See and Be Seen – Night Running Essentials (Nathan Sports Discount Code Included)

Disclaimer: I received a Luna Fire 250 RX Run Chest/Waist Light from Nathan Sports to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own. 

I am not a morning person. As much as I say how much I love my Saturday morning long runs, it takes the heavens to get my body out of bed at 6:45 am. Ugh. And don’t even get me started about trying to wake up at 5 am on a weekday to run before work. That is just too early. WAY TOO EARLY.

So what I’m trying to get at is that I’m primarily a night runner. I’ve written about this before, but being a night runner has its ups and downs. The weather gets cooler as you run thankfully, but you also have to be more aware of your surroundings. You have to be vigilant about being seen and being able to see.

Here are a few things I do to stay safe on a night run:

1. Wear reflective gear – Whether it be clothing that has built in reflective strips on it to sticking reflective tape (ie Brilliant Reflective) or just wearing one of those reflective vests, I highly recommend wearing something with reflective properties. People driving at night already have poor visibility and you know that some of them are not always looking at the road. If you don’t wear something bright and shiny, you risk the chance that someone will not see you. Heck, while in Vegas, a car bumped into me in broad daylight. I’m still angry about that. LOL.
2. Bring a light – As it gets darker earlier these days, I have to bring a light with me on my runs. If I don’t, I just know that I’ll twist my ankle or step in some poop. I’ve tested various light set ups on my runs and most recently, I tested the Nathan Luna Fire 250 RX Waist/Chest light. The light around your chest or waist was super new to me so I was ecstatic when the opportunity arose to test this product. I usually carry a flash light with me, but having a light I could just wear on me seemed really appealing since I wouldn’t have to hold anything in my hands. At first test, I found that the strap that the light could clip onto needed a bit of an adjustment. It is a one size fits all strap so I had to tighten it to just the right length for the light to not bounce around. It took a bit of trial and error to find just the right length. Another thing to consider is whether you want to wear it around your waist or your chest. I personally found that wearing it around my chest or even below my chest was not a good option for me. The strap would almost always slide down my body if I had it positioned around my chest. So for me, the waist was the way to go. I do know others who had better luck with positioning it on their chest though so it may be a body type thing. You are also able to clip the light around other straps if you have a sturdier strap. I found that clipping it onto my FlipBelt worked super well as the light didn’t bounce around as much.

The light itself is rechargeable and has three settings – bright, brighter, and brightest. Depending on how dark it was and how long I needed the light for, I would set it appropriately by pushing a button to change the brightness. This light is Ragnar approved so if you’re running a Ragnar in 2019, this might be a nice option in lieu of a flashlight.

3. Listen to your surroundings – Ideally, running without music is what you should be doing, but if you’re like me and listening to music/podcasts is a must, I recommend either turning down the audio a bit so you can hear when others are nearby or wear headphones with an open ear design that would allow you to listen to your surroundings (ie Aftershokz).
4. Run with friends – If you can, run with friends. I try to find group runs and run in a group in the evenings. If you don’t know where to find a run group, I’d suggest hitting up your local running shoe store and asking them. I run with two run groups that are organized by local running shoe stores and I just love it. Not only do I feel safer running with others, I also get to meet fellow runners who are as crazy as I am about running.

If you are interested in learning more about the Nathan Waist/Chest light, please feel free to ask me questions or read what other BibRave Pros had to say below.

Ben – Jenna – Michael – Erica – Brenda – Lisa – Renee

You can also save 20% on NathanSports.com by using code “NATHANBIB20”. This is sitewide and is good for up to $250.

Question for you: Are you a night runner or a morning runner? And how do you stay safe as a runner?

Give Good Vibes – An Amazing Aftershokz deal

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Aftershokz headphones as an AfterShokz ShokzStar ambassador. However, all opinions are my own.

With Thanksgiving happening in 7 days and Black Friday in 8 days, I figured it’d be informative to let you know of an AMAZING sale that Aftershokz will be having.

For those of you who might not know, Aftershokz is a company that sells both wired and wireless bone conduction headphones. If you’ve been following this blog awhile, you will know that I ADORE these headphones. I have written many reviews on them (Trekz Titanium Mini, Trekz Air, and Trekz Titanium Regular) and I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but they are really freaking amazing with their open ear design and their bone conduction technology.

Also, for full disclosure, I have been an Aftershokz Brand Ambassador since October of this year, but have loved this headphones for a lot longer. 🙂

Anyway, Aftershokz’s newest campaign is #GivingGoodVibes. With the holidays coming up, they are encouraging others to give back. Whether it’s to a community that’s struggling, a family member down on their luck, or just a friend who needs some cheering up. And as someone who typically struggles around the holiday season, I love this idea of giving back.

