Five Heroclip Uses for Runners

The Heroclip (Medium and Small versions)

  I first learned about the Heroclip earlier this year while looking for carabiners, or D-rings most of us called them in the military, for some of my camping gear.  I saw Heroclip on Amazon and their product immediately intrigued me.  I bought one and got it a few days later.

The Small Heroclip: Backed with an Indiegogo campaign

  I later backed their expansion campaign on Indiegogo in which they wanted to create and offer smaller sizes and test out a variety of colors.

  I also took advantage of a Black Friday discount code and picked up a regular one on Amazon as well.

  So both came in within a few weeks of each other and I tried them out with some of my running gear to see what additional purposes a runner could use them for.

The Swiveling Hook

  The main feature that separates Heroclip from other carabiners is the swiveling hook.  This hook is very handy to have since it creates a hanging spot almost anywhere.  And it is this feature that makes the Heroclip a great asset for my training runs and post-race antics.

The Heroclip: Hanging up a wet, stinky shirt

  The first way that a Heroclip helps me is I can hang some of my running attire to air and dry after a long run.  My running shirts get soaked with sweat if I run more than four miles so while I’m wearing my after-run shirt, yes on most races I keep an extra shirt in my car, I hang up my used shirt to dry and keep off my seats.

Hooking my trail shoes

  This can also apply to hanging shoes if you hook the carabiner through the shoelaces on top of the tongue or even use the back tabs of running shoes.  This comes in great if you do a trail run and the route is muddy or if you do an obstacle course race and you don’t want to track race mud in your vehicle.

A good sweat towel

Setting up the Heroclip

  Just like the shirt and shoes, you can use the Heroclip to hang up a freshly used towel.  This would have been very handy after my obstacle course races that I’ve done in the past, and you can bet I will use it at the Rugged Maniac OCR in Charleston next year.

It holds water bottles very well

  I also found having the Heroclip on a water bottle to be useful.  I can hang my water bottle in a variety of places and have it waiting for me with easy access.

Using the Heroclip on my backpack

  The carabiner works phenomenally to keep water bladders up while you wash your gear or yourself after a mud run as well.  Just attach the Heroclip to the bladder or a backpack and then hook the ensemble to a high spot such as a tree branch, a pole, or even a ridge on the roof or trunk of your SUV and you’re set.

BONUS:

  And one added bonus of the Heroclip comes with its versatility on running vests.  Just clip it through a loop and you have an emergency hook or carrier with you.

Check my YouTube video here: 

You can purchase the Heroclip at one of the links below:

Heroclip (medium)

https://amzn.to/2rV2KmL

Heroclip (small)

https://amzn.to/2Va3MsA

Disclaimer: this description contains affiliate links, if you click & make a purchase then at no additional cost to you this channel earns a small commission, which will go to support the production of the content I make.

Aftershokz Trekz Titanium - Headphones for Runners

  Black Friday came around and I put my name on a list for a special offer from Aftershokz.  Aftershokz ran a special “BOGO,” meaning you Buy One set of Aftershokz Trekz Air or Aftershokz Trekz Titanium, you can Gift One set of Aftershokz Titanium for free. 

The Aftershokz Box (look, Priority Mail!)

Outside

  Aftershokz’s headphones are not the normal kind of listening device.  They don’t go in the ear; instead, the headset wraps around the back of head and the speakers sit in front of your ears.  They produce vibrations that travel through the cheekbones to the inner ears. This design allows for uninterrupted sound for your enjoyment WHILE you are still able to hear your surroundings.  As I write this, I currently have music playing and the people sitting next to me cannot hear a thing coming from the headphones, while I on the other hand, can hear everything they say.

  I first experienced Aftershokz’s products when I attended the Cooper River Bridge Run Expo earlier this year.  I found the bone conduction technology fascinating, but didn’t buy a pair then for two reasons: 1) I still run almost exclusively with my Microsoft Zune (if it’s not broke, don’t fix it) which is not Bluetooth compatible and 2) the Trekz Titanium retailed for 99.95 USD and the Aftershokz Air for 149.95 USD.  As long as my Zune stayed as my primary form of running entertainment, I couldn’t justify paying for a set of headphones I would use occasionally, no matter how great the Titanium headphones were.

  Fast forward to Thanksgiving time, and I seriously contemplated getting a pair.  My Zune has lasted almost a decade now and Microsoft stopped making that MP3 player several years ago.  At some point, it will die on me, but I’m still amazed at its battery life and functionality.

