Internet people, I have some catching up to do – on many, many things – but one of those things would be product reviews!  Which of course means the acquiring of product for Runner Susan – and we all know how much Runner Susan loves to acquire product!

I have a few more reviews coming, but lets start with Yurbuds. Hisbuds, herbuds, yourbuds! Yurbuds are ergonomically designed ear buds that fit to any ear – this made me happy because I have really small ears and my earbuds fall out all the time – but not now since yurbuds sent me new ears. The patented Ear-Lock technology guarantees a secure fit, even at extreme activity levels.

Have you ever had that crackling sound from sweat getting all over the earbud? No more. Sweat doesn’t touch the ear bud and the sound is funneled right in to the ear for fantastic acoustics.

And because Yurbuds loves Runner Susan so much, they are is giving you a FREE pair; all you have to do is leave a comment and I’ll generate a random number in a few days and send the winner the code to order a free pair online. Then we can be all matchy, matchy because we’re cute like that!

More free things coming up in the next few days!

UPDATE:

The random number generator picked the 11th commenter – so Teri is the winner! Congrats Teri, I emailed you the code to receive your free Yurbuds.

Like several other running bloggers I was given the opportunity to try one of the tech4o watches. Tech4o was kind enough to send me the Women’s Accelerator Hiker to try and review for the Internet People. You know me, I love gadgets, so reviewing this watch was right up my alley. And since I had recently started trail running, I was even more excited. Unlike other satellite GPS-based systems, this watch is a high-tech pedometer which allows it to work under under heavy tree cover. Not that Texas has a lot of tree cover, but it’s nice to know when I hit a patch I am prepared. I was concerned about the “Hiker” part, but after reviewing the Tech4o website I saw that the watch was listed in the running & walking section, so I was relieved.

Before I could take the Tech40 on a trail or road run, I needed to calibrate it. No problem, I grab the watch and the instruction book and head to the track. After arriving to the track I realize I should have brought my reading glasses because the instructions are written in an extra, extra tiny point font on about 20 pages. Okay, still not a problem. I drive home and check out the website just to see if I can get a larger printout of the instruction. Lucky for me they have a “Quick Setup” pdf for download for people like me, who 1) are getting old and can’t see and 2) don’t have the patience to follow a bazillion pages of instructions. Needless to say, I highly recommend the pdf to simplify the setup process. There is also a pretty nifty interactive online tutorial.

So, back to the track I go to calibrate. I did the walk and run tests and adjusted the stride length a bit and few punches of the button later I’m running laps around the track to make sure I calculated correctly. It does both steps and mileage, so make sure you have it on mileage, unless you’re one of those freaky runners who knows that 10,000 steps is a 5k. Go me, I did it right because the watch is right on target – two miles around the track the watch read 1.97. Pretty darn close, because at this point in the setup process if it didn’t work, I was sending it back.

The next step was to take it on a trail run. I ran with a friend of mine on a pretty hilly and difficult 5-mile trail loop. I didn’t know ahead of time, but there was lots of jumping of creeks, zig-zagging, climbing and mixed speed running across the terrain. My stride was mixed and I was curious how the pedometer would measure against my friend’s Garmin. Miles 1 and 2 were pretty close, but by the time we got to the 5-mile marker my Tech4o watch said 4.1 and her Garmin said 5.23. That’s a little over a mile difference. My first thought was that I needed to calibrate the watch while actually running on the trails. But that proved to be no easy feat and I messed it up so bad that I ended back to the track to calibrate it one more time.

At this point, I decided I need to run with it on a road course with a little more distance to really see if I did it correctly. I took it for a spin on a course that I knew to be six miles. The Tech4o said 5.82. Not bad. I also took it on the Cowtown 5k course that I ran with Kenza’s running club to see how it would do. There was so much weaving in and out of kids I expected it to be a bit over. I didn’t look at the watch until the finish, but it said 3.77 compared to Garmin’s 3.82. Pretty good. I’m happy.

A few more road runs with more hit than miss accuracy and I decide to try it on the trails one more time, this time a slightly flatter 5-mile course that didn’t involve as much climbing or zig-zagging. This time the watch read 4.5 when I got to the 5-mile mark. Better, but not on spot. I’m not exactly sure why the distance is off more on the trails than it is on the road, but my suspicions are that it has something to do with the difference of arm swing on the different terrain.

I find myself wearing this watch a lot. I feel bonded to it after all I’ve been through to get it working properly. Also, I have really small wrists and it is a lot more comfortable than my Garmin 205. It was tough (and frustrating) to get calibrated, but the watch works fine for most of my needs – but if you are a stickler for accuracy, then I would say this Accelerator watch is not for you.

Women’s Accelerator Hiker. $69.99. Tech40.com. View other models here.

It’s true, I’m involved with a bad skirt and it’s the hottest, smartest bad skirt your Momma warned you about. It is the Commitment skirt from Atalanta Athleticwear.

A while back, Heather Langendorfer, Atalanta Athleticwear’s CEO, sent me their Commitment Running Skirt to take for a spin. And boy, has it seen a few miles. Seriously, if I wear a skirt this long then you know it’s a good one!

What do I love about this skirt? Pretty much just about everything, but I have to confess my favorite part is the compression tights. They keep all the jiggly parts nice and tight! What’s not to love about that? The tights are also available in a variety of flashy colors like turquoise, orange and red, you’ll want them to be seen because they are hot!

I also love the pockets, which are large enough to hold your small amounts of fuel and a cell phone. And you get, not just one, but two pockets. The pockets have held up too, which unlike other skirts I’ve tried have ripped off after a lot of use or are too small to put anything worthwhile in.

The Commitment Running Skirt is available online at www.runlikeatalanta.com for $54.00.

Keep your eyes on the Complete Running Network because soon they will be publishing the much anticipated “How Cheeky is Your Skirt” video review!

Seriously, I need to do more than shop and run. It’s raining right now and I’m sitting at home taking pictures of a bra.

So I open the package and I immediatly think “Cute – but not enough support, no way!” But to be fair to the bra I gave it a quick run this morning. To my surprise it held up fine. I only took it out for a three mile run and it was great. Soft and supportive enough for me, but I’m not large breasted – so I’m not sure how it would hold up on someone who was a D cup. If I didn’t have back fat – I’d model it for you myself, but here ya go:

The strappyness was really cute and I loved the logo on the back (I might also wear it under a chocolate tank):

Here is the bra modeling with me feet and new road shoes (notice the purple toenails on my right foot – I really hope the new Trances help with that because the lack of toenails disturbs me)

Here is the bra paired with the skirt – adorable:

Rowdy usually hides when I bring out the camera – I’m sure he thinks I’m going to make him wear the bra:

I meant to include the iPod pocket photo in the skirt review but I forgot:

And, to end the suspense – I now have four baby eggs in my nest. I only had three yesterday – I know you were concerned. Now I’m sitting here wondering if I should move the basket out of the rain so they don’t get too wet or cold.

Do we need any more proof that I have too much time on my hands?