Breaking out of your shell with Turtle Gloves: a reviewed

March 15, 2019 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / Leave a comment

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Turtle Gloves, Turtle Flip Mittens 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.

With the winters we have been having here in Chicago I could not help, but say “shell yeah” to the opportunity to test out the Turtle Flip Mittens on my runs. Plus, Turtle Gloves is an amazing, up and coming small owned brand so I knew I wanted to give them some extra love!

So, what are Turtle Gloves, Turtle Flip Mittens? They are mittens, of course! They come in three different weights: light, midweight, and heavyweight. The weight you chose will depend on the climate in your area and time of year. I live in Chicago and we’ve been in a polar vortex on/off since January and I have Reynaud’s so the heavyweight are my mitten of choice. I also love that they have a variety of sizes to fit all hand sizes, both small and big. I almost got the youth size, but I like some room in my gloves, so the small was perfect! 😛 I love that the mittens can be worn in other ways, such as fingerless gloves (for those mid run photos 😉 ) when your hands get warm or even as arm warmers, perfect for race day!

Another use I shared with some of the other BibRave Pros is snot gloves…😂 Okay, I know GROSS, but my nose runs constantly when I am running and Turtle Gloves are the perfect material to wipe your nose without making it chapped and the material is pretty absorbent… That brings me to my next favorite feature, how easy it is to launder the gloves. They can go in the washer and dryer, no problem and they came out softer than ever with each wash. And yes, I washed them a lot because of all the times I had to wipe my nose. 😛

The only con I can think of for Turtle Flip Mittens is that they were not warm enough on some of my runs. BUT I have Reynaud’s and am the type of person that is always cold and needs two pairs of gloves on winter runs under 20 degrees..with that being said, I like that I was able to layer a small, thinner glove under my Turtle Mittens because they are roomy! So hardly a con, because i could still wear them on my coldest runs, as long as I layered up!

BRP Ben and I give Turtle Gloves two thumbs up!

I HIGHLY recommend Turtle Gloves Turtle Flip Mittens as a regular part of your running wardrobe, especially if you live somewhere that is cold. It’s Mid-march and I would not be surprised if gloves are needed for at least another month🙃I’ll make sure to keep a clean (snot-free pair) ready for all my upcoming runs. 😛

Lastly, want to try some Turtle Gloves for yourself? Use the code “TurtleBibRave” for 15% off order when you order on their website!And let me know below if you’ve tried Turtle Gloves!

Still not convinced?! See what other BibRave Pros have to say Turtle Gloves:

Mercury Mile review

July 9, 2018 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I received 50% off the contents in my Mercury Mile box and a waived styling fee 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!

I have been eager to try Mercury Mile since I saw other runners receive boxes earlier in the year on Instagram. I was excited to finally try it myself! So, what is Mercury Mile? Mercury Mile is a service that creates a personalized box of running clothes and gear based on your answers to a running profile. It is NOT a subscription service, so you only receive one box, but if you want more boxes in the future you can do so with the same account. How Mercury Mile works: an actual person (stylist) reads your profile, looks at your social media accounts (if you want them to! :P) and picks out some items they think you will like based on your profile and social media! I love that I was given a little note detailing what was chosen and why the items were chosen from my stylist Helen. It really gave the experience a personal touch! 🙂

Shoutout to Helen, my amazing Mercury Mile stylist!

The profile asks about your likes/dislikes (as related to running), your ideal budget, favorite colors, ideal brands, types of activities you participate in, your size, etc. Then a box of all of the stylist’s chosen items is shipped directly to your door! Shopping you can do without leaving your home? That’s something I can get on board with! 😛 What’s even more rad is that you can return anything you do not like free of charge with the enclosed postage paid shipping envelope.

I was hesitant to try Mercury Mile because I was concerned I could not afford it on my soon-to-be RD student budget, but it is surprisingly affordable! And no, not because I received a discount, but rather because you can tell the stylist your ideal budget and you can return anything you do not like! I ended up liking all of Helen’s selections, but one and it was SO EASY to return that item in the pre-paid envelope. The box opened my eyes to a brand I had never heard of and some old standbys, so it’s also a good way to learn about different fitness brands.

My favorite part about my Mercury Mile box besides reading the note, was using social media to help me chose which items to keep. I did polls on my Instagram stories where I asked all of you to help me chose. It was really fun and helped me make decisions in a fun way!

Brooks tank top that I kept! My favorite item from the entire box! 🙂

Craft sports bar that I kept!

Adidas tank that I kept!

Body Glove capris that I returned. They were a little big and I did not love the pattern.

Asics running shorts that I kept!

Asics spandex that I kept!

