Medi-Dyne RangeRoller Review: Welcome to My Torture Chamber

It's no coincidence that there are so many running sayings that involve, well, pain. Running is tough and along with the benefits like health and fitness and fun comes fatigue and sometimes, pain. 

No pain no gain

Pain is only temporary

Pain is weakness leaving the body

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

Fuck this pain where's my beer? 

Ok, I made up the last one, and you can add your favorite pain related running slogan in the comments section (seriously if you add one in the comments I will love you forever. All I want in life is to have regular commentary on my blog. And faster race times. And chocolate gelato from Italy. And a lot more, actually but comment anyway, yeah? Am I begging here?). What was I saying? Oh right, really, there's a way to decrease aches and pains in your muscles and speed recovery and it really it's amazing if you can just 

suffer through the torture

We runners are something aren't we? We relieve pain with torture. May I have a side of psychiatric care with that post long run serving of torture, please? You know what I'm talking about. All runners are familiar with the Implements of Torture. 

These my friends, are very very very awful and terrible things that make you feel very good after you suffer a bit

Ok, the one on the left is a yoga block that I sometimes use after the torture sessions but the others are: Orange Knobby Foam Roller of Death, White PVC Pipe Roller from Hell, Regular Foam Roller for Wimps and The Stick.

Are you saying I'm the only one who names my Implements of Torture? Maybe I do need psychiatric care. And by the way The Stick came with its name. 

For those of you who aren't runners but are somehow still reading (thank you Mom) and want to know, why do we use foam rollers and sticks? They help immensely to remove lactic acid and to loosen the fascia that surrounds muscles. Lactic Acid removal and mobility of the fascia is really important because of the blah di blah - just read here and know that if it wasn't really imperative to running health we wouldn't do it. It hurts that much. 

So if you're a runner or if you clicked on the above you will know/see that using a foam roller also takes acrobatics because you have to actually roll yourself from above, along the foam roller, supporting yourself with your weak ass runner arms while you're tired and really just wanting to drink a recovery beer. 

This is why I prefer a stick. With a stick you roll it over your muscles instead of having to um, ride it like the way you do a foam roller, and you choose the level of pressure versus the way your entire body weight crushes the living daylights out of your muscles on a foam roller. Awhile ago I switched to a stick and was using it quite happily (ok, totally ouchingly because it also hurts) when my friends at Medi-Dyne sent me RangeRoller. 

Behold RangeRoller! 

First of all, let's just say right now, RangeRoller has a way better name than The Stick. RangeRoller - you can say it outloud, say it now, shout it - it's cool! RANGEROLLER! RangeRoller is genius. It comes in 3 sizes so you can choose the best one for your needs. The smallest size is sleek and compact and yet has the same functionality of larger sticks. Mine is black, white and navy and they come in 12 colors. You can get a red one and name it Raging Red RangeRoller or something like that. Maybe you can think of a better name. 

RangeRoller versus The Stick. RangeRoller is way more compact and offers access to more points on your body.

After using RangeRoller after several runs with complete success and happy muscles, I handed my RangeRoller to my friend Matthew who has run a few races and I asked him what he thought. He didn't say anything at first, probably because I was talking non stop about how awesome RangeRoller is, but he immediately began to use RangeRoller on his quads and calves and after awhile I had to interrupt myself to interrupt him using it so I could get it back. "I need that RangeRoller for my review," I said and he replied, "Where do I get one of those?" I think it's safe to say his review is positive. I also asked my husband Jeff to review RangeRoller. He's a massage therapist and a yoga teacher. He took it, looked at it, shook it (if you're ever in need, it doubles as maracas), used it on his quad and shoulders and said, "Yeah, this is really good. I'm better, but I charge $115 for an hour massage." So I think it's safe to say that you will save a lot of money using Range Roller.  

Each of the 3 RangeRollers comes with a different level of flexibility depending on your needs. Besides the cool name and kick ass rainbow of color choices, RangeRoller is better than other sticks because it has deep and narrow rollers that alternate with flat wider rollers so you can be sure to hit every spot. Ouch! And yes, thank you may I have some more?!

RangeRoller is cool, it's compact, it has soul and it's affordable. It does the job like a champ.  What more do you want in a post run torture fest? It may just become your best friend. Buy one or all three in your favorite colors and you'll be really happy.  After you use it. Cause during it's kind of a hurts so good situation. But we're on the same page about that right? 

Thanks for letting me torture you with another blog entry.

Medi-Dyne makes a lot of amazing products and they're on twitter here.

