Spark and Gusto Subscription box review

I don't care who you are, getting a box of goodies in the post is exciting and so if you are a runner and you get a box of running goodies in the post then that is pretty damn exciting!

So when the opportunity arose to review a Spark & Gusto subscription box I grabbed it.

Spark and Gusto are a company that can provide you with a box of fitness themed goodies either as a one of treat or as a regular subscription.

So the way I see it is if you are ever short of an idea for a present for the runner in your life (wife, mum, mother in law, sister in law, sister and various aunties and uncles please take note!) you could them a box with minimal stress and know that they would be chuffed to get a box of running related goodies. Or as a runner yourself if you wanted to keep yourself motivated with your training you could set yourself up a subscription so you keep getting a regular supply of fresh fitness related products to try out.

In case your wondering the name Spark and Gusto comes from the idea that receiving a box of goodies should provide you with a 'spark' for you to give some 'gusto' to some exercise, pretty clever! 

I did receive my subscription box free of charge in return for my review and other similar subscription boxes are available on the market.

I couldn't wait to get hold of my box, unfortunately it came when I was at work and we had to pick it up form the post office sorting office on a Saturday morning when we were actually going away for the weekend. So sat in the passenger seat of our car I excitedly unwrapped my box to enthusiastically discover the following products:

High 5 energy gels - What a great start? My favourite energy gels in my favourite flavours and I had a marathon coming so absolutely perfect!

Life Maxx reaction ball - This strange little object is designed to improve your reactions. I have seen cricketers train with something similar I think, basically you can use it by throwing against a wall and because its so oddly shapen it will bounce back in a completely random way testing your reactions as you try to catch it. AS soon as I saw it I liked the idea of it and I have started using it regularly as a warm up for circuit training or running.  Its pretty easy to devise a quick session, what I have been doing is throwing it against the bathroom door in our hallway and then try to catch it before it bounces through to the lounge. I start off stationary but soon start jogging a few paces backwards after each catch and then running up to my mark before throwing again. To make it competitive I count up to 50 catches and towards the end start taking catches one handed. Great fun and pretty quick way to start working up a sweat!

Ronhill - Stretch Arm Pocket - just what I needed as I was considering investing in a new device to hold my keys and/or a few gels while I run. I tested it out a few times and it was comfortable and did the job of holding two gels nicely, I was so pleased with it I wore it for the Halstead marathon, a definitive recommendation!

Chia Charge banana flapjack - I have been eating a lot of flapjack recently and this is up there with the best! Soft, light, chewy and full of flavour, it kept me full for ages and was a really enjoyable eat. Although it didn't necessary taste of banana I enjoyed it none the less and would definitely consider buying one in the future. 

BetterYou magnesium foot soak - At a recent sports massage the therapist commented as to what good condition my feet are in considering my running mileage so perhaps I am not in desperate need of this. I am going to save it for when my feet start to feel tired and go a bit manky, this is not the kind of thing I would think to buy so a great inclusion in the subscription box.

Sport Beans - Basically sweets that are approved for sport! Brilliant! They sound like a tasty and fun way to keep my carb and sugar levels topped up either before or during exercise.

Tapped Birch Water - A new on on me, a juice in an odd cardboard container. Never heard of the product either which promises to be a antioxidant drink which apparently Finnish people swear by as being a great detox product as it provides you with 25% of your daily requirement of manganese, which is a key antioxidant ingredient for protecting your body against free radical damage. I am very intrigued to try this out...

LoveRaw Cacao & Maca Organic Bar - An artisan bar that is gluten free, dairy free, wheat free and soy free. I have heard of LoveRaw but not tried any of their products so I will be interested to try this bar out as its not the normal kind of thing I would buy. 

High 5 running bottle - This will definitely come in handy for when I want to carry some water with me out on a run. Carrying a normal drinks bottle is never ideal as its not that comfortable to carry but this should be ideal! Previously I have taken my own energy drink in a bottle tucked away in my hydration pack to take out in the later stages of a marathon so this is something I might use this bottle for in the future.

Overall I love the idea of the box and loved the range of products included. The boxes are presented to a high standard with a strong emphasis on their design and presentation so definitely a high end product. With that in mind they are quite pricey so probably a rare treat for me at least.

Thank you very much to Spark and Gusto not only for coming up with a great concept and for delivering it brilliantly, and that's without saying a massive thanks for my free box!

In case your wondering my birthday isn't until January if you wanted to gift me a box, but I happily accept presents all year round! 

When runs go wrong

This morning I headed over to my local parkrun at Harrow Lodge with the view of hopefully seeing some returns on my increased training in the form of a PB.

However it was not to be as I experienced one of my worst shorter runs I can remember.

Although my time was only 30seconds slower than when I did it a few weeks ago I felt so bad and struggled all the way round.

So as a way of reflecting on what went wrong, putting todays run to bed and learning from the experience here is my break down of where it all went wrong. 

Hayfever - This week I have struggled a bit with hayfever in my throat, that feeling where you always feel like coughing and cant quite clear your throat. So this certainly didnt help as I felt my breathing was really affected and subsequently my performance suffered. 

Heat - This morning was particualy hot compared to the rest of the week and I struggled with thesr conditions and I was also probably dehydrated from sitting out in the sun and heat. 

Flapjack - I have been trying out different breakfast options for when I am out running in the morning and have been eating a flapjack recently. Although this has worked well for longer slower runs it didnt work well for this faster run. 

Pints - no early morning has ever been made better or easier by a few pints the night before. This mornings run was certainly not helped by the fact I had a few pints out at the cricket last night.

Lack of sleep - Its been a long and busy week and for one reason and another I have not had much sleep and I think this morning it had caught up with me as I felt mentally and physically a bit jaded.

Hard week training - I think also my increased training in the last few weeks as I gear up for my marathon had an adverse affect on me this morning as my legs struggled a bit with keeping up with the aches and pain of training. 

Poor warm up - I was late this morning and was literally running late to get to tge start at a decent time. Usually pre park run I get there around 10 minutes before and do a bit of a warm up but this morning I only had time for a wuick loosen up before it was time to start. Although I didnt feel any adverse affects during the start I thibk overall it did affect me and meant I was running as well as I could have been and meant things were more of a struggle than they should have been. 

Whatever the problems and however I think of them I think it is important to lay to rest the wrongs of a bad run and put them to oneside ready to go again for the next run!