As you can see above, Helen my stylist was pretty spot on! I kept everything, but the Body Glove capris. They were a little big on me and not quite my style, but I kept everything else and where the items all the time! 🙂 So now I bet you want to try Mercury Mile, don’t you?! 😛 If you do, I have a discount for you! There is normally a $20 styling fee just to get the box and check out the stylist’s selections, but you can save $10 with the code “BibRave10”. The styling fee goes toward the price of an item in your box if you keep any of the items, so that’s really nice! It can be as fancy or as budget friendly as you want, just indicated your desired price range in your profile!

Have any of you tried Mercury Mile before?! What did you think about it? I know I definitely want to gets my hands on another box-it’s so fun and a great deal! 🙂

Also, see what other BibRave Pros have to say about Mercury Mile:

Why I wear whatever I want when I run (and why you should too!)

September 30, 2017 / Amanda @fueling.veggie.athletes / 4 Comments

Happy weekend friends! This is a post I’ve wanted to write for a long time… So, I FINALLY did it! I was inspired after running in “buns” for the first time last weekend. It is a little more personal than I’m used to writing here, but hopefully some of you can relate to it. 🙂

As long as I can remember, I felt self-conscious about my body when working out. Funny, isn’t it? The one activity that was supposed to empower me and help me develop my body confidence made me feel the opposite most of the time. As a kid, I did not think much of clothing worn during workouts, but once I joined cross country as a 14 year old, to train for soccer (HA!), that’s when I noticed those thoughts more often.

I remember coming to summer running as a scared freshmen, who could only run a mile or two, and was in awe of the upperclassman on the team who ran 6 (or more miles) in just a sports bra and spandex. I showed up in my all cotton t-shirt, cotton shorts, and non-supportive running shoes ready to go on a hot summer morning. The run was not memorable, but what stuck out to me was what the other runners wore, especially the faster ones. Soon enough, my coach and I realized I had some natural talent and had me run varsity with those girls, but I still wore my cotton outfits initially. I was training for soccer, but falling in love with running. I was starting to wonder if/when I would be “fast” and “fit” enough to wear “real” running clothes and asked my mom to go shopping. We bought new shoes, few new tank tops, some shorts, and sports bras, but still no spandex shorts. I was too scared to wear spandex or to run in just a sports bra initially. I did not think I was fast, fit, or thin enough.

The problem was that at the time, I decided I had to look a certain way to wear certain running clothes. Practicality did not matter- for example, when it is 90 degrees a sports bra or tank top and spandex is the comfiest/coolest running outfit. It just mattered to me that I looked the part to wear the outfit. I remember the first time I ran in a sports bra in high school- I was so scared and self-conscious. It was ridiculously hot that day, so I finally caved. I could not focus on my run, though, as I was too worried about how I looked. I spent a lot of high school running worrying if I “looked” like a runner. By junior and senior year I was our team’s top runner, but still felt like a fraud.

(Some high school running throwbacks)

I remember going to a college recruit visit my senior year of high school and running with that team for a long run. It was winter and they all ran in tights-something I was too scared to do. I often wore running sweat pants for winter runs, which are not as comfortable. After that run, though, I realized two things:

a. I must be doing okay if a college is recruiting me

b. It sucks to run in heavy sweatpants, when winter runs are much nicer in leggings. That was the moment I decided to stop caring so much about what I wore when I ran.

No one notices what you wear what you run as much as you do. It’s so liberating to run in what you are comfortable in. In high school, I wish I had spent more time celebrating how hard I worked, the fact that I was fast enough to run in college, how strong my legs were, and how running clothes could be a fun way to bond with other runners, rather than as a point of comparison. The same running clothes thoughts occasionally occurred in college, but I got over it quickly (for new readers who do not know, I ran XC/track in college too). I got over it quickly because I cared more about reaching my running goals and having a good workout than how I looked.

(Some college running throwbacks)

Your running clothing choices should not be dictated by how you look, but by what is most comfortable to you. All running clothes are meant for you because if you run, you are a runner! Runners come in all shapes, sizes, and paces. 🙂 You don’t have to have a six-pack to run in spandex and a sports bra! You just need to be confident and comfortable in whatever you wear.

These days, I run in whatever the heck I feel like wearing! Tights, spandex, “buns”, sports bras, tank tops, you name it! Nothing is off limits. 😛 Running in an outfit you don’t think you “should” wear can be exhilarating… because screw what everyone else thinks! 😉 I wore “buns” for a training run last week (just to see how they feel if I decide to race in them in a few weeks) and d**n it was liberating! There will always be a runner who is thinner, fitter, and faster, but you only have one life and one body, so it’s much more fun to accept it, nurture it, and wear what is comfortable!

Three questions: What was the first outfit you ran in? Did you ever worry about wearing certain running clothes? What is your favorite running or racing outfit? In college, I had to wear a certain pair of Nike socks and my blue or black Nike sports bra on XC race days. Unless it’s really cold, I plan to wear my Oiselle “buns” (pictured above haha) and my neon yellow Balega socks for my 5k in a few weeks or half marathon in a month.

Comment your answers or thoughts about the post 👇🏻