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! 

1 marathon down 2 to go, what have I learnt?

So after 1 of my 3 marathons in 3 months challenge where am I and what have I learnt? 

My challenge was to run 3 marathons in 3 months, I entered theses in early 2014 as I felt I needed something to work on and needed to achieve something positive and challenging prior to turning 30 in early 2015. My other motive was to give myself a great chance of running a sub 4 hour marathon, firstly so I can just say I have achieved this milestone and secondly so I could have the challenge of achieving this before turning 30. 

The first and third marathons in my mini series are trail marathons so the second marathon in Nottingham on the 28th September which is a standard city marathon on a flat course with strong PB potential was always going to be the ideal opportunity to crack the magical sub 4 barrier. 

I am pretty desperate just to get a clear run at a marathon and have a good crack at a sub 4. As you can read from my post run report of my first marathon it didn't quite go to plan and didn't give me any kind of chance of running a good time. 

As I train more and run more I continue to learn more about what it takes to train for a marathon and how to run one and I am increasingly eager to put this into practice and to try and run a 'perfect' race.

With the Notitngham Marathon coming up in September I know this city marathon will be my best chance of cracking sub 4 and probably my only chance of running sub 4 pre 30. 

So what have I learnt from my training and running the first marathon?

Drink more water - I am not talking about the actual race but more on a daily basis, although I have always drank a lot of water and stayed well hydrated I have realised I think I am not drinking enough especially when I am training a lot. So I have started to make a conscious effort to drink more before and after training as well as drinking more while at the gym as well.

Eat more protein - Putting in some serious mileage and training every day obviously puts a great strain on your body and your muscles and again I figured I wasn't eating as much protein as I could/should be. In the week or two before the marathon I started eating steak and chicken all the time as well as increasing the amounts of protein shakes I was consuming.

Now I am trying to pack my diet full of as much protein as possible with my main protein sources being chicken, steak, kidney beans, chick peas, hummus, brazil nuts, almonds, tuna, and mackerel.

Run more - I have finally broken some kind of mental block I had which stopped me from running on consecutive days and seemed to hold me back from running too much. Now I am quite happy running day after day within reason and have put together several 4 and 5 day plus runstreaks. It goes without saying really but running on more days means I am able to train more and get in more mileage which will benefit me massively. 

More strength training - A neglected part of my training regime as its hard and it hurts and its generally not as fun as running is. But unfortunately doing weights, circuits and body weight exercises such as press up, lunges and squats are integral to any training plan if you want to get faster and stronger and I am now making a real effort to include 2 or 3 strength training type sessions into my weekly routine.  

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this post useful for your own training.