‘Giveaway’ Articles at

Ezzere Launch Party Runner Night

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Cait — 14 Comments ↓

All you AWESOME runners better save the date and make your way to Cali cuz THIS is going down…the Ezzere Launch Party and Runner Night!!

Do you have your excited face on? Good. Here are some more det’s:

My AMAZING friends at US Cryotherapy are opening up their doors for this runner posse. Haven’t ever tried this subzero temperature recovery treatment? Now’s your chance to come in and try the local treatment. Read all about their benefits for injury prevention, faster recovery after workouts, and injury treatments HERE.

Nuun Hydration is also taking part in helping sponsor the event too! They will be keeping all us runners hydrated up right as we party down with their NEW Nuun Active Hydration Drink. We already love their current drink line, this latest formula has those same essential electrolytes but now packed with extra B Vitamins and Caffeine. Still less than 12 calories and sans extra sugar though!

GU Energy also knows how important it is to fuel runners right and they’re going to be brining their fine selves and those awesome packs of Pure Performance energy to the party!

Not sure of the perfect place to put that hydrating drink or energy gel?? Well never fear, Hydrapak is coming to this Ezzere Launch Party Runner Night too and offering up some of their SoftFlasks to a few lucky runners in attendance! These SoftFlasks are well, soft (duh), and flexible meaning you can easily squeeze them on the run and get your energy gel or drink much better than the hard shell variety of flasks.

PRIZES!! Yes, let’s be honest everyone loves some good prizes and SWAG, right? The first 50 people will be gifted AT THE DOOR with one of Nunn’s new Active Hydration Drink Vial. The raffle will include a KICK@$$ Ezzere Running Tee, a Nuun Sample Pack, a GU sample pack, SoftFlasks from Hydrapak, AND a whopping $200 valued US Cryotherapy gift pack that includes: a 5-Pack Cryo Chamber/Localized punch card, US Cryo tee-shirt, water-bottle, and pen.

Excited smile getting bigger? Come as you are, Runnerchicks and Runnerdudes, there’s going to be a core exercise and injury prevention tips demonstration lead by moi and everyone there will be able to get arty and create their own motivational artboard.

Support a runner in Africa and bring a pair of your old running shoes, please don’t make them too dead, at least 100 more miles on them and make a donation to the shoe pile. 🙂

If you’re not in the local Roseville, CA area…I’m sorry, but I’ll be sure to take loads of pictures and you can STILL get your Ezzere Runner Tee, US Cryotherapy, and Nuun Hydration love at the respective sites. 🙂

Any more questions about the event send me an email: cait@caitchock.com

Until manana…keep running!

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Oh and THIS Friday there’s also a party, I know it’s getting full on club in this blog, there will be the #CoreandCake Party, check out that info HERE!!
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1) What do YOU consider a fun party, event, thing to do?
2) What’s the best prize you’ve ever won? Are you pretty lucky?
I never win any raffle or giveaways…haha.
3) What’s you’re favorite Ezzere shirt?
4) Have you ever tried US Cryo?
Yup…you can see that HERE. 😛
5) Have you tried Nuun? What’s your favorite flavor.
Wildberry. 🙂

Protect That Runner Noggin: Ambler Heat Beanies Give-away

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Cait — 30 Comments ↓

Every runner head is pretty stinking awesome. The cranium, the noggin, the noodle; while our legs do most of the PHYSICAL work the mentality of a runner defines how well he or she will actually preform.

A runner’s head can be their greatest asset or wind up turing into their greatest obstacle. That’s taking this head metaphor to a deeper level and you can school up on how to train your actual runner brain HERE, HERE, and HERE. Today’s post is going to be about the superficial head…so pull out your best ‘shallow’ model stereotype.

It sure is starting to feel a lot like Festivus and the winter weather generally leaves me curled up fetal position and talking myself up saying that it really isn’t THAT cold. Layers, Baby, layers and the parts of a runner that are most apt to chill over the quickest if not protected properly are the hands, feet, ears and face. It’s important to have weather-prudent gloves and socks but what about that noodle?

