Bring it On 2014!!

As I begin to buckle down, plan my race schedule and start to refine my focus for 2014, I'm so lucky to be able to say I have partnered with some amazing sponsors for this season.  I am particularly fortunate because all of the sponsors I am working with this season I know personally in some way; I have either worked with them/for them at events or I attend regular rides with them.  In addition to being familiar with their fantastic products, I can also say that the people behind them are great and a pleasure to work with! 

I will start local--I am lucky enough to call myself a member of "the Tribe".  Tribe Multisport is a shop located right next to Old-town Scottsdale.  In the shop you will find everything you could ever need to swim, bike and run your heart out, not only that, but you will find a friendly and knowledgable staff to help you find the right gear for you (or just chat about endurance sports--they're all about this stuff)! They can make excellent shoe recommendations (which I have personally taken advantage of--they solved a shoe crisis for me just a couple of months back!), and when you bring your bike in with a problem or just need some maintenance they won't make you feel stupid (everybody has met the mechanic that scoffs at you for bringing in a simple fix)--they will do an excellent job taking care of your bike and they'll make you glad you stopped by.  They also offer some awesome group workouts: two group runs and two group rides a week.  I encourage you to check out their shop, come along for a ride and join the Tribe!!  Next time you shop use this code: TRUXES to receive 15% off (and you can buy straight off of their website now, so if you don't feel like driving or live out of state, you can still join the Tribe!!).

Shop Here!

Next we'll fly over to San Diego, where my favorite wetsuit company resides.  XTERRA Wetsuits not only make super buoyant, flexible and fast wetsuits, but they are also really cool people--so cool I wrote an entire post about my experience on set with them last Summer.  I will be racing wetsuit legal races in their "Vendetta" full sleeve suit and non-wetsuit legal races in their "Velocity" speed suit.  Click the link below to do some shopping and use SA-TRUXES for 60% off!!

Shop Here!

Finally we'll end in San Clemente, CA where the corporate headquarters for Rudy Project is located.  Rudy Project makes super comfortable helmets and trendy Italian-made eyewear.  The coolest thing about Rudy are all of the little technical details in their products.  After working at a couple of Ironman Expos and having the honor to work with them at Interbike, I am well versed in the cool technical specs about the Rudy Project gear and am more than happy to help you find a comfy helmet or a rockin' pair of shades--just ask!

Shop Here!

I am so excited and so thankful to have these awesome companies on board for my 2014 season!!

I do have one more exciting partnership to announce in the coming months, so stay tuned!!!

Until next time!

@nicoletruxes

XTERRA Lava Pants

Recently, XTERRA Wetsuits launched a new product that is truly unlike anything else out there right now.  This hot new item are the LAVA Pants (wetsuit pants)--they are thick and extremely buoyant and are recommended for use instead of a pull buoy.  When I first got them I was hurt and unable to swim, bike or run, but I was really excited to try them so I thought, "Why don't I try them for water running?".  It turns out, these pants were unknowingly MADE for this purpose.

The Lava Pants!

First off, just to clarify, water running is where you run in relatively deep water, where you can't touch the bottom.  You still go through the same motions as you would running on land, it just prevents you from further injuring yourself because you aren't pounding your muscles and joints.  Usually to help you stay on top of the water, you wear a floating belt.  I personally find these belts extremely uncomfortable and very unnatural feeling so I 'm usually stuck water running very hard to stay on the surface--this makes it difficult to do variable speed workouts.  The lava pants solve this problem--you can go easy when you want and hard when you want and still have a natural feeling run in the water.

There are two main reasons I like the lava pants for water running:

1. It allows you a more natural feeling than the water belt, but still keeps you on top of the water the same way.

2. It allows you to really vary your speed while trying to do a workout--you can focus more on your form during high intensity intervals and then during rest intervals you really can take a rest and not struggle to stay on the surface.

After being able to really shift intensity during my workout, my coach suggested using resistance to further simulate an actual workout on the road (or track).

So, for those of you who are injured, or need to take some time away from running on the road...I HIGHLY recommend the lava pants as an addition to your training arsenal :)

Want to try your own pair, click here!

Happy [water] running!

XTERRA Wetsuits are the BOMB!

Quick run I took at lunch along the cliffs in La Jolla

Just a few days after I touched down in Phoenix, after racing in Dallas, I packed up and left for San Diego.  This time, no racing involved, just smiling... :)

XTERRA Wetsuits had a two day photo shoot, in their hometown of beautiful San Diego.
Their goal was to gather images for use on their website and other media purposes.  We all had the pleasure of working with Tim Tadder, who aside from being a kick ass photographer is a very entertaining person!!  The first day of shooting was on location, meaning at the beach!! This provided all of us that were taking part in the photo shoot the opportunity to actually test the wetsuits in action!  Usually having a wetsuit on for 5-6 hours at a time would be a nightmare, but I honestly forgot I was wearing one--the swim cap got uncomfortable before the suit ever did!

Not only were the suits and photographer awesome, but all of the people involved in making the shoot happen were amazing.  Both Tim's and XTERRA's teams were extremely organized which actually allowed us to get out early from the shoot the second day and allowed me to get back home to Phoenix before midnight :)  Thank you all again for a wonderful experience!

The Group from Day 1! 

Now that you know how awesome these people are...let's focus on the suits...

The first suit I got to test was the Vendetta, which is XTERRA's newest suit; extremely light weight, thin and buoyant. How can it be thin and buoyant? It has air pockets built into the suit so the material is flexible and keeps your body in an ideal position on top of the water.  I was blown away! I'm not usually a fan of wetsuits at all, but this made swimming in a wetsuit very comfortable and the mobility in this suit was unmatched by any I had ever swam in before.  This is the suit I will be racing in from now on (that is until XTERRA decides to come out with an even more genius suit)!

Me, Sarah, Jenny || Day 1

The other two styles of suits I got to test were the Velocity, which is XTERRA's speed suit and the Vortex which is XTERRA's best-selling suit.  I was very impressed with both.  The speed suit fits just like a fast suit meant for swimming only--it has a nice light weight build with hydrophobic properties on the outside of the suit.  The zipper in the back makes for an easy exit out of the suit in T1.  The Vortex was more comfortable than any of the wetsuits I had tried prior to this photo shoot.  It was flexible and buoyant and although it was heavier than the Vendetta, I was still able to wear it for >5 hours without noticing any discomfort!

Wearing the Vector Pro!

Another exciting piece that made an appearance at the photo shoot were the all-new Lava Pants... I  won't give too much away as they are not yet available, but after picking Glynn's (Turquand, co-owner) brain about this new training tool, I am very excited for it to become available!!  Check out xterrawetsuits.com and facebook.com/xterra.wetsuits for updates on the pants' upcoming debut!!

Jenny, Me, Kelly || Day 2

And now you get how awesome these products are...I have an important announcement to make!!

I have teamed up with XTERRA wetsuits for the 2013 season!  As I mentioned above they provide the most flexible wetsuits on the market and they really know how to hire great people, so their customer service is absolutely top notch.  Click their logo to the right and use the code SA-TRUXES to get a huge discount, and take advantage of their 30-day return policy (take it for a spin, see if it fits, if not exchange it for your best fit!) !!  Feel free to contact me with questions about my experience in the suits!

Until next time :)

Location Day 1

@nicoletruxes