in a much shorter time due to the shorter radius. Another piece of the puzzle that allows for a shorter radius and thus a quicker cycle is dorsi-flexing the foot (toes pointing up). As soon as the foot leaves the ground, the foot should dorsi-flex and then cycle up towards the butt. The faster the runner is going the closer to the butt the heel should be. When on a recovery run the heel may only come up about knee level. When racing the Mile the heel should maybe be within 12” of the butt at the top of the cycle. There will certainly be individual variance due to lower and upper leg length differences (levers), but generally speaking the higher the heel in the back the easier it will be to get the most out of the foot strike.

* Foot cycle should be closer to the butt and not so elongated

In addition, if the foot does not reach a height close to the butt, in order to bring the foot through to the front, a runner must use their quadricep and hip flexor muscles to bring it forward. If the foot does reach a level close to the butt in the back, then gravity assists in bringing the foot down and to the front. This is not only more efficient, but the higher the foot in the back, the higher the foot will be coming through to the front without having to use additional muscle activity (energy) to get the foot in that optimal position. Again, to keep the radius short, thus a faster motion, the foot should stay dorsi-flexed. An additional benefit of having the foot dorsi-flexed is that motion stretches the calf. It is a fact that a longer muscle can contract with greater force. Thus, elongating the calf muscle by having it pre-stretched prior to landing will allow the runner to push off with greater force. 

* Heel striking instead of forefoot striking

So, what is the benefit of the foot being at or around knee level as it comes through to the front? First, I will explain what many runners do, which is not getting their heel up high in the back. They must use their quads and hip flexors to bring the foot to the front and even greater energy to raise the foot up close to knee level. Most of these runners do not have the strength to do this, so the foot comes through at a low level. Since it is already closer to the ground there is not enough time to bring the foot all the way through to get a proper foot strike. Many of these runners end up heel striking or at best landing flat footed.

*Heel is high in the back

If the heel is high in the back and the foot dorsi-flexed, the foot can come through at a higher level without using additional energy. It is ideal to land slightly in front of your center of mass so that there is a small amount of pulling action as well as the resulting pushing action as the foot rolls through ground contact. To get the most out of foot-strike the foot should land towards the outside of the foot at mid-foot position (The faster a person runs the closer the foot should land in line with the center of the body. In order for this to happen the foot must supinate, thus allowing the foot to land more on the outside of the foot). As the foot passes under the center of mass it should roll across towards the center and front of the foot, which optimizes push off on the toes as the foot leaves the ground after the body has moved forward.

Heel just below the knee, fore-foot hitting the ground

Another part of the cycle to pay attention to is how far forward the foot is brought through to the front. While it is ideal to have the toe pass in front of the knee, which allows for greater dorsi-flexion as well as time for the foot to supinate for proper foot-strike, the runner does not want the heel to pass in front of the knee. This causes unnecessary motion and time, uses more energy bringing the foot back to the ground and worse, can lead to heel strike. Heel strike is very jarring to the body, decelerates the body and could potentially lead to stress reactions. 

*Posture straight, knee and foot at appropriate height

Listen to this:

The Runner by Anna Smirk

Anna Smyrk · The Runner

RACE REVIEW:OLD COLONY MARATHON

As you know, Boston was a bit of a shit show for me.  I'm not going to go into detail.  If you want to read that story, feel free.  But, I will tell you that afterwords, I was pretty bummed about the way things had played out.  I don't care how chill you are about your racing and results, even if you're one of those people who can claim you're "over it" after a bad race and play the whole "onwards and upwards" card, I don't believe you if you tell me there's not still a small part of you that's replaying the day in your head and wishing things had gone differently.  Regardless, I couldn't let it go.  And it had nothing to do with my time.  Yes, it was an unusually hot day and I suffered in the heat.  But, I couldn't help but wonder if it was more than that.  If maybe I just didn't "have it" anymore.  That maybe I can no longer run marathons at the level I thought I was capable of at this stage of my life.  I know this sounds very dramatic but having never had a breakdown of this magnitude in a marathon prior to this one, and I've run 32 of them, I was questioning things more than usual.  My teammates and friends began to ask me what was next.  Meaning, assuming you're moving on, when and with which marathon do you plan to try again?  Which normally is exactly what I'm doing; picking up the pieces and signing up for my next rodeo.  But this time was different.  I started to feel like I didn't want to wait until my next major marathon to see if I could string together a decent race.  I had all this training and I hadn't tapped into the bottom of the well at Boston.  So, I realized that I wanted to try again now, not six months from now.  I reached out to Jon, my coach, and shared my thoughts asking if he was on board.  In a nutshell, I told him I wanted a do-over.  That I'd found a random marathon on May 14th, a Tuesday, in driving distance and I really wanted to do it so I could get the crappy taste of Boston out of my mouth and some overall closure on my spring training.  He let me know that he wasn't against it as long as I was up for it physically and mentally and that I could honestly say I was doing it for fun and that it didn't feel forced.  He also suggested a different marathon primarily because the one I mentioned was fourteen 1.84 laps around a park which, let's be honest, sounds pretty brutal.  But, I couldn't get one done on a weekend because I have track meets through June so it was this one, the Old Colony Marathon, or nothing.  We agreed we'd ramp back up a bit, see how the body was handling it and get a couple workouts in and then make a call closer to race day. 

