Category: Products

My Travel Bag – Nutrition

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Here’s what’s left of my travel food + vitamin supply. I already ate my stash of Picky Bars so those are missing 😳

Top left to right

  • Vital Proteins collagen looking suspect in that plastic baggie
  • Slow FE iron
  • Hot chocolate mix I picked up in Paris (also usually a bar of dark dark chocolate)
  • @maurten_official Gel (I brought the drink powder as well but used it up already)
  • Nuun electrolyte tabs
  • Emergen C (about 7 more where that came from)
  • Werthers hard candy 👵🏼
  • Gelatin (sometimes put this in oats instead of the collagen)
  • @gardenoflife protein (I try to eat 2 meals plant based a day, this helps keep protein intake up. Also the collagen)
  • Tea from England (What is galangal?!)
  • @kleanathlete Vitamin D (also a Naturemade multi)

My Race Travel Bag, 2019

Kate GraceLeave a comment

I keep these kits pre-packed so I can easily add them to my overnight or plane bag. I use zip-lock bags, which are nice for visibility, but not the prettiest.

Overnight travel kit

  • Earplugs – Macks Ultra Soft Foam. Yes, you can find generic versions in drugstores, no, I don’t think they are the same. The foam in these is better. (I prefer foam, I don’t like that my hair gets caught in wax).
  • Eye mask – Tempur-Pedic The Sleep Mask was my all time favorite. But I lost it, so the one I’m using right now is a slightly cheaper version. And for quick overnights I’ll just use a generic thin one, the kind you get on international flights.
  • Face mask
  • Quick supplies – lint roller, pen, chapstick
  • Sentimental/grounding keepsakes – Necklace, rock, crystal
  • Generic Drugs just in case – Ibuprofen, Midol, Benadryl, extra Iron supplement⠀ ⠀

Long travel kit

  • Passport
  • Neck pillow – I bought one years ago at an airport shop in Germany I think. It does the job.
  • Alcohol wipes – for the planes and hotel surfaces, just a pack of wet wipes I bought at the airport
  • Body wipes – for bathroom shower after flight sleeps or on layovers.
  • Bamboo Travel Utensils – To-Go Ware Set. My mom re-gifted these to me years ago, and I’ve used them more than any recent purchase.
  • Universal travel adapter – The all-in-one feature is convenient. But the various configurations can sometimes be a bit finicky, as in they get pushed back into the device if I have to apply pressure when inserting into the outlet.
  • Charging cords – one universal and one for my iPhone and wall plug
  • External charger
  • Plane ear buds (just re-use a set I bought once on a flight)

My Smoothie – 2019

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I’ve become one of those people who has a smoothie every day. It might be a bit boring, but if there’s a list of ten foods to eat every day, this is the easiest way to knock out five. No extra thought or time needed. This is what goes in! Just add water…

  • Frozen Berries
  • Leafy greens
  • Turmeric (Gaia golden milk)
  • Green tea (matcha powder)
  • Flax meal
  • Plant Based Protein Powder
  • The supergreen powder is something I randomly picked up at sprouts. I don’t normally have that
  • I put it all in a Magic Bullet, which is about $35 on amazon and IMO does the job just as well as any blender. And it’s hands down the simplest cleanup.

I receive product from Garden of Life through USATF, other than that I’m not sponsored by any of these products or companies.

My Workout Bag – Tools, 2019

Kate GraceLeave a comment

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Packing for a month-long altitude trip means I get to reorganize my workout bag. This is what I bring to sessions every day.

