Nike After Dark LA: Recap + Training Stack

Skip to the training stack.

I started writing this in April, long before the race, so this is a mix of pre- and post-race musings!

After being rejected from Berlin, Chicago, NYC, and twice from London, I have 0 full marathons on my calendar this year, which means this girl is going to have herself a summer for once (which is happily subject to change if any brands want to spare a NYC bib)!

But I did secure a spot in the Nike After Dark LA Women’s Half. My very first half marathon was the Nike Women’s DC Half back in 2013, so I've been excited about the prospect of doing this race since they announced the return of the women’s series.

If you follow me on Instagram or Strava, you already know I’ve been dealing with an exciting knee injury, most likely thanks to snowboarding season. While my knee isn’t exactly better or worse, the show must go on (because in my mind, I’m still 24 and bounce back with a snap of the fingers).

Also, I may or may not have signed up for eight more races, but that’s a story for another post.

This training cycle? Not one for the books. So I’m relying on glitter (that I ended up forgetting) and vibes to carry me from the start to the finish line.

If you've already seen this Instagram post, then you know that the race logistics did not go swimmingly. In an effort not to completely tear Nike apart here (because I really do think whoever has been handling the marathon marketing for the past year is crushing it!), I'll expand slightly.

Starting with moving the date of the lottery, the communication was nonexistent until a few weeks before the race, leaving many on Reddit questioning if it was still happening. The course was released about two weeks before race day with no information, including elevation.

Nothing was centralized - we're here, we're there, we're stuck in traffic. It was unnecessary. Confusion was abound! We got a lot of goodies in our packet pick-up bag, which was nice, and there were lots of good photo opps at the expo.

The real fun started on race day when doors opened at 4:30 PM, but they didn't really. Arriving at 5 PM for a 6:30 PM race start seemed ideal to us, until they directed everyone to the gates and wouldn't let us in, despite runners already being in SoFi Stadium. When I inquired about this, the security guard laughed at me and said if you were here at 4:30, then you would have been in, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't. SIR! The doors open at 4:30, we were not supposed to BE THERE BY. After moving everyone to different lines, we were faced with more disorganization.

The lack of signs for anything left us confused about where the bathrooms were, their proximity to the corrals, and thankfully, this didn't happen to us, but no one told anyone that if you went to the bathroom area, you couldn't get back into the stadium or get back to bag check.

Finally, we warm up and make our way to our corrals, which were so poorly seeded. We're finally feeling a little less stressed and angry at Nike. That lasted 45 seconds because at 6:30 PM, when the race was meant to start, they announced that they were pushing the start to 6:45 PM. And they didn't really actually start then either - they played the anthem, which should have been done before, so the gun would go off at 6:45.

The first mile was pure chaos; we were almost all walking less than 800m in because of bottlenecking and poor seeding. Once that was finally alleviated, the course was solid. Tons of rolling hills on the way out, and many uphills-only on the way back. It was challenging and I liked it.

Back at home base, there was no food, everyone, including me, kept thinking they missed getting their medal (necklace) because they were so far from the finish line, and I only knew about the pink slides because I overheard someone talking.

This was probably the most poorly organized race I've been a part of, and I've been racing since 2011, and ultimately playing sports since 1990 (mommy and me gymnastics counts, OK!).

Now that I've hopped on [and off] a plane to LAX (sorry), here’s some of what I used during training, from tried-and-true staples to new products I tested along the way:

Therabody Compression Boots

Pros	Cons
Helps recover faster	High price point
Can do sedentary activities while using them	Not the easiest to travel with

My sister got these for me for Christmas a few years ago, and they're the bottom-of-the-barrel version, but I love them. I was incredibly diligent with them throughout last year's Chicago training and brought them with me on the trip. I really give them a decent amount of credit for helping me recover from the amount of volume I had added.

If you weren't aware, I wake up at 4:15/4:30 AM almost every day and go to bed by 9:15/9:30 PM, so I have these built into my nighttime routine after my skincare regimen. I'll pop them on and watch TV, read, or catch up on work. Occasionally, on a Friday afternoon post-long run, I'll put them on for an hour-long nap!

