RunAthena.com :: Gear Reviews

When I found out that my son's elementary school P.E. department uses "Dance Dance Revolution," a video game, as part of their fitness program, I was intrigued. I decided that the game might make a good family Christmas gift.

I was right. Not only is "Dance Dance Revolution" a fun way to get "active" in the familiar dance mode, but it is also a great fitness tool in the exercise/training mode.

You've probably seen the arcade version of "Dance Dance Revolution." The game features a pressure-sensitive floor-mat controller with colored/lighted arrows. Players need to match the dance "steps" indicated on the screen by stepping on the corresponding arrows, synchronizing their movements to the rhythm and tempo of the scrolling screen markers and blaring dance music.

The PlayStation2 version of the game comes with one floor mat "dance pad." I added a second controller to my purchase, bringing my total to less than $80 and buying us hours and hours of family fun.

DDR lets the kids get kinetic, without having them bounce off the walls. They stick to the dance pad and stick their moves. There are several dance modes, including individual and head-to-head competition, dance-offs, challenges, courses, etc.

In the training/exercise mode, the game allows one or two participants to enter their weight, then select from several options for an individualized workout. You can limit your workout by time, by calories burned, by number of songs. The music starts, the arrows start scrolling, and you just have to keep up with the moves.

The great part of the game is that if you're not on the mat dancing, you're sitting on the sofa laughing along with everybody else.

Even in crummy, rainy weather, DDR gives the whole family the chance to get in some good exercise, some laughs, and some fun.

Word to the wise: the game CAN be played with hand-held controllers. To do so robs the game of exercise value and makes it into just another version of "Guitar Hero." That's the last thing anybody needs.

Water running is a great training tool and a great low-impact alternative to running.

You can jog in place in the water without any gear beyond a swimsuit. However, there are paddles and flotation belts and other devices which can enhance the water running workout experience.

If you are a water runner and have any gear you'd like to recommend to the readers of this website, please comment below.

At a recent race, the goodie bag included a free pair of Pearl Izumi socks. I usually run in thicker socks, but since my pair was free, I thought I'd give them a try.

The socks run a little larger (or at least a little longer) than most running socks. The fit is snug and smooth, but there is a faint seam in the toe. If you like a thin sock, these fit the bill. Though they are made of mercerized cotton, they promise good wicking, and they are able to deliver.

I wore them on a longer training run and had no problems with bunching, blisters or moisture. I felt barefoot in my shoes, but it didn't bother me any.

These socks are a good buy if you're looking for an affordable, thin wicking sock made from non-synthetic materials.

Every time one of the running magazines highlights a "new" stretch, I always think, "I should remember that stretch." But the how-to of the stretch is buried in an article, which is buried in a magazine, which gets buried in a stack. It's easy to forget where I saw that stretch when I need it.

With The Stretch Deck by Olivia H. Miller, I don't have that problem any more. This compact box contains 50 easy-to-read cards with a different stretch on each card. The collection is divided into neck stretches, upper body stretches, trunk and lower back stretches, and leg stretches. The front of each card features step-by-step instructions on how to do the stretch, and the back of the card shows a simple line drawing of the stretch.

A fold-out guide included with the deck includes suggestions on how to use the stretch deck to best advantage. There are suggested stretch sequences for office workers, gardeners, golfers, travelers, and -- of course -- runners. Indeed, 17 of the 50 stretches included in the deck are leg stretches.

The cards in the deck are stiff with a wear-resistant matte finish -- perfect for tucking into your pocket, gear pack, or purse. Take some to the office and do a quick stretch sequence on a break, or take some along on the trail and stop to stretch after a warmup.

The author has also written The Yoga Deck, with diagrams and instructions for 50 yoga positions.

While some people enjoy the flexibility and feature-rich experience of keeping an electronic or online log of their running miles and workouts, others prefer the classic feel of putting pen or pencil to paper. If you are thinking about logging your miles on paper in 2007, you might want to take a look at these two products designed for that task.

The folks at Runner's World offer a handy little training log to help you track your mileage and training regimen as you prepare for a big race. The Runner's World Training Diary offers you the flexibility of deciding when you want your log to start. There are no fixed dates in the diary. You decide when "Week 1" begins, and fill in the dates for the days of the week as you go.

The format is a two-page-per-week layout, with space under each day for

• notes on your run
• pace, weather and distance for your run
• mileage total for the week to date

Also included in the two-page spread is a summary section, and separate sections to log your daily weight and your resting pulse every morning.

The journal also includes handy pacing and training charts, and sheets for recording races and tracking cumulative annual miles.

However, the Runner's World Training Diary is designed to help you get prepared for one big race -- the training log portion of the journal gives you less than 25 weeks of logging space.

If you're looking for a good training log that will get see you through the year, you should consider The Complete Runner's Day-By-Day Log and Calendar by Marty Jerome. This diary is tied to the yearly calendar, so the day of the week and the date are pre-printed. The diary does follow a two-page-per-week format, but offers one space to tally weekly distance, and one space to log weight. Of course, there is ample room under each day's entry to log weight, pulse, or anything else you need to make note of.

Marty Jerome's diary also features monthly motivational or informational sections, weekly motivational quotes, and black-and-white photos of real runners doing their thing for every week of the year. In the back of the diary is a chart with marathon split times, as well as special pages dedicated to logging races and creating bar graphs to give you a week-by-week visual of your running mileage for the year.

Because the Marty Jerome diary also works as a calendar or daily planner, it is the product I chose to purchase for myself. I'm looking forward to filling every page in 2007.