Brand new in box

 When I received an invitation from Aftershokz for their BOGO #GiveGoodVibes campaign, I signed up.  Aftershokz set the initial limit to the first 2,000 orders, and just because I registered for the event did not mean I had to commit to the deal.  Well, during Black Friday, or rather Thursday evening before Black Friday, we casually went shopping and the window opened for the BOGO offer.  I thought and thought, and after an hour, I looked at their website and saw that not only did the BOGO offer was live, but Aftershokz ran a discount on the Trekz Titanium and the Trekz Air.  The Aftershokz Titanium went from 99.95 to 79.95 USD and the Air went from 149.95 to 119.95 USD.  With a discount AND the BOGO offer looming over my screen, it didn’t take much to place my order.  Aftershokz later extended the deal for additional 2,000 sets on Friday.  

    Less than two weeks later, I received my order in the mail.  A nice blue, decorated box with the Aftershokz logo and priority mail postage sat at my front door.  I opened it and there sat two pairs of Aftershokz Titanium: one in a normal box and the other in a gift bag marked with the #GiveGoodVibes tag.

  As much as I wanted to rip into the box, that particular set was reserved for someone else in my life, and I had no problem with taking the gift bag set.  The gift bag held the Titanium headset, a pair of earplugs, a USB charging cable, spacers for the headphones in case someone has a smaller head, the warranty card, a quick start guide, and a multi-language maintenance and support sheet.

  Aftershokz sends out its headphones with half a charge, but I wanted to charge mine all the way before I played with it. 

the multi-function button

the volume buttons

The Titanium has a multi-function button on the left side of the headphones and two volume control buttons along with the charging port on the bottom of the right side.  

    To turn on the Trekz Titanium, you hold down the volume up, or “+,” button.  Seems pretty simple.  I also keep finding out my Titanium’s battery when I press the “+” button as well.

  I’ve tested the Aftershokz in several different environments: leaf blowing, a phone call, music from my laptop, a game on my cell phone, and general wearing.  While I worked on my backyard with noisy equipment, I could easily hear my playlist with no distortion from the leaf blower.  As for the phone call, I honestly did not know the Titanium worked as a speaker and listening device; I thought I purchased just a listening set.  I tapped a button on the headphones and amazingly, the call picked up.   This also threw my brother off as well, since as much as I love technology and trends, I am slow to actually buy things for myself like that.

How the headphones sit on my head

  After doing yard work, I went inside, synched the Titanium with my laptop and listened to music while I worked on some other things on my laptop and later around the house.  The bass on the Titanium is even better than I remembered from the running expo earlier this year.  And when I paired the headphones back to my cell phone to play a game, I heard subtle sounds the game programmers put in the game; sounds I couldn’t pick out on my phone’s own speakers.

  I will say that you shouldn’t set the audio volume to full on the Titanium when playing music.  I listened to a particular Krewella song with some good bass that vibrated a lot on my cheeks due to the Aftershokz’s bone conduction method.  It felt very weird before I finally turned the volume down. 

  It’s really amazing how I could listen to my music and hear my surroundings every time I used the headset.  They stayed firmly on my head with no bobbing or bouncing around.  I presume the spacers will do the same for people with smaller heads, if they are properly placed on the headset.

  These headphones are great for hearing whatever I want to listen to while also letting me stay aware of my surroundings because I can hear noises that would otherwise be drowned out by normal headphones.

  If you are on the fence about getting a set of Aftershokz’s headphones, any of them, I suggest checking out a store that sells them because quite a few have a demo pair nearby.  Also, Aftershokz does run the occasional sale and discount.  Amazon sells Aftershokz products and if you have a gift card this Christmas, birthday, or any other occasion, they would make a good choice.

Private Murphy Gets In the Way Again

  In the military, Murphy’s Law is something we always think about when making plans.  If you weren’t familiar with this adage, it’s “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”  In the Army, some of us have taken to calling Murphy’s Law “Private Murphy,” because it would usually be a private or someone low ranking who doesn’t pay attention to the details of the mission and messes up the scenario.  Well, Private Murphy decided to come along for a trail running race with my wife and I, and it cost us more than being able to cross the finish line. 

  Several months ago, I received an invitation to run in a brand new half-marathon race due to my video recording abilities.  This past April, I ran in the initial True to the Brew Trail Run/Hike, a 6.5 mile trek through a part of the Palmetto Trail.  In usual fashion, I ran with my GoPro Hero 6 to record the course as I ran and augmented it with the Karma Grip to keep the camera stable while recording.  The highlight video I created from that race impressed the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the organization responsible for the promotion, care taking, and maintenance of the Palmetto Trail and Grit Endurance who organized the race.  I felt very ecstatic about all this and wanted to provide the same type of video with the half marathon.