I don’t live in a state where snow is the norm, and what I call freezing is actually the ‘technical’ freezing point, not like you crazy Duluthians where 32 degrees would be downright balmy! So I don’t usually wear a hat for my runs but I know that it is ubber important for runners to protect their head and ears when out in the elements. Flashback fact from grammar school: you lose most of your body heat through the head.

Ambler, a family run business, got in touch with me about their Heat Beanies. Being that I’m doing my own little running shirts lineby my lonesome I’m more than happy to support the ‘little’ guys so to speak! 🙂 Ambler’s mission is: ‘To make quality hats. We create fit, function and design with everyone in mind.’

They’ve got a few different varieties and they’ve fused fashion and function to corner the exerciser niche with their Heat Beanies. I was sporting the Orbit, my favorite color is lime green, and here are my thoughts:

* Fit: It’s a beanie which is nice because I’m pretty picky about ‘feeling’ anything when I run. As in if my gloves/watch/hair tie/hat/etc. are loose it bugs the CRAP out of me the whole way. So I would prefer the beanie style over a typical hat, just because it can get tight on there and stay put.

* Material: The beanies are made of a polyester microfiber with the lining around the headband made of fleece. It’s light and the lining provides more warmth to the ears, which usually chill over the fastest. It’s really light and overall pretty thin, it’s more than warm enough for me and while I haven’t take it out in actual super below-freezing temps or in the snow I’ll note that Ambler is situated in the Canadian Rockies so I’ll go out on a limb and say with the technical material it would trap heat in there and provide the warmth one needs without all that bulk. I would hate trucking around any excess material and bulk.

* Overall: I like the Heat Beanies and usually I’m pretty good at ‘sucking it up’ in terms of weather when it comes to a run (of course I dress appropriately to make it bearable!); but in all other areas of life I’m the biggest wuss, so I’m sure I could put these babies to use there as well.

Now the fun part for you guys, Ambler was kind enough to send one for me AND one to give away to a lucky reader. To enter leave a separate comment below for the following:

1) Visit Ambler’s website and tell me which of their hats you like the best.
2) Like me on Facebook.
3) Tweet, Facebook, or blog about the contest.

The giveaway will be open until Saturday, December 1st!

Protect that precious cranium, runner posse, because ensuring the superficial and gear aspect is covered allows you to focus on the HARD stuff. That being the physical right, left, right as well as taming the MIND which, if you’re not careful, can stage a revolt and make you slower than you’d like. 😉

Vive la Runnerchick

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Cait — 20 Comments ↓

I live the life of a runnerchick. Why? Because it’s just better that way.

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The awesome Britt @ Chicago Runner Girl is hosting a give-away to win one of my shirts…so if you don’t already have one and feeling lucky head on over there!

The WINNER for the Injinji toe socks give-away is: Audrey Dawkins, so drop me an email: captaincait@hotmail.com and we’ll get you hooked up!
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1) What’s one reason the life of a runner is the best life?
We’re just so much cooler…nice, blanket statement there, right? 😉

2) If you could pick one place you’d love to run in/at where would it be? If you’ve already found your favorite running spot, call it out!

3) Friday, some big NCAA action underway, and tons of other races going on…are you planning to race? Feel free to school up on on racing tips HERE and HERE! 🙂

Run Your Fortune Shirts

Get Chicking Shirts

The Blister Atop My Runner Toe: Getting the RIGHT socks and shoes to spare your feet extra suffering (Injinji Giveaway)

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Cait — 35 Comments ↓

Let’s talk runner feet. Don’t worry, by now you’ve realized I’m more of the art visuals and will spare you any actual photographs because runner feet tend to be gnarly feet! To be honest though, it’s almost like a little badge of honor…how gnarly can you go?

20% Off Your Next Shoe Order if You’re Blister Free! Jk. 😛

Runners put a beating to those ten little piggies and if a couple toe nails go, we’ll cite it as collateral damage. Blisters? That’s what extra race-bib safety pins are for, right? We do all we can to avoid blisters and whacked out toe nails but even that will only take you so far.

