Fit Fanatic: 10 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for the Runner in Your Life

Valentine’s Day is this Friday!

I am pretty excited, as I actually have the day off of work. I will be attending a friend’s wedding (the same friend for whom we ran the Securian Half Marathon for her bachelorette party!)

I suppose Dustin got off easy this year for Valentine’s Day- he doesn’t have to plan anything, as we’ll be eating, drinking, and merry-making with all of our friends downtown, celebrating love in the best way possible.

Anyways, no matter what you’re doing to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you might still be looking for a few ideas to make your Valentine feel special this Friday. Flowers are always great, but let’s assume your Valentine is a runner (though flowers are great for runners too!). If your Valentine is a runner, here’s a list from the Right Fits of 10 Valentine’s Gift Ideas for Runners!

1. Carbs! Valentine’s Day is on a Friday, and most runners do their long runs Saturday morning. So take your Valentine out for some pasta Friday night. Treat him or her to some lovely carbo-loading  Locally, I am a fan of Broder’s Pasta Bar, or you could just have a casual evening at Punch Pizza (or buy a gift card for your runner to enjoy at a later date) For a fancier pasta meal, head to Bar La Grassa for really a scrumptious dinner.

2. Race Registration: Races are expensive, and the prices are only going up, (unless of course, you’re registering for the Ron Dawes 25k- that race is only $5- I signed up!) So if you know your Valentine is training for an upcoming race, but hasn’t registered, sign him/her up yourself! That's not a bad idea for me...Dustin hasn't registered for Flying Pig yet- maybe I should sign him up!

3. Running Gear: This is an easy one- just check out my winter running essentials list, and pick up one of those items that your runner doesn’t have yet…Knuckle lights, Craft gloves, Yak-Traks, so many ideas!

4. Run MSP T-shirts or Sweatshirts. I can’t say enough about these comfy sweatshirts and tees from Gear Running Store. They make the BEST gifts!

5. A running themed gift basket: I posted HERE and HERE about creating running/fitness themed gift baskets. They are a fun way to gift your Valentine’s a bunch of small gifts that equal one great gift basket!

6. Splurge on a new Garmin for your Valentine! My friend Kelly has the new Garmin 220, and it’s pretty awesome. If you’re a big spender this year, I bet your Valentine would appreciate this! (It will set you back about $250)

7. A Subscription to Kona Kase or Runner Box: These monthly subscriptions are a gift that keeps on giving! Both are memberships to receive a shoebox full of running goodies each month. They include a variety of running fuel and a few other fun items.

8. BIC Bands! Probably not the best gift for a male Valentine, but I bet most ladies would like these fun headbands that don’t slip- really!

9. Yoga- let’s be honest, most runners could use a little more yoga in their lives. Pick up a gift card to CorePower Yoga or Modo Yoga for your running Valentine, and give the gift that says, “I want you to be able to run injury free in 2014!"

10. The final gift idea for your running Valentine? A new pair of running shoes!  Its easy to figure out what kind they wear. Pick them up the same pair in the same size, and they’ll be very grateful for the functional fit!

Fresh New Fit: Kona Kase Follow-up

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Two weeks ago, I posted about a Fresh, New Fit- Kona Kases!  My friend Meggan highlighted this new monthly club to me, and I signed up for a three month subscription to check it out. I was excited to find that my first box arrived a few days ago. I thought it wasn't supposed to arrive until mid-April, so extra points for early arrival!

The orange box was a bit smaller than a shoebox.

 It included a variety of snacks and goodies: Cliffshots, chocolate squares, a Clif bar, caramel cups, chocolate almond butter, and more.

Yesterday, I  tried this bite sized "Perfect Foods Bar" mini.

It was almond butter flavored. I thought it was good, and a bit tastier than a Powerbar. However, the D-man didn't like it; he thought it was too dry. I tried this bar before 9 miles of hill repeats with the Calhoun Beach Running Club. It didn't upset my stomach at all, but it was pretty small and not very filling (especially since I spared a bite for the D-man!)

Today, I tried the BRUBAR, made with barley malt.

I didn't mind this bar either, but I'm sure Dusters would have hated it! He is much pickier than I am with snacks, I guess. I don't really mind the taste of energy bars in general. I ate a lot of Powerbars in college, for whatever reason (maybe they were cheap?) 

So the BRUBAR was also a little dry, but it seemed easily digestible. I ate half of it before a hot yoga session this evening, and it filled me up until it was dinner time.

Next up? Maybe this organic, nut free, gluten free caramel cup.

I'm also excited to try the chocolate almond butter. Perhaps I will try it tomorrow for breakfast on a piece of toast. 

The Kona Kase included a lot more chocolate than I would have expected. I suppose true athletes love their chocolate (just like Jenna Boren in this interview) but I'm not a huge chocolate person; I prefer a salty snack. Even so, I found my first Kona Kase to be an interesting mix. However, I'm not sure it was worth my $15/month. I'm sure the retail value of all the items added up to more than $15, and I did enjoy the variety of items. It's nice to have a little shoebox full of snacks to try before a workout, and I definitely appreciate the convenience.  But I'm not 100% sold on this yet...

*Has anyone else tried the Kona Kase? What do you think?

Fresh New Fit: Kona Kases!

By Cool J in Minneapolis

I just cancelled one monthly subscription (to Ellie- if you missed it, read about it HERE, HERE, and HERE)  And now it’s on to the next subscription!

My friend Meggan gave me the heads up about Kona Kase – a monthly subscription of a completely different sort than Ellie.

Rather than fitness apparel, Kona Kase is a monthly delivery of “awesome endurance nutrition samples!”

It’s only $15/month with free shipping. You can try it out for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or a year. You can cancel whenever you want.

You won’t know ahead of time what will be contained in your Kona Kase, but the company will elicit your feedback to continue to customize the Kona Kase experience to fit your specific needs. There will be a variety of products- GU's, Cliff blocks, Picky bars, etc.

I signed up for a 3 month subscription, and my first Kase should arrive between the 15-18th of April.

Unlike Ellie’s fitness apparel, Kona Kases are non-returnable; this makes sense though, since it’s FOOD! It's more about trying out different products to see what you like and what works for you. I'm excited to try it and will provide my honest feedback of the products inside!

And if you're interested in trying it out, send me your email, and I'll send you an invite. Yes, I will get a $15 credit if you sign up, thanks :-)

I think this will be a good program for the busy runner. If you're anything like me, you often run out of GU/fuel the night before a long run. With this program, you'll get to try a variety of options, and you'll always have something on hand before the long run.

Example Kona Kase