  But I haven’t run a half-marathon in almost three years from the start date of the True to the Brew Half Marathon.  I don’t count the Bad Rock Ultra, even though I complete 13.1 miles because I had 12 hours to complete at least three laps totaling the half marathon distance and I had (almost) all the time in the world to rest between laps. 

  So in typical military leadership fashion, I decided to do use the “backwards planning” technique to figure out what all I needed to do and prepare for some kind of success with recording and running in this race. 

When I initially got the race invitation, I looked up Croft State Park, the location for the True to the Brew half marathon and saw some steep hills in this section of the Palmetto Trail.  This made me think that I would be going a lot slower than I would want.  It would require me to get new running gear, expand my electronics capabilities, and keep myself going the whole time.

  I knew my time has significantly slowed down since the year before I retired from the Army, but that I was also going a little slower than normal on the two half marathons I participated in back in 2015.  My average times back then for a half marathon were about an 8:40 mile with an overall run time of 1 hour and 55 minutes.  I wanted to run the True to the Brew in about a 9:30 mile to even a 10 minute mile pace pitting me in the range of around 2 hours and 10 minutes.  Considering I am normally comfortable running between a five and 10 kilometer distance, I didn’t need to work on short, fast distances but focus on a slower long distance pace.  I commenced on running my training runs at a 9:30 pace while just running whatever time I could on a regular race before the True to the Brew happened.  I built a plan to implement longer distances as race day and race week got closer with the help of backwards planning.

  When it came to recording the footage, I knew my GoPro Hero 6 would need an upgrade in SD cards.  I run with a 32 Gigabyte card.  With most GoPro settings such as Pro Tune turned off, I get 1:50:00 to record.  Looking my best time for a half-marathon, I would be short at least five minutes if I just ran with my equipment as is.  So, I had to shop around for a 64 Gig SD card that could handle the taxing requirements of a Hero 6.  There’s a big difference the SD cards that work in the GoPro Hero 5 and older iterations and the GoPro Hero 6.  Anyway, besides the race itself, I try to record the before and after scenes of the race.  That meant I definitely need to get the bigger card, so after searching Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, I got one on Ebay for about ten dollars cheaper than anything in stores.  And a 64 Gigabyte SD card brought my recording time to three hours and forty minutes. 

  But I had another problem and one I couldn’t simply upgrade with an SD card.  The GoPro Karma Grip has a battery life of one hour and 45 minutes.  I figured I need to do one of two things: either select times to turn on the GoPro for recording or come up with a plan to charge the Karma Grip during the race.  Since I hadn’t run that trail before, the first option didn’t seem reasonable to me, so I went with the latter.  To do that though, I research if it was possible and it was with a portable battery charger, but I couldn’t find anyone showing how long using a battery charger would prolong the GoPro Karma Grip’s power usage.  I ran my own tests and came up with two hours and 30 minutes.  That worked for me, but I would need to have a means to carry a battery charger during the race. 

  I determined that I would have to wear a trail running vest for this race.  I have never worn one for a run before so I reached out to several YouTubers who were very familiar with running vests and went with a very inexpensive but usable trail running vest sold on Amazon.  I tested it out a couple of times and would adjust its fitting periodically.

  I also determined that while I usually don’t carry additional water or supplements during any runs or races, I figured I should have a couple of my Science In Sport gel packs, especially since this was a trail race with hills and water stations would be placed three to four miles apart.  I could carry them in my new trail vest, too.

  I also had to get new running shoes for this race.  When I ran the 6.5 mile race back in April I skipped on wearing my favorite running shoes, my On Cloudflyer and used a normal looking New Balance Vazee because On’s shoes are notorious for picking up rocks, acorns, and anything small that would get wedged between the cloud pockets.  Fortunately, a local outdoors store had a great sale on shoes and I spotted a pair of Altra trail shoes for about sixty US dollars.  However, Altra shoes are known for their “zero drop” style shoes.  “Zero drop” means that your toes and heels are on the same level in the shoes as opposed to most shoes where the heel is slightly higher due to increased cushioning built into the shoes.  My Altra Lone Peak 3.5 shoes had great grips for trails but I would need to wear them for the better part of six weeks to get used to how they felt and how to run in them without injuring myself.

  After I went through and did a PCI, or Pre Combat Inspection, of all my new gear and checked my training, I felt more prepared to do this race.  We drove up on Saturday morning to do the race and got there in plenty of time for packet pickup.  A little after 7:30 AM, the True to the Brew Half Marathon officially started and I was feeling good.  150 of us went running down the street and into the entrance for the Palmetto Trail within Croft State Park.  I had a nice pace of 10:30 a mile due to the bunching of several runners resulting in a lengthy single file line of runners for over a mile. 