H2O Audio TRI 2 Pro

*gifted for testing/review

Pros	Cons
Don't slip when sweaty and running	Battery life leaves a lot to be desired
Fits nicely under helmet (albeit a little snug)	Larger gap than I'd like between the band and back of my head
Can use Bluetooth or pre-loaded audio	High price point (considering the battery life)
Great sound/audio
Very light and made of quality materials

I so badly wanted to love these. When the PR rep reached out to me, I replied with a resounding yes, I couldn't wait to test! I was just heading into my LA training block and knew I had triathlons on deck for the summer.

The team also kindly pre-loaded all sorts of my favorite music via their patent-pending PLAYLIST+ technology so I could use them immediately in MP3 mode or underwater.

One of my favorite things about the H2O Audio TRI 2 Pro's is that, because they are bone conduction headphones where the speaker sits just outside of your ear with a head strap, they stay put when you're very hot and sweaty. For comparison, my sport-specific earbuds typically fall out. According to the press release, the series features new proprietary bone conduction acoustics that exceed anything on the market today, with improved button placement. Can confirm, the buttons are easily accessible and easy to use once you get the hang of how long to hold them.

The biggest downfall that's making it challenging for me to recommend to any distance endurance athlete like myself is the battery life. They lasted only 2:30 into a 2:45 bike ride that was followed by a 20-minute run. I also used them during the Nike After Dark LA Half Marathon, and they died before the two-hour mark (I ran a 2:06:02; I was slow but not that slow!). According to the brand, Bluetooth should provide around 8.5 hours of use, while MP3 offers 6 hours.

I still use these on my runs, but they typically die before I finish my bike during BRICK workouts, so I bring backup earbuds for the run portion.

I really like them, but the battery situation keeps me from loving them. I'd suggest these for people doing workouts around an hour or less (maybe long runs up to two hours), so beginners, recovery days, or swimmers doing shorter sessions. I'll still be training and racing in these, just with more awareness that I'll be in the pain cave with no music after two hours!

Believe Training Journal by Lauren Fleshman

*gifted for testing/review

Pros	Cons
Affordable price point	A lot of content to digest
Interviews with experts	Can be challenging to keep up with
Extensive amount of topics covered	May be overwhelming for day one beginners
Year-long format with weekly prompts

If you're around my age, then you know her as FleshmanFlyer, or the co-founder of Picky Bars. Lauren Fleshman was a professional runner who ran and coached for Oiselle, has penned numerous books, and is a current coach and hosts running retreats.

While I didn't fully use this book as its intended use, it was nice to have on hand and inspiring. And it has activities! I'm really into books that have prompts, but not the ones that are too mental health-focused.

It's a year-long journal where you can track your progress and goals, and adjust as needed. Each week, you can answer a different prompt, write in what your workout is, share how it went, and recap your week with the highs and lows.

I also like that in the goal-setting section, it asks the reason. You set the goal, and what steps you are taking to get there. It encourages you to choose goals that you truly want to work towards.

The personality quiz indicated I was a warrior - a quintessential "born-to-be-wild" risk taker. Which tracks.

The Believe Training Journal covers goal-setting to mental health to recovery to nutrition, and everything in between. It's a great supplemental tool for those with a coach, and can be considered a coach-in-your-pocket for those who don't.

Theragun(s)

Pros	Cons
Assists with recovery	High price point
Can control the intensity (on the mini and newer versions)	Loud and noisy (if you snag an old version)
Both easy to travel with

I am still rocking a second-generation regular Theragun from the 2018 Rock n Roll Vegas expo, so mine is obnoxiously loud, like my neighbors think I'm drilling every day, but I still love it.

It gets the job done and helps keep my legs fresh for intense sessions. Even though I wasn't doing the workouts I normally do, my volume was not low.

Because these are so easy to use, I usually use them when I get home from my run, before I hop in the shower. I also have the mini, which is great for travel, or to bring to the gym and office since it's much quieter than the regular one!

What are some of your favorite training products?

XO,

Lynette