Runner hack: Did you know that should you be out of Icy Hot, Vick Vapor Rub is a great product substitute? Fact! While I was in our last weeks in Kazakhstan, I found myself needing a topical pain and muscle relief. I didn’t have Icy Hot and couldn’t find it on the local economy. A Google search later and I was rubbing the last half of a tiny Vicks jar on the muscles and ligaments around my knees. After visiting Barry’s with friend Robert, who was having his first Red Room experience, I advised him to use the Vicks in lieu of Icy Hot as he didn’t have the latter. I’d like to think he was grateful for the suggestion after feeling betrayed that I drug him to a Sunday 8:10 am class the morning of spring adjustment of daylight savings time.
In other news, I took one of my favorite Barry’s class instructor’s recommendations and ordered a pair of Blenders sport sunglasses. Wearing sunglasses in lieu of a baseball cap truly cuts down on wind drag, though I didn’t necessarily hate adding that small challenge to my latter third quarter of outdoor training runs. Initially, I wanted to find the same pair of Oakley’s that I used to own, and might possibly have in storage? After growing irritated that I could not recover the exact product name from Gilt, which is where I purchased them over a decade ago, I abandoned the mission. About a week later, Sydni posted a story about her half marathon and I inquired about her eyewear. A week later, I incorporated my very own pair of Blenders into my run kit.