  I hit the first water station, located about 4.5 miles into the race at about the 50 minute mark.  Not my best time and definitely slower than I anticipated from all my training and studying of the race course, but if I kept that pace, I would finish at the 2:15 mark and be good with recording everything before I lost power.  But as I started to head out, I got a text from my wife that she fell along the course and heard a loud crack.  A fellow runner saw her and told her that she was near the four mile mark.  When she relayed all that information to me, I took off in a dead sprint back to the four mile mark.  I got there but saw no sign of my wife so I range walked (fast walking, that’s all that is) for a bit before picking up a jog and continuing on.  I kept checking my phone to see how far back I had gone and finally saw her sitting on the side of a hill at roughly the five kilometer mark.  Her ankle was incredibly swollen, almost the size of a grapefruit.  I sent out a message to the race organizer, Erin, and let her know I needed help with my wife.  A little later, a first aid person showed up and triaged her and a little later that, another came by with an ATV to move her back to the starting line.  The first aid guy, Brendan, and I trekked back to a collection point and eventually made it back to the start line.  Once there, I drove my wife to an urgent care facility and that pretty much ended our race.  We got home, elevated her foot, grabbed pain medications, and scheduled a follow up appointment with her doctor.

   So while I had prepared everything I would carry and implemented a training plan for myself, Private Murphy still showed up and managed to FUBAR what should have been a good race for my wife and myself. 

  I did manage to put together a video onthe first leg of the race, though.   


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Crunch Time - Last Week Before My Half-Marathon

  In less than a week, I will be running in my first half-marathon in over two years.  I’ve always been comfortable running 5k distances and most of the time can relax while running 10 kilometers, but any distance over 10 miles involves some thinking and preparation, no matter the activity.

  I still remember the time that I went off on temporary duty (TDY) for five weeks while my Soldiers prepared for a 12 mile ruck march.  For those who don’t know, a ruck march is a “favored” military activity in which you walk quickly with some weight in your backpack.  My male Soldiers had at least 25 pounds in their rucksack while my female Soldiers carried at least 20 pounds.  Since their training and the execution date for their ruck march would occur while I was gone, I didn’t train at all, and instead focused on my running.  However, the last week of my TDY, I got word that their scheduled ruck march was delayed a week and not many of the unit’s leadership would be able to be out there to do it with them; this event was at the company level, and I was in charge of a platoon at the time.  I didn’t have to participate, but I passed word to my squad leaders and platoon sergeant that I might do it with them.  Now, for over about two years, I had special ruck; I took a rucksack frame and mounted a radio boombox on it with several bungee cords and little the necessary weights to make the 25 pound minimum (I know some units say that the ruck should weigh at least 35 pounds, but when you’re at post that likes to ride around in vehicles, I don’t think “they” cared THAT much to keep up with the lighter units).  Rucking involves a different pair of footgear and for me, which includes a different stride and gait.  And I had not prepared at all to do a ruck march, much less a 12 mile one.

  After I got home from TDY, I prepped my ruck by replacing the batteries and checking the cords to make sure the boombox wouldn’t rattle if I go fast.  The next day was the ruck march and I met up with my platoon to do it with them.  There were several mid-level NCOs (non-commissioned officers: staff sergeants and regular ole sergeants) from the other platoons out there in addition to my NCOs and me.  In fact, I was the only officer to be out there with the company for some reason.   We start our march, and I start up my boombox.  I had a playlist already built for an occasion like this, so we marched off to Army band music, because I wanted it to sound serious in the company and battalion area, but once we hit the last road, the music changed to songs associated with Hollywood war movies. 

  At the two mile mark, one of the NCOs from another platoon quit.  That really chapped my hide because I didn’t get to prepare for five-six weeks and here’s this one guy who was supposed to be setting an example and he just ups and quits.  Went back to the company.  His feet weren’t even hurting.  That made me even more determined to finish this with my platoon.  So we continued on the ruck march, probably to Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” 

  I finished that ruck march tired and a little sore, but amazingly with no blisters and just the slightest heat spots on my feet.

  This Saturday is the True to the Brew half-marathon at Croft State Park.  I have trained some, but nowhere near to the extent that I wish I had.  I have my equipment for this race, to include new trail running shoes and for the first time ever, I will be wearing a running vest.  I need one to carry a battery charger since I will be recording the race with my GoPro and the Karma Grip (for stable footage to keep people from getting motion sickness).  I’ve tested my electronics.  I’ve worn my new trail shoes for almost a month to make sure I’m familiar with how they feel.  I’ve adjusted my running vest to (hopefully) make sure it doesn’t jingle around while I’m running.  Let’s hope that this preparation, to include getting in several six mile (ten kilometer) runs in and an eight mile run will help prepare me than that time I rucked without six weeks of practice.

