She Runs by the Seashore

Disclaimer: I received products from Arcanum, Addaday and nuun 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!

For all the items us runners use while we’re running — like clothes, socks, shoes, hats, running belts, hydration packs and more — there are also plenty of things that we can use while we’re not running to help us perform better when we are.

I’ve been writing about the various items I received at The Running Event, and this is my last post in that series.

Arcanum

I don’t think I would have gravitated toward activated hemp on my own, so I’m glad I have gotten a chance to try it through The Running Event. If you’re wondering, it is legal in the U.S.

I’m sure the Arcanum website will do a better job of describing how activated hemp works, so here’s a taste of that information from the company’s website: “Activated hemp has been shown to support recovery time and performance by upregulating your cells, allowing them to communicate and carry on the reactions necessary to help your body recover faster and smarter through cannabinoids.”

You can read more about the science and read the answers to FAQs on the Arcanum website. The Arcanum products are not medicines and are “produced without regulatory oversight for health, safety or efficacy,” according to the packaging.

You might want to call your doctor if you are unsure about using the products. I made a call to my doctor just to make sure that I wouldn’t have any problems with medicines I currently take.

The Quill

$50, arcanumedge.com

The Quill was the Arcanum product that representative Lindsey Mintz described as like a daily vitamin when we heard from her at The Running Event.

The Quill is set up like a gel pen, and it’s easy to use. You put it on a veinous area of your body, such as the inner wrist, and then rub the wrists together to rub it in. Each time you push down on the cap, 2 milligrams of the substance inside is released. There’s even a video about how to use it on the Arcanum website.

It doesn’t say exactly how many doses per day to use. I tried to get into a habit of using it nightly before bed, but I need to get better at using it every day. It’s supposed to help with sleep, and the first night I used it, I did notice a high amount of deep sleep tracked by my Garmin, but sometimes it didn’t seem to make a difference, or the amount of deep sleep was somewhat low.

I’m not completely sure of everything that might be happening inside my body with it, but I certainly have not had any problems relating to The Quill.

One of the items highlighted in the description of The Quill on the website is this: “Support healthy recovery, overuse, disease in the body.”

Learn more about Arcanum’s The Quill here.

Sarco Breeze

$40 for 4 oz., arcanumedge.com

I learned at The Running Event that Arcanum’s Sarco Breeze was a moisturizer, but I wasn’t quite sure exactly what it would do beyond that. After using it a few times, it seemed to be helping with my shin pain if I used it on my shins ahead of my run — sometimes this was a while before the run.

The Sarco Breeze is described on the label as sports massage oil, and it is very oily. I was a little worried about sitting on my couch after using it or getting it on my clothes. I just put something between my legs and the couch, and I don’t think I had any problems with my clothes, although I can’t say for certain you wouldn’t.

I wasn’t sure if the Sarco Breeze was supposed to help with shin splints, so after I realized it might be helping, I looked it up on the Arcanum website.

One of the highlighted items on the website for this product reads, “Facilitate muscle recovery and soothe aches.” So, I guess it was right on!

Learn more about Arcanum’s Sarco Breeze here.

Sarco Freeze

$35 for 42.5 grams, arcanumedge.com

I’ve never really used cooling products for recovery before, but the Sarco Freeze definitely felt good when I tried it out. I didn’t feel like I got extremely sore before using it, but I could definitely feel the coolness of the product.

It was not cool instantly, but within a few minutes, I could feel how cool it was on my skin. It wasn’t really like a lotion, but I felt like it had a consistency between a lotion and an oil.

As I mentioned in my last post, I sprained my ankle yesterday, so I have put this on my ankle twice in the hopes of reducing my swelling and helping with recovery there.

Learn more about Arcanum’s Sarco Freeze here.

We also received a small sample of the new Arcana-Lyte electrolyte hydration at The Running Event, but I actually still need to try that out. I’ve had a lot to test!

Addaday Type C Massage Roller

$42, addaday.com

Rolling is one of those things that I know I’m supposed to do, but I just don’t do it very often. I have a foam roller, but I rarely use it. With the Addaday Type C Massage Roller, I actually feel like I’m doing more than with a foam roller, because the muscle rollers on this roller can “dig in” a little bit more.

The Addaday Type C Massage Roller includes three Medium Rollers, which “help flush out lactic acid and muscle fatigue,” according to the Addaday website. There’s also a red Pin Point Muscle Roller, which the website says can be used for “Shin Splints, Achilles and other hard to reach areas.”

As I’ve mentioned, I have had some shin pain recently, so I did try rolling that with the red roller. I think I might use the larger ones going forward, because it just seemed like I was possibly pushing too hard.

I also used the roller on my hips after they were sore during yoga.

I went to the chiropractor recently and asked if there was a best way to use it, and he thought the red part might be good for the bottom of the foot, and the other rollers could just be used for a tissue massage.