  1. Foot Roller – To be honest, I use the small spiky more. Sometimes I like this one for stretching my toes, or rolling my plantar.
  2. Speed Shades
  3. Loop Bands – Great for home leg exercises and prehab.
  4. Bands – I don’t know if this is specifically the Theraband brand.astym
  5. Gua Sha – Graston and Astym tools are expensive. One of these is less than $10 on Amazon. The back of a spoon from your kitchen is free (see below…)
  6. Apple Watch Nike
  7. Tea spoon – You really can’t get better than a spoon or butter knife for some light fascia release on feet/toes/calves. S/O to the hotel in London from which I took this!
  8. Sunscreen – the OG
  9. Recovery Ball – This thing is gold! It’s great for rolling hip flexors, piriformis and hamstrings. And the one from Nike doesn’t seem to set off TSA alerts at the airport.
  10. Face/Body Wipes – I like this brand because it’s the best combo of affordable, natural, and sweet-smelling. It may be cheaper at Target.
  11. Small Spiky Ball – This is another one that is just perfect for it’s purpose. It’s small enough to get in between the metatarsals and under the ball of the foot. And I prefer the plastic spikes to the flat surface of a golfball.
  12. Cups – These are the best thing I’ve found for self-treatment if I’m away from a Physio for a while. You put lotion on the problem area, then suction yourself up. I find them most effective when I move around with the cup on there (stretch out the muscle).
    • I’m told this is forcing the fascia to move more fluidly around the muscle. I have no idea if that’s true, or what the science is behind the mechanism. Fascia seems like this magical organ that is at the root of so many body problems. I just know that releasing fascia is my best found method of keeping injury-free, and this is the easiest way to do it by myself.
  13. Face sunscreen – BEST SUNSCREEN EVER. Mineral sunscreens may be better for you than chemical ones, but they can leave a white/chalky tint because they aren’t really absorbed (that’s good, they work by reflecting UV rays). This one is slightly tinted, so there is no white residue. Plus, while some mineral sunscreens are hard to rub in, the La Roche-Posay formula seriously feels like silk. It’s not cheap, but I use maybe about a dime size for my face, and the bottle lasts about 6 months.
  14. Looped Strap – for assisted stretching. I like this one especially because the sewn loops allow you to anchor it down, or have options for hand/foot holds
  15. Headbands

My Workout Bag – Tools, 2018

Kate GraceLeave a comment

This might not all be in my daily bag, but if I go to a month-long training camp, here is what I bring. (I got this idea from Matt Mullenweg “What’s in my Bag” posts).

(For Nike Recommendations, see this post!)

  1. Looped Strap – for assisted stretching. I like this one especially because the sewn loops allow you to anchor it down, or have options for hand/foot holds
  2. Bands – I don’t know if these are specifically the Theraband brand. I think I was given them by a PT.
  3. Loop Bands – same here.
  4. Ball – This thing is gold! It has such heft. Something about the weight and firmness makes it my favorite tool for rolling. The only issue: it always seems to set off TSA alerts. (I take it out of my carry-on preemptively now, and that seems to solve the problem).
  5. Small Spiky Ball – This is another one that is just perfect for it’s purpose. It’s small enough to get in between the metatarsals and under the ball of the foot. And I prefer the spikes to the flat surface of a golfball.
  6. Foot Roller – To be honest, I use the small spiky more. Sometimes I like this one for stretching my toes, or rolling my plantar.
  7. Tape* – I don’t use KT Tape religiously, but I do like a stripe under my foot and up the inside of my calf if that flares up at the start of track work.
  8. Cups – These are the best thing I’ve found for self-treatment if I’m away from a Physio for a while. You put lotion on the problem area, then suction yourself up. I find them most effective when I move around with the cup on there (stretch out the muscle).
    • I’m told this is forcing the fascia to move more fluidly around the muscle. I have no idea if that’s true, or what the science is behind the mechanism. Fascia seems like this magical organ that is at the root of so many body problems. I just know that releasing fascia is my best found method of keeping injury-free… and this is the easiest way to do it by myself.
  9. Gua Sha – Graston and Astym tools are expensive. One of these is less than $10 on Amazon. The back of a butter knife or spoon from your kitchen is free…
  10. HR Monitor* – I am currently using the Apple Watch for heart rate variability, but I’m still figuring it out.
*These are products that I have been provided by Nike and other product sponsors. I’m not required to post about them, and I try to only go after sponsors for products I like!
Links to Amazon use Amazon Associates, so if it all works correctly, I would get a very small commission if you click on the link and buy from the window that opens.