A little bit of travel this month took me out of my usual routines, but it also gave me a reason to try a new kind of travel pillow and also brought me to the outlet mall for impulse purchases!
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Puffin Picks – August
Jasyoga
I have a love-hate relationship with yoga. I know the benefits of yoga both for recovery and mobility, but I hate one very particular part of yoga: the sun salutation series.
While I want to love yoga, the sun salutation series just drives me bonkers.
I’ve taken classes where a large part of the class is the repetition of this series over and over (and over and over). Maybe working in a few moves here and there, but always coming back to the same basic 5-6 move series.
Just like yoga, I know the benefits of the sun salutation series. I know those few moves are a complete workout in themselves, but that doesn’t change the fact that the repetition of it bores me to tears.
An Instagram friend recently introduced me to jasyoga.
Jasyoga has videos of all lengths (5-45 minutes) specifically designed for athletes, with a focus on recovery and resetting the body after long runs.
I’ve recently completed the free 2-week trial, doing an average of one video a day.
So far, all the benefits of yoga without a single sun salutation.
I have no doubt they are in there somewhere, but it’s good to know there’s a place with a wide selection of yoga videos that are sun salutation and down-dog free.
A free-2 week trial is available.
Trtl Travel ‘Pillow’
I’m a terrible travel sleeper. I’m a light sleeper under the best of circumstances, but you add in travel and I’m hopeless.
I’ve tried a few different types of travel pillow over the years, usually different versions of the traditional u-shaped behind the neck type filled with different materials.
No joy and sleepless flights.
I thought I’d try something new on a recent trip – Trtl pillow.
The Trtl is a basically a neck brace that is turned into a ‘pillow.’ An internal frame wrapped in micro fleece. You wrap it around your neck, and your head and neck are supported while you sleep (or try to sleep as is more often the case for me).
While my experience with the Trtl thus far isn’t a magic sleep elixir, my ‘sleep’ with it was so much better than with traditional travel pillows.
The biggest issue I had with the Trtl is that it hit my ear funny when wearing my Bose noise-canceling headphones (and yes, I’m aware that’s the most first-world problem sentence I’ve ever written).
Sketchers Bob Kitty Shoes
I volunteer twice a week at an animal rescue center, taking care of cats and kittens waiting for their furever homes.
I promise you there are few problems in life that can’t be made better (or at least temporarily forgotten) by playing with a 3-month old kitten.
When recently shopping at the Sketchers store at the outlet mall (not my usual store and not my usual destination), I found the most perfect shoes ever for my kitty shifts –
So cute and so comfortable. And approved by little Crest during my last shift.
Buffs
I have a confession to make – I rarely comb my hair before I leave the house for a run. Since I usually run first thing in the morning, I almost always wear a hat to hide the fact that I don’t comb my hair.
I recently found myself super bored with my hat selection and also found myself organizing my Buff collection, so I decided to switch it up and wear Buffs instead of hats on cloudy morning runs.
I love Buffs, and I know I’ve written about them here before.
They are great ear covers on cold runs, and great sweat rags on hot runs.
They also do a great job hiding the fact I don’t comb my hair in the morning.
I’ve purchased a few Buffs as souvenirs (I do love a practical souvenir), having gotten a California Buff in Death Valley and my Iceland Buff in Reykjavik.
More races are giving Buffs (or the off-brand equivalent) as race gear, which I love.
Of course, I could just comb my hair in the morning before a run, do away with the need to hide my hair, but let’s not get crazy.