I'm on twitter too, right here.

And if you want to supplement your Range Roller usage with an amazing massage, Jeff is at jethrosan@gmail.com
  

  
   

2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent Review

You know when you first get married and everything is all wedded bliss and like, we do everything together and this is so romantic and your husband even washes and dries the laundry for you and then he washes and dries your bag of dry cleaning?  After that, Jeff and I started doing our own laundry. 

It felt weird at first. Cause you know, we're a couple and we do coupley things. Together. Like eating popcorn at the movies. I’m a secret fan of the Butter-Like-Substance on Movie Theatre Popcorn. Jeff is not. But rather than each getting our own popcorn, we always share. Because we’re a couple and we do coupley things. Together.

But we do not do each other’s laundry any more. No, no, no, because work clothing that is supposed to be dry-cleaned doesn’t do well in the washing machine nor does it survive the dryer. 

Here’s how Jeff does laundry:

1. Grab all clothing and stick it into washer, wash it all together with towels.

2. Put everything into the dryer, but on cool setting so everything comes out wrinkly.

3. Fold at some point or maybe not.

Here’s how I do laundry:

1. Make piles of darks, lights, delicates, running clothes, towels.

2. Wash each pile separately with hot or cold water depending on the type of items.

3. Hang dry 90% of items.

4. Smooth and fold items when dry.

5. Dry towels, jeans and socks in the dryer on hot setting.

6. Fold while warm.

I won't argue that my method is superior, because honestly Jeff looks a lot better than I do most days. Clearly his clothes are not suffering by being washed together and dried in the dryer on cool air and maybe not having been folded and put back into the correct drawer. But I like my method. It’s a meditation of sorts.

The other issue is that Jeff likes to wash his clothing with unscented detergent. I’m more of a Clean Breeze scent kind of girl. I even have one of those “fresh laundry” candles. Fresh laundry should smell clean! Like a candle! So we each do our own laundry.

Recently my friends at 2Toms sent me some Stink Free Sports Detergent to try, which I was pretty excited about, so I grabbed my pile of running and cycling clothes and got to work. My first thought was one of minor concern. The Stink Free Sports Detergent, which by the way, promised to remove all odors and stains thankyouverymuch, didn’t really have a scent. Hmmm. Clean laundry is supposed to smell clean! Like a candle! But I figured I would give it a try anyway, mostly because, well, it was sent to me to do so, and I happen to love all of the other 2Toms products I have used before. 

So, you’re dying to hear what happened right? Is this the best laundry story you’ve read today or what?! Let me tell you first, my running clothes are DISGUSTING. I am a totally gross sweaty girl. I may shower up alright, but after a run or a bike ride I am like, ugh, gross. So I was thinking, this Stink Free Sports Detergent had better have some kind of miracle ingredient in it. 

You guys? It totally DOES! 

The first thing I noticed after the wash cycle was, even though the detergent itself didn’t really have a scent to it, my running clothes smelled REALLY LOVELY. Like, really fresh and clean. Like they had been ionized or something. I’m not sure what ionization really even is but my clothes smelled super amazingly clean. And I immediately thought, this fresh and clean but not really scented thing is so much better for running clothes because when I wear them again and start to sweat, I won’t smell like a sweaty fake clean breeze, I’ll just be sweaty me! And that’s a lot better really when you think about it.

I hung everything to dry except my running socks which I popped into the dryer, and waited for the final results. Which were fabulous. Everything dried perfectly. Clean, folded running laundry is such a nice thing! It really beats dirty running laundry in a big huge way.

Another cool thing about 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent is that you don’t need a washing machine to get your running clothes clean. 2Toms made it so the detergent works just great without an agitator, and you can buy it in packets so you can wash your running clothes when you’re traveling, right in the sink of your hotel room or at camp or wherever you’re staying. This was a game changer for me on a recent 17-day trip where I normally would have brought several changes of running clothes and…gross girl alert (!!!) I would have worn them over and over all supergross and grossly gross. 

I packed 2 sets of running clothes for 17 days. 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent saved me from having to over pack, and saved the world (or at least most of California) from being exposed to me running in dirty running clothes. For this, 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent deserves the Nobel Prize or at least a Pulitzer or a commendation from President Obama or the Dalai Lama. 

Amazingly clean and fresh smelling running clothes thanks to 2Toms. 

So my advice to you is, share the popcorn, even if you have to give up the Butter-Like-Substance, but do your own laundry.

You can find both 2Toms and me on twitter. Give us a follow!