New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo V3 Running Shoes Testing

The Shoe Vault

  I had a chance to try out the New Balance Free Foam Vongo V3 running shoes while attending the weekly Fleet Feet running event.  Normally on Tuesdays, Fleet Feet hosts a “Pack the Park” event in one of the local parks.  On this particular Pack the Park, a New Balance representative would be there along with several different types of New Balance shoes for us to try on during our run, however, the park was closed and we tested out the shoes on a pre-determined route by Fleet Feet. 

  The New Balance representative had four different models of shoes for us to choice from: the 860, 880, the 1080, and the Vongo Fresh Foam.  While I am usually an On Cloud person when it comes to running shoes, I have been wearing On’s Cloudflyer for the past several months because of the stability it offers. 

The Shoes To Try

  While perusing the various shoes on the rack under the New Balance tent, I asked the New Balance rep what the various numbers meant.  She quickly replied that I was looking at the shoe sizes marked on the bottom of the shoes.  I chuckled and said that I knew about the shoe sizes but didn’t comprehend the model numbers. That’s when she explained what 860 (support and stability), 880 (neutral support), and 1080 (neutral) were.  Talking about my current running shoes, the Cloudflyer, she suggested I go with either the 860 or the Vongo.

  After selecting the Fresh Foam Vongo V3 because they offered a more tradition form of support for stability running, I walked around to get a feel for the shoes.  They were kind of dusty on the outside, but I attributed that to me wearing a size 10, which is a fairly common shoe size.  Walking around the outside of Fleet Feet on the asphalt felt okay.  It was nice walking without adjusting my stance like I do for the Altra Lone Peak 3.5 with their Zero Drop foot feature.  I wandered around in the Vongos and tried to put them to the test with walking: I moved while widening my stride, I would pivot in them and listen for any squeaking or other weird noises. 

 Other people were still checking out I continued walking and then started stretching my legs and rotating my ankles since I ran in the Labor Day 5 Miler the previous day and my ankle was hurting at two different times during that event.  When the last person picked out a pair of shoe for the demo run, we unofficially officially began our warm-up exercises.  I kept toiling with ways to make the Vongo V3 flex and move about, and yet they still felt fine before the run. 

Stretching Out

  We went for our three mile run, though others who were faster opted for the four mile try-out on their New Balance shoes.  Everything felt okay and normal with the Vongo V3 at first.  I start behind most of the other runners and slowly work my way past each person, similar to what I do during a race.  I had no intention of passing anyone, but the cushioning felt pretty good and the shoes were comfortable. 

However, near the one mile mark of the run, both of my heels started to hurt each time I hit the asphalt.  That pain endured for almost a quarter of a mile.  It was a rather annoying pain that I couldn’t stop thinking about, but wasn’t enough to prevent me from continuing running.  The cushioning wasn’t helping and it almost felt like the support was not there anymore. When I hit the halfway point and turnaround, I let one of the Fleet Feet people know that my feet were hurting but I would finish the run. 

  It took about another five minutes before the pain in my heels went away during the run.  I have no idea what happened, and I couldn’t tell if the pain was residual from the race the previous day or if it was from the Vongo V3 themselves. The treads on the soles looked fairly new, but the dust atop the shoes told a slightly different story.  The pain subsided to almost nothingness by the time I finished the run, but I couldn’t help but think about what caused it. 

  I will say that while the Vongo V3 felt good before the run and okay after the run, if I hadn’t ran in the On Cloudace two weeks prior, I wouldn’t have a good gauge to on when it came to testing shoes.  With the Cloudace, I can easily compare them to my Cloudflyer and feel the difference.  Both models of On shoes offer cushioning, but the Cloudace was so comfortable, provided a lot of support, and didn’t have issues.  As for the Vongo running shoes, the other direct comparison I can do is with my New Balance Vazee shoes which I don’t usually wear for races, though I did wear them for a 6.5 trail race and a couple of 5k and a 10k run in the past. The Vongo feels better than the Vazee, seems to provide more support, but the traction on both felt about the same. 

  Proper footgear is essential when running and I was very fortunate throughout my Army career that, to my knowledge, I didn’t have any foot issues.  I know too many people who got out of the service and either had difficulty running afterwards or couldn’t run at all.  If you get a chance, test shoes before you buy, and definitely if you are given an opportunity to do a demo run with a shoe company, go for it.