Just a few days ago, Aftershokz actually surprised an entire flight with free wireless headphones as part of this campaign (seen here). ❤

And starting on Thanksgiving until Sunday or whenever they sell out, Aftershokz will be having a buy one, get one free sale to promote this campaign. If you’re looking to surprise someone with a great set of headphones while also getting yourself a pair, this may be a great deal for you.

For every purchase of a Trekz Air or Trekz Titanium, you will receive a grey pair of Trekz Titanium for free. This is probably their biggest sale of the year so I would definitely recommend signing up at Goodvibes.aftershokz.com to get their notifications of when this sale goes live. This deal is only applicable for the first 2000 purchases.

Once the deal goes live, you can click on the link here: share.aftershokz.com/MAIK to get that deal. 🙂 Currently, that link goes towards a deal for a Trekz Air or Trekz Titanium bundle, but on Thanksgiving, that link will direct you to the BOGO sale.

If you forget or are unable to purchase one through their BOGO sale, you will also have another chance to win one from me. 🙂 I will be announcing that giveaway on my instagram within a week or so so stay tuned. 🙂 

If you have any questions at all about any of their headphones, please comment and I’d be happy to help answer your questions. 🙂

AfterShokz Trekz Titanium Mini – Product Review

Disclaimer: I received a Aftershokz Trekz Titanium Minis to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own. 

It’s been a month since I last reviewed a product, but I’m back with a review for the Aftershokz Trekz Titanium Mini headphones and it’s a good one. 🙂 I’ve been testing these out for almost a month and a half and honestly, I don’t know how I ever went on runs without them. Let’s get down to it, shall we?

What are type of headphones are they? The Aftershokz Trekz Titaniums are a set of wireless sports headphones that have an open ear design, meaning they do not stick directly into your ears. Instead, they rest on your cheekbones and sound is delivered to your inner ear through mini vibrations. 

 

What advantages do these headphones have over other ones? 

1. Wireless – There are no tangled wires that can get caught on things as you run. Ever run by a branch and have your headphones catch on them and pull your earbuds out? That will never happen with these. Wireless headphones are also huge right now ever since the new iPhone 7 came out and did away with the headphone jack.
2. Open ear design – The headphones sit over your cheekbones and are never directly put into your ear. This allows you to hear outside noises, which is especially important if you’re a runner. You’ll want to hear if others are running by you and if cars are nearby. These headphones allow you to be alert and safe while out on your run. If you really don’t want to hear outside noise, these headphones actually come with a pair of ear plugs that you can use. It may sound counterintuitive, but all you have to do is put in your ear plugs, put on your headphones, and ta-da, you’ll only hear your music, podcast, show, etc. I did this while on a 3 hour flight and it was a total game changer for me. I went from not being able to hear my podcast because of all the outside noise to hearing my show crystal clear. I will always try to fly with a pair of ear plugs and these headphones from now on.
3. Multipoint pairing – This is kind of a nifty function and I don’t actually use it all too much, but it is cool to note. You can pair the headphones to two different devices. The most common combination would probably be your iPad or computer and your phone. If you were watching Netflix on your iPad or computer and then got a call, your headphones will automatically switch to your phone. Once you’re done with the call, the headphones will automatically switch back.

Are there other noteworthy features? Yes, of course. 🙂 My favorite feature is that I can use these headphones to talk to people on the phone. Some headphones have mics that are inconveniently placed and I will have to move the mic closer to my mouth to talk. The mic is well positioned on these headphones and the person on the other line hears me perfectly fine.

Controls are very easy to use. If your music is playing, double click on the multifunction button to skip a song. Click once to pause or play a song. You can adjust the volume with mere clicks. If you don’t have music playing and someone is calling you, click once to answer and click again to end the call. Easy, right?

Despite the open ear design, the sound quality is surprisingly still very good. I’m not an audiophile or anything, but I’d give these an A. 🙂

The headphones are lightweight. They don’t bounce when you run and fit very well around your ears. Also, if you need to take them off, you can just have them hang around your neck without any fear of them falling off.

The battery life on these lasts anywhere from 5 – 6 hours. 🙂

Are there things you didn’t like about them? As I said before, these are my opinions and yes, I did find a few things I didn’t like about them, but I think they’re very minor issues.

If I wore them long enough, my neck would feel a little sore, but I think this might actually be due to “text neck” if anything. Also, if was very windy outside, I wouldn’t be able to hear my music very well.

If you’d like to learn more about these headphones, please feel free to ask me or check out other BRP reviews below. They have two sizes – the regular or the mini. I have a small head and tried out their mini and it fit perfectly for me.

Amy – Jenna – Jessica – Frank

You can order your own through bibrave.aftershokz.com and get a free Stainless steel water bottle with your order. 🙂 Also, join us on Twitter @BibRave for #BibChat on Tuesday, May 30th at 6 pm PST for a chance to win a pair of Aftershokz Titanium Minis. 

Have you tried these headphones? How do you like them?