For blisters though, the right socks and the right sized shoes make a WORLD of difference. Actually the shoe sized issue can account for an appalling number of runner woes; and often times newer runners are unintentionally setting themselves up for far more torture than running alone is, just because their shoes are too small. Or they lace their shoes too tight.

Quick tips for shoe sizing: you want to have a thumb’s width between the tip of the shoe and your longest toe. (Ohh, is that your second one, or Big Mama toe? lol.) Also, your feet swell when you run, so make sure you are trying them on later in the day when your feet have expanded.

For blisters, that rests highly upon the kind of socks you are running in. Blisters are caused by heat and friction; the more rubbing, the more heat and the more chances you’ll get blisters if all of that rubbing is done between the sock and your foot. Moisture build-up also can result in blisters…umm, we are heading into winter and I’m pretty sure that drippy stuff is wet.

That’s why you want a technical material for those socks. Just like with tech material running shirts and other apparel, this will wick away excess moisture, be breathable to air those puppies out AND certain socks are with dual layer technology. That last one is just fancy talk for their being two thin layers in the sock; so all that that rubbing is done BETWEEN the layers of the sock rather than letting that friction occur between the sock and your foot.

So yay for socks and the right sized shoes, right? Well, it’s also getting colder this time of year (unless you’re a southern hemi-reader!) and I don’t know about you but I’m a weather wimp and can’t say I enjoy heading out when I know I’ll be seeing my breath. Those extremities have to bite the bullet and keeping them warm is important and makes running more comfortable too.
Injinji toe socks
Source
Well, friends, the kind folks over at Injinji contacted me about these toe socks they’ve got going. Toe socks?! Yes, it’s okay, you know how I am not a fan of the Vibrams BUT socks aren’t going to mess up with your biomechanics so I was willing to check these guys out. Maybe even try to peel a banana with my feet? No, I didn’t, don’t worry.

The Det’s: Think gloves in the sock form. They are made with technical materials, CoolMax, Lycra and Nylon, to wick moisture and be breathable. There are rather thin and light-weight. I got the no-show kind but they offer other styles and even compression socks.

The Toe Feel: I will be honest, I am sort of weird and don’t like ‘feeling’ things on my feet, if that makes sense. I don’t like flip-flops because they bug me having that prong between my big toe. So I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about these; I will say that the longer I had them on the more I did get used to the extra material between my toes. But to be totally honest I could still feel it and given the choice I’d probably still stick with a normal styled sock, especially if I were out running when the last thing I want on my mind is something clothing or hair in my face related.

Warmth: I think the major draw for me would be a little extra warmth by way of sock; I’d venture to say that the casing around my toes probably helped keep them a little warmer. Not a huge amount, but then again I wouldn’t want a fat, thick sock out running anyways! I really do love the material on these guys and they do a good job of the moisture wicking.

Pilates/Trail/Yogi Peeps: A big thing for Injinji is the draw from trail runners and those doing things like yoga or pilates. For trail running you’re putting yourself out in more extreme environments and you want gear and socks that will keep you warm and dry. For yoga and other times you’d want to be able to have a firm grasp on one toe or specific ones, I could see these as being really great for that. I know there are some models that have grippers on the bottom, again, that would be a definite perk for yoga or mat work.

Overall: I respect the creativity of Injinji and can appreciate where they are coming from, their tech material is comfy and I like it. I think if you’re into trails and yoga stuff you should give them a shot. For me, personally, because of my weird detest for feeling anything on my feet, I can’t say I’d go running in them. Maybe just every-day sorts of things or if I were doing pilates.

Well, do you want to try some Injinji socks out yourself?! The kind folks didn’t just give me some pairs to test out but gave me some extra socks to giveaway too. Yay for you…so to enter leave a separate comment below for doing any of the following:

1) Tell me what you’d do with your feet if you could use them like hands. [ie: peel a banana]
2) Go to the Injinji website and tell me which is your favorite sock
3) Follow me on Twitter
4) Like me on Facebook

This giveaway will end on Wednesday!

With that my friends, I hope you’re having a wonderfully blister-free Friday!