The Addaday packaging highlights:

• Pinpoint precision
• Deep tissue massage
• Cross fiber friction
• Round gears designed to massage like fingers

I did try using the roller with the Sarco Breeze, since that’s a massage oil, but I found that it worked much better just on the skin, because the rollers kind of stuck to the oil. The Sarco Breeze is probably better used with fingers for massage.

I definitely need to make rolling part of my daily routine, and Addaday should make that easier.

Learn more about the Addaday Type C Massage Roller here.

We also got samples of the new Addaday Tea to try at home while at The Running Event. I’m not normally a tea person, liked the sample I tried at The Running Event, and I still need to make it at home.

nuun hydration

We received 10 tubes of nuun hydration, along with a nuun water bottle, in The Running Event swag bag. I’m pretty sure I’ve now had a chance to try each of the flavors.

nuun hydration comes in the form of tablets that dissolve into water. The suggested amount of water to put a tablet in is 16 fl. oz, but I have used them in pint glasses and with larger bottles, as well.

There were three main types we received: electrolytes, vitamins and immunity.

There’s a good overview of the different types and what they are meant for on the nuun website here.

nuun electrolytes

$7 for a tube including 10 tablets, nuunlife.com

I received six tubes of nuun electrolytes in the following flavors:

With Caffeine:

• Mango Orange
• Wild Berry
• Cherry Limeade

Without Caffeine:

• Strawberry Lemonade
• Lemon+Lime
• Tri-Berry

I would drink any of these flavors. My go-to before trying these was the Strawberry Lemonade flavor, and I still think that’s my favorite one. But on days when I want a caffeine boost, I may gravitate toward the Wild Berry or Cherry Limeade. I was also surprised that I was able to drink the Mango Orange flavor.

Although I have nothing against the color orange — I am a BibRave Pro, of course! — I hate oranges or anything orange-flavored. I don’t like the smell or taste of oranges or orange juice. However, in the Mango Orange flavor, I could really just taste the mango, which I like.

Lemon-lime is also not my absolute favorite flavor in general, but I’ve made that one in a pint glass, and I could probably dilute it a little bit more with a little more water. I’ll still drink it.

I learned at The Running Event that the nuun flavors with caffeine have colored caps, so if that’s something you’re looking for, it’s easy to tell the difference.

I did bring a bottle of nuun out with me on a run, but what I most prefer to do with the nuun electrolytes is to drink some in the day or two leading up to a long run, as well as the morning of a long race (because I generally don’t get up early enough to hydrate a lot before a long run, even though I probably should). I tend to want plain water during a race or long run, and then I supplement that with fuel.

I definitely feel better hydrated after I’ve had nuun electrolytes.

The bullet points below are from the nuun website, and these are all included in nuun electrolytes:

• sodium: maintains fluids balance
• potassium: prevents muscle cramps
• magnesium: relaxes muscles
• calcium: required for normal muscle functions

There are 13 flavors of nuun electrolytes.

Learn more about nuun electrolytes here.

nuun vitamins

$7 for a tube of 12 tablets, nuunlife.com

I received two tubes of the nuun vitamins, in the flavors of Blackberry Citrus and Blueberry Pomegranate. As I noted above, I’m not a fan of orange, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the Blackberry Citrus, but I liked it.

The nuun website says people can take 2-4 tablets per day, although when I’ve tried these, I’ve just done one of the vitamins tablets per day. A long list of vitamins included in these can be found on the nuun website here. Plus, electrolytes are included, too.

It’s harder to feel the effects of vitamins on your body, but I know you’re supposed to get certain vitamins either through your diet or through some other source. Why not nuun?

There are six flavors, two with caffeine. The Blackberry Citrus flavor I received has caffeine in it.

Learn more about nuun vitamins here.

nuun immunity

$7 for a tube of 10 tablets, nuunlife.com

I received the two flavors of nuun immunity: Blueberry Tangerine and Orange Citrus. As I noted, I don’t like orange (and tangerine is pretty much the next closest thing), so I’m hoping nuun comes out with a flavor that isn’t in that family.

See the list of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and more here. There are also electrolytes in these.

I got sick a couple weeks ago right before a family event, and I did drink some of the Blueberry Tangerine nuun immunity, but it might have been too late, because I still had bad cold symptoms for one day. However, the worst of it all was within one day. Then, I had a lingering cough.

I also just saw that you can drink up to six tablets of these per day, and I’d only taken one, so I guess I could have had more. I drank the nuun immunity a total of two or three times.

I also tried the Orange Citrus flavor today, but it just smelled too much like orange for me.

Learn more about nuun immunity here.

This post wraps up my product recaps from The Running Event! Read more about other products I’ve tested below.

Read about socks I received at The Running Event.

Read about shoes and bags I received at The Running Event.

Read about clothing items I received at The Running Event.

Read about the Zwift app and get a discount for the Zwift RunPod.

Read about my experience at TRE Influencer Day.