At the hotel.  Still not sure.

A couple days before the race I was still having my doubts.  Spring track is crazy and the meets are stupidly long.  I had been spending so much time on my feet and my overall fatigue was really high.  I was concerned I wouldn't have enough in the tank to even run a "mellow" marathon.  But, mentally, I was still leaning towards doing it and that was enough to keep it on the front burner.  I told my husband that the race started at 6:00am and it was an hour and a half drive out to Westfield so I'd have to get up at 3:30 that morning to make it work.  He was like, No, Rebecca.  That's crazier than the fact that you're even doing another marathon at all.  You need to stay out there in a hotel the night before so you don't have to get up that early.  Very grateful to have his voice of reason in my life.  So, Monday night after track practice I made my way out to Westfield so I'd have a notably less stressful morning on Tuesday.  Jon sent me a text that afternoon asking how I was feeling.  I told him that I honestly still wasn't sure.  I was still feeling a little beat down and was worried I'd blow up again which would totally defeat the purpose of this exercise.   He told me not to stress and reminded me that this was supposed to be for fun.  He suggested I wake up and make a game day decision.  And he told me not to feel guilty if it just didn't feel like the right thing to do.  So, that's what I did.

Ready or not.  Maybe not.  I don't know.

My alarm went off at 4:30am.  I had brought my own coffee machine (learned that lesson the hard way) so I sat and drank and debated for the last time.  I was a little scared for obvious reasons.  But I was also excited.  My gut was telling me to go for it and I decided to trust it.  

Trust my gut.  And coffee.

I finished my coffee and drove the fifteen minutes to Stanley Park where the race was being held.  It was a beautiful morning, nice and cool and not too humid.  Granted, it was still dark when I left but when I pulled into the park the sun was coming up and I was feeling cautiously optimistic.  

Rise & shine

It was now around 5:15am.  I found the race director and registered for the race.  That's right, registered.  This might be one of the only marathons in the country that you can sign up for on the actual morning of the race.  And given all of my uncertainty about doing it, I really appreciated this option.  The guy in charge told me to come back to the start about five minutes before 6:00am.  This might be one of the only marathons in the country that you can roll out of your car and up to the line five minutes before it starts.  The scene was about as mellow as it could get.  I used the bathroom, pinned on my bib, got organized and then waited in my car.  Around 5:50 I walked over to the start with the other 30 or so runners.  I recognized a guy from Lexington, Joe Caruso, who I always see running on the bike path and introduced myself.  He told me he'd also blown up at Boston and was there to try and qualify for 2024 as he'd run it for the past 12 years and didn't want to break his streak.  He asked me what my time goal was.  None.  I told him.  I just want to enjoy the experience and finish strong.  He got it.  We wished each other good luck.  It was time.

Directions: Follow the flour

The mile markers and arrows along the course had been made with flour.  So the race director went over the details one last time in case, you know, it rained or something and the flour faded.  You can't make this stuff up.  I couldn't help but laugh at myself at this point.  It was 6am and I was getting ready to run fourteen 1.84 mile laps around a park.  For fun.  Not a joke.  The race director looked at us and said, Ok, ready?  We all laughed as we nodded yes.  And with that, we were off.  Jon and I had talked about pacing around 7:15 per mile.  Not because I wanted to run a specific time but because I was coming off of Boston and I wanted to run smart.  The goal was to feel in control.  Zero stress.  My first mile clicked off at 7:08.  And I felt good.  So I locked in and let go.  No more watch.  Just me, my music, the 6 people that were watching and the 30 of us who were racing. 

All smiles

The miles ticked by and I just embraced the moment.  I pretended like each lap was a mile instead of 1.84 so in my mind, I had 14 miles total to finish.  This made those middle miles more digestible.  Sort of.  My mile paces, which I looked at afterwards, had all been between 7:05 to 7:30 except for my last one which was a 6:54.  I'd finished the way I'd hoped; freshly filled with joy and gratitude and with the much needed reminder that I do, in fact, love this distance.  The slate, if you will, had been washed clean.  Or as Joe put it after the fact, Boston had been expunged.  I was now ready to begin again knowing that I do love this sport and that, without question, it's worth it to keep going.  The bad races suck.  The really bad ones?  Those make you wonder.  But then the good ones?  Those are like the gifts that keep on giving.  This was a good one.  And time or place had nothing to do with it.  I'd told no one what my plan was.  I'd run alone.  I'd run 14 laps around a park.  And I'd honestly loved every minute of it.  So, yea.  Really good.  And now I can't wait to do it again.  Oh, and new post-marathon tradition.  Ice cream for breakfast.  Also really good.  Next up, TBD.  Stay tuned.

Ice cream FTW

Listen to this:

All We Need (Deep Inside) by AYYBO

AYYBO · All We Need (Deep Inside)