Road Runner’s Safety: Road ID Review and Giveaway

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Cait — 23 Comments ↓

I made the switch from “I hate running, who in their right mind would force us poor kids to run a WHOLE mile for PE?!” person to “I LOVE me my running” right before entering high school. I grew up in a suburban town and naturally all of my running was done on the roads.

My parents are both runners so I’d tag along with them whenever I wasn’t with my high school team; because I’m notoriously horrible with directions I think it wasn’t until I was nearly 18 that my parents actually felt comfortable letting me go solo lest I take off and never come back! 😉

I graduated, moved up to Oregon and my running addiction of course followed. I was completely comfortable as a road runner, probably too comfortable…let’s be honest who among us hasn’t raced through a green light because they didn’t want to stop, lest they impede their workout?! Of course I was a smart runner too and was well aware of road safety, which for the most part I DID adhere to.

Art: Cait Chock Designs

11 years a road runner, never a problem outside of the scrapes I picked up for being a klutz! I stepped out for just a regular run one March afternoon in 2010 and it ended up changing my life. I was not a mile in, running in the bike lane just outside of a school, when I was hit by a driver. It ended up being a hit and run, you can read more about that accident HERE, but needless to say I was darn lucky to get away with my life. Not everyone is that lucky.

I’ve stated before that I only want to talk about products or items on this site that I believe in and feel are worth value to my readers. (I’m being generous to myself by making that plural! Hehe) When I started seeing Road ID I couldn’t have been a bigger backer. Today it’s imperative that runners and cyclists, anyone outside on the roads, continue their sport in a defensive manner. (run defensively people, because not everyone in their car should be driving and not all have their attention on the road!) Part of that includes being prepared for the worse.

I wasn’t left unconscious after getting hit by a car myself, but I could have been. Road ID is a safety measure; it’s a bracelet with an engraved plate stating who you are, your age, emergency contacts, and pertinent medical information. (ie: allergies, medical conditions, etc.) This way if something does happen to you the first people on the scene will be able to best proceed forward in giving you the right kind of care you need and can do all they can to save your life.

I was given the opportunity to test out one of the Road ID’s(I actually had already gotten one for my dad who is a regular road runner and cyclist!) and give a review. There are multiple different styles and sizes of Road ID’s to choose from; I have a really small wrist so I went with the Wrist ID slim. There are also some fun colors to choose from outside of the traditional black…pink, green, purple, blue, and red, which I went with.

Yes I'm trying to distract you from looking at my face with a cool Road ID bracelet and tin! 🙂

Mine came in a cool metal tin and the bracelet really was small! For once I had to stretch it pretty good to get over my hand, but it’s perfect for my wrist…I usually have a horrible time finding watches that don’t slip all over. The Slim would be perfect for kids too.

The band is similar to those Livestrong bands and of the same materials if that gives you a better idea. The engraved portion is clear and easy to read, I put my name, date of birth, two contacts, that I have a low pulse rate (umm, most of us runners do!), no known allergies, and a quote I like to live by, “Stay the course.” What I also was impressed with it that 10% of everything purchased is donated to charity; for which there are a few to choose from as you check-out.

I really like it and again, the whole idea of safeguarding yourself as a runner out on the roads is something I firmly believe in. I may make light of my accident and subsequent kankle because of my leg injury (now we’ve got the Kankled Avenger) but it’s something serious. I tend to make jokes as a means to stay positive during tough situations, but it’s not to be confused with the fact that road safety is deadly serious.

Now, because of this, I have some good news for you guys. Road ID has generously allowed me to give to one lucky reader their very own Road ID! To be entered into the contest leave me a separate comment for any of the below:

1) Visit the Road ID website and tell me which one you would like to sport.
2) ‘Like’ the Road ID Facebook page and leave a comment saying you did.
3) ‘Like’ ME on Facebook and leave a comment saying you did.
4) Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my blog and leave me a comment saying you did.
5) Tweet, Facebook, or blog about my giveaway and leave a comment saying you did.
6) Tell me one thing you do to run/cycle defensively on the road.

