LD50 Week 1

Last week was basically a reset week after Nine Trails. While my brain was more or less back in the game my body wasn’t. I dropped about 6lbs on the day and was pretty dehydrated. So the week following was just about keeping moving and not putting any real stress on my body. Here is how it shook out;

Sunday, (actually part of the week before). 2 miles very easy run

Monday. 18 miles on the bike trainer, nice easy Z2 spin

Tuesday. On the new rowing machine. 5000 meters

Wednesday. Off

Thursday. 4 miles easy on the treadmill

Friday. 15 miles easy on the bike trainer

Saturday. Off, well as off you can be running around after the kids at a Track Meet

Sunday. 18 miles road. Was aiming for a solid paced run, cranked out 18 miles at 8:32 pace, a couple of the miles were pretty slow so had to pick things up in the last two miles to get the pace back down again. Hopped on the bike afterwards to ride out a local loop with Becca

So a pretty easy week, although Sunday was a good session. This coming week I want to have a solid 8 days (Sunday to Sunday) and rack up around 70 miles. Next week will be a taper for LD50 which is April 18th.

Review; JVC Sport Extreme Headphones HA-ETR40-B

So the good folks over at JVC sent me a pair of their Sport Extreme HA-ETR40-B headphones to try out and review. I have found through the years of running with and generally using headphones that it’s a challenge to better those that come as standard with your iPhone, at least without spending $100s of dollars, something that I am not prepared to do as inevitably I end up losing them or sending them through the washing machine! That said my go-to pair for the last 5-6 years has been the now retired Sony MDR-ED12LP Budstyle Headphones. I lucked into these and as they are now retired I will probably never write a review of them. They fit my ears, they have a really good solid sound and they used to be well priced, depending on where you picked them up, for between $15-20. Essentially they are the barometer that I hold all headphones to. The only thing they lack is an inline mic for talking with so you can use you phone handless. That said this is a review of the JVC pair and not the Sony pair and so on with the review.

Out of the box there are three noticeable features;

1. The inline mic that can also be used to answer the phone, toggle tracks backwards and forwards as well as adjust the volume. This is splash/sweat proof.
2. The “ear hook” used to fit the bud into your ear. This ear hook is JVC’s new Pivot Motion Fit, a soft rubber rotating hook that fits within the part of the ear just above the ear canal to provide a secure but comfortable fit. To tailor the fit the hook rotates to fit into your ear comfortably. Additionally there are three sizes of buds to ensure a snug fit within your ear. The HA-ETR40 includes additional open-type earpieces that allow ambient sounds to be heard, such as approaching traffic.
3. The short 2” cable comes with a 2” extension cable; this allows you to shorten it to right size the cable if you are wearing an iPod etc on your arm rather than on your waist and avoid having a mass of cable in front of you or under your shirt.

What you don’t see it that the Extreme Fitness headphones are IPX5/IPX7 rated, so there’s no need to worry if caught out in a rain storm, and they can be safely washed, either by rinsing under running water or rinsed briefly in a basin of water.

So how do they sound? Well to be honest this is where they fall down. The sound is tinny, the bass is not bassy. They sound like the sound is leaking and not getting out through the earbuds. I have a pretty broad music tastes so I tried it with everything ranging from House through to Rock and all points in between. I also included podcasts and a talking books. While I am not expecting an audiophile’s dream come true in a set of $40 headphones the sound quality was below those from the $15 Sony pair mentioned above.

Overall I was really hoping for a better result. The technical features noted above are really nice and make for a very athlete friendly and useable set of headphones. However the overall sound quality was, in my opinion. too poor to let the technical features be more compelling than the quality of sound.

It’s always hard to write a poor review but I have to be honest. That said my hearing is 4X years old so they may well work for you.

These are available online or through you local Best Buy or something similar for $39.99.

These headphones were provided free of charge by the good folks at JVC See previous gear reviews in the Tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Free stuff from Pactimo!

I love my Pactimo kit, I wrote a review on it last year when I wore it for the 6 Hours of Temecula MTB Race. They have introduced and awesome scheme where you can get free stuff for simply being a bike rider and customer.

Here is how it works;

Earning Reward Points

Rewards can currently be earned for the following actions:

• Create an account —  Earn 200 points for new account creation.
• Make a purchase — Earn 1 point for every dollar you spend. (Does not include tax & shipping.)
• Subscribe to the Pactimo Email Newsletter — Earn 50 points for a first-time subscription.
• Refer a friend — Earn 200 points for every invitation you send out which leads to a friend creating a new account.
• Friend makes a purchase — Earn 100 points for every friend referral that leads to a first-time purchase.
• Write product reviews — Earn 75 points whenever you submit an suitable review on an item you've purchased. Limited to one review per item purchased.
• Points will not be earned, nor can they be redeemed for Custom Clothing Orders.

Please note, we are unable to credit you with reward points unless you are logged in to your account.

Reward Points-Exchange Rates

The value of reward points is determined by an exchange rate of both currency spent on products to points, and an exchange rate of points earned to currency for spending on future purchases.

The exchange rate is 25 points = $1

Reward Points-Minimums

You must have at least 300 reward points accumulated before they become available for redemption.

Redeeming Reward Points

You can redeem your reward points at checkout.

Once you have accumulated 300 points, you will have the option of using points as a payment method. The option to use reward points, as well as your balance and the monetary equivalent of this balance, will be shown to you during checkout in the Payment Method area. Redeemable reward points can be used in conjunction with other payment methods such as credit cards, gift cards and more.

Managing Your Reward Points

You can view and manage your points through your Customer Account.

From your account you will be able to view:

1. Your total points (and their currency equivalent),
2. Minimum needed to redeem,
3. A cumulative history of points acquired, redeemed and lost.

The history record will retain and display historical rates and currency for informational purposes. The history will also show you comprehensive informational messages regarding points, including expiration notifications.

Reward Points Expiration

Reward points will expire 365 days from the date they were first earned.

Note: You can sign up to receive email notifications each time your balance changes when you either earn, redeem or lose points, as well as point expiration notifications. This option is found in the Reward Points section of the My Account area.

Additional Program Policies

• Purchases made before March 12, 2015 are not eligible to receive reward points.
• Points earned through a purchase will be deducted if that item is refunded or a store credit is issued.
• Points will not be earned, nor can they be redeemed for Custom Clothing Orders.
• Points have no cash value other than use for purchase at pactimo.com/shop.
• Points are non-transferable.
• Points are not living creatures and should not be fed, watered or otherwise coddled.

There you go, time to get some sharp new kit!