Salomon Skin Pro 10+3 Hydration Vest - Review For Women

I've been using this pack for about 3 months now and gosh, how time flies!

It was a last minute decision to purchase the vest for me to use during the Razorback Run as I needed something bigger than my Nathan to carry all the mandatory items and some extras.
 

Full to the brim - almost!

The features and technology of the Salomon Skin Pro 10+3 hydration vest can be found on its website, so I won't go much into the details here. It is nice and light at 420gm (on empty). Without utilising the 3L expansion, the 10L is more than sufficient for general use.

Left: A smaller outer pouch to stash your smaller items.
Right: The 10L section. The blue zipper opens up an additional 3L.

Unlike some of the Salomon or Ultimate Direction vests with size specifics (based on your chest size), this vest has "no size" and is a one size fits all.  You will need to adjust the shoulder straps to fit you better.

The top of the padded shoulder straps have velcro bits allowing you to adjust the length (of the straps) according to your comfort.

However, being petite at 5'3 and liking a snug fit, I have my shoulder straps pulled up high and all the way to the edge of the velcro just to have the vest fit me properly.

Tighten the buckle straps as well and the end result can end up being pretty messy. You will need to fold/knot whatever straps that are sticking out unnecessarily and tuck them in. As long as they don't flap around and slap you in the face or neck, they won't be in your way during a run. :)

Lake Mountain Skyrun 2013 - Race Recap

Sunday, 20th October 2013.

Just a week after the Melbourne Marathon, we found ourselves once again, at a start line among a few friends and other participants. On a warm day with clear blue skies, our trusty pairs of Salomon shoes were raring to get down and dusty again.

The race location was located at the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, almost a 2-drive from Melbourne. The road turning off from the main road leading up towards the resort felt so loooooong and winding, and I was worried that we would be late.

Race director, Paul Ashton briefs the participants before we were ushered out to the start line.

With half hour to spare, we geared up and collected out bibs and hung around Jon, Dion and Gregor. Both YB and I had no target for the run, seeing that our legs had just recovered from the marathon. Not to pressure our poor legs at all, but 31km on challenging terrain could just be as tiring as running the marathon!

Or more.

Participants of the 21km and 31km were flagged off together.

The first 10KM

We were flagged off at 10am. It was starting to get warm and I was so glad to have slathered on some sunblock (and nagged the other half to do so as well).

Everyone was so energised and fast that we soon lost sight of the front runners 1.5km into the run. 

It was like playing catch with Jon. He sped up just as he spotted us from behind. LOL!

KM4 - We came across some boot camp obstacles along the way.

We continued along Granite Grind trail (Blue Trail No. 7) towards Snow Hill car park. Running downhill the single track was fun, despite having to slow down every now and then to avoid tripping over strips of  tree barks and branches strewn across the trail.

Crossing Lake Mountain Road with the help of 2 nice ladies with their STOP signs, we continued on the Blue Trail No 7 continued which soon brought us onto a 4WD track, the Upper Taggerty Road. 

The Upper Taggerty Road or 4WD track.

Nothing interesting happened as we ran along the trails. I was gasping for air and had difficulties in regularising my breathing that I was very frustrated with myself.

(I prayed I wouldn't have an asthma attack, too!)

It wasn't pleasant, and despite it, I felt that I was doing OK by covering 9KM+ in an hour.

Or so I thought.


The second 10KM
At KM11, my mind slipped into the clouds just for a wee moment and crack, my left foot landed on the side, spraining my ankle.

Aaaarrrrgghhhhh, I flinched.

I flexed it slowly, turning it. It felt fine, and I could still walk. After a while, I continued to jog, albeit very slowly.

Salomon XT Wings 3 - The Review

My pair of women's Salomon XT Wings 3 is about 3+ months old and they're probably one of the bigger investments I've made (so far) in terms of my running hobby. We know that Salomon products are sold in Malaysia at a very steep price and during the sale period, you're lucky if you can purchase something with at least some discount to soothe that potential cardiac arrest of your wallet.

The upper is made of a single layer of open air mesh combined with a nylon layer, thereby making it quick drying and very breathable. There are textile parts placed at strategic sections of the upper mesh to help prevent overheating on very warm days. 

The tongue cover prevents mud and debris from getting inside the shoes. 

With the Quicklace™ system, one quick tug of the laces tightens them, with minimal adjustment required if necessary. I've always been in awe of these minimalistic laces - they look so delicate yet they are quite strong.

Once you've tightened the laces, tuck them into the pocket located at the top of the tongue cover.

(Can they design a similar one for our running shoes with regular tie-on shoelaces? Sometimes they come undone even with double knots!)

Batu Dam - The Failed Revisit

Not long ago, the hubby suggested I take my new trail addicts / runner friends to run the Batu Dam trail. With the breathtaking view of the Batu Dam, the trail run would be an invigorating one and would also take us away from the usual scene of FRIM.

My first and last visit was in March last year (see post here), so you can imagine how nervous I was about leading the fellas on a wild goose chase or getting lost.

Sunday, 2nd June 2013.

We met a few dead ends at the dam, the first being the main entrance closed to the public (not surprising), and the second one (where we first took last year) was locked.

The next best option was to do the reverse, starting from Riverstone Eco Resort and hoped for the best.

So we ran past the resort and what we thought was towards the dam.

There were a few men fishing.

It was a gentle climb at the beginning and they were already grumbling about WHY there was an incline. *facepalm*

I had to assure them that it would only be temporary. :D

We met a few dead ends and had to turn around to get onto a wider trail. I had my reservations as the trail wasn't familiar (but then again, nothing was familiar as it was in the reverse!) but *shrug* I have hopelessly bad memory (at times) so I was definitely not too sure about anything at this point. Haha!

(I was more worried that they were going to be fuming mad at me for a wasted trip!)

There were a few muddy spots and it was impossible to avoid. My poor shoes ... the thought of cleaning the mud off was a dismal one.

Mud and more mud. Yikes.