You have until Saturday to enter! Have a wonderful Monday, and go get your sweat on! 🙂

The Tri-Plate Sample of Running and the First Give-away

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Cait — 33 Comments ↓

Today’s post is going to be like the sampler plate: we’ll give you a little of this and a little of that. First course will be some muffins…chocolate chip. Traditionally we’d start with a soup or salad, but I’m not a big fan of soup and having already had my veggies today let’s dive straight into doughy, beautiful carbs.

Art credit: Cait Chock

I brought the topic of just how many numbers advanced gadgets/watches can give us, do runners really need up last week in talking about the FuelBand. If you head over to Competitor, I’ve got an article up, ‘Information Overload: Are Runners too Tech-Dependant,’ that talks about the stream of technology a little more and encompasses Garmins, heart rate monitors and the like. So my questions to you guys are, how many gadgets do you train with? How many numbers do you keep track of, be it paces, mileage to the hundredth, heart rates, etc.? (how many porta-potty stops! hehe) Then, how many do you think you actually need and how do you find the right balance of knowing enough to keep you headed in the right direction (give you the nudge to pick it up or slow it down when you need to) and then just getting too wrapped up in numbers overload.

The second course will be a protein, I like shrimp the most and I like the word gumbo, so shrimp gumbo it is! This is brought to you by the wonderful world that is indoor track and some smoking elites that are set to toe the line this weekend in Boston for the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. I have to say I’ve got a little soft spot for Matt Centrowitz…I mean the guy was still in college and went on earn the Bronze in the 2011 World Champs, coming out as the top American for the 1500 meters. Beastly…just saying.

For those who don’t know he’s got a bit of a running legacy behind him and there’s a really great article HERE about him and his entire family…we’re talking multiple speedy runners. As for Matt this will be his first official race as a professional runner for Nike.

The rest of the races have a collection of American and World Record setters…too many to rattle off, so if you’re a track nerd or nerdette this weekend will be entertaining.

We’ve now moved onto a dessert for YOU guys! We opened with a sweet so we’ll end with warm, fat, gooey cinnamon rolls. We’re runners so we work hard and should eat just as hard. This is actually the first kind of giveaway that I’ve ever done on the site. I like to keep this a more informative kind of blog and don’t want to be in the position where I feel like I’m throwing overt advertisements or name/company drops…that said if I find something or have tips that I think are relevant or would benefit the readers I am going to share that.

The bottom line is that I’m always going to be completely honest in anything I say or share. Finally, unless I say otherwise I’m not being paid by anyone or sponsored…but if I am given some products to try or sample I’ll tell you. Plus, everyone does likes some schwag, right, so why not offer you guys some goodies??

On to that…well, I was given a couple BIC Bandsfrom the company to test out and see if they were able to hold my moppy mess in check in my full sweaty glory. I HATE messing with my hair when I’m working out or on a run. I always have these darn fly-aways getting in my face and it bugs me to the degree that I do envy GI Jane and her bald glory sometimes.

Ugly mess post-workout yes, but no fly-aways in my face.

I was afraid that it might be too tight, giving me a headache, or too loose and flopping around until I got so annoyed I ripped it off. But, it didn’t…I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t bug me at all and it kept my hair in check. I’m a fan.

Plus, for a girl who has no style genes what-so-ever it’s an easy way to try and pretend to the otherwise just a bit. I know it’s a charade, but they have sparkly ones, patterned, styles, and fun colors so maybe I can fool somebody.

They’ve got different widths, I like the super skinny ones the best for working out, but the wider ones have cool styles and would be something I’d don just going out…I mean workout clothes are totally normal things to walk around in all the time too, right?

I was also given some BIC Bands to give away to some lucky readers! The good news is there are about a whopping 5 of you, so the odds are stacked in your favor. 😉 To enter leave a separate comment for any of the following:

1) Tell me how many gadgets you typically use for a run.
2) Be a fan of Cait Chock Designs on Facebook and let me know.
3) Follow me on Twitter or follow my blog and tell me.
4) Visit the BIC Bands site and tell me which one is your favorite.
5) Tweet, Facebook or talk about the give away on your blog.

There ya go, my fine friends…contest will end on Monday! I hope the tri-combo plate leave you satisfied for tonight!