New Gear I Like

The conditions at my fatass were decent, but mostly the kind of snow that's hard on my ass.  My piriformis was really angry with me after my laps.  I've had issues with it for years; sometimes is just quietly under the surface, sometimes being a real pain in more than my ass.

While going back to the crock pots one more time (really delicious food!), I noticed Joey sitting, um crouching(?)...like a monkey.  After taking a couple of pictures 😎, I asked him what he was doing.  He proceeded to introduce me to his vibrating roller.  You could tell how much he believed in it, encouraging me to try.

I didn't expect much.  I've used rollers before.  They don't seem to be able to touch it.  Imagine my surprise when 5 minutes with Joey's roller relieved the pain.  I kept waiting for it to return, but I had a pain-free evening.

Of course I wanted to know all about it:  where did he buy it?  how long had he had it?  how long did the batteries last?  etc. Rick reminded me he needed to buy me a birthday present!  Then Joey said, "It is expensive."  Well, we all agreed that it was worth the $199 if it really worked, but yikes!

When I searched for it on Amazon, other brands showed up.  One in particular caught my eye.  It was only $79.95.  I hemmed and hawed.  I knew Joey's worked.  This one looked just like it.  What if I was cheaping out and would regret it.  I read more about the less expensive one from Lifepro fitness.  Well!  It has a lifetime money back guarantee!  I took take the chance without taking a chance!!          
           

It came right away.  I was a bit confused about the first charging and contacted the company.  I had a near immediate reply that was friendly and helpful.  After charging, the roller worked just as well as the more expensive model!!!  I'm confident, after my interaction with the seller, that there will be good customer service for it's life!

My other new (or sort of new) gear is the Inov-8's remake of my first and favorite trail shoe ever, the Roclite 315.  I'd loved the original.  I was able to get thousands of miles on each pair.  Imagine how crushed I was when they discontinued it.  I took a long time to accept the Roclite 295s as a substitute.  I have princess-and-the-pea feet.  Any little thing bothers them.  So the news that Inov-8 was discontinuing the 295s hit me hard.
                                               

Rick gave me a pair of Solamon's for Christmas.  They feel high, but are comfortable just wearing around.  The thing is, their heel is so large, I couldn't get my microspikes over them.  I haven't really run in them.

Then I saw a pair of the new 315s on sale for under $70, just in one color.  While in a perfect world, I'd prefer to have a pair of shoes I like the looks of, function is the only real thing that matters.  I decided to give them a try.  It's hard to really remember the fit of the originals. But. I think these have more toe room and are more stiff.  My feet seem to like them.  My longest run to date is 16 miles.  So far so good.  Let's wait for final eval for really long miles and real dirt miles.  Till then, I am hopeful.