Disclaimer: I received Rudy Project Rydon shades to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Last week was race week! But let’s start with the “new shades with inspiration” part of the post ♥ 

Recently, I was given an advance preview of the documentary GODSPEED | A Race Across America. I posted my review the film and then further discuss the inspiring feat in a follow up #BibChat. Check out your local listings of GODSPEED on May 22nd and get your tickets ordered today with Fathom Events!

One of the major themes of the movie is “taking on the elements” – the weather constantly changed and challenged the riders throughout the Race Across America cycling event.

One of the sponsors of the documentary is Rudy Project and in conjunction with the film, I was given the opportunity to test and review a similar pair of sunglasses the inspiring men used throughout their journey.

In the past, I haven’t typically worn sunglasses when I am out running. But with summer sun and heat approaching, I have enjoyed the opportunity to try a new piece of gear! Let’s dive in!

Rudy Project

Back in 1985, Rudy Barbazza created Rudy Project with the vision to create the world’s most technologically advanced sports eyewear.

Through the years, Rudy Project has worked hard to improve the performance of all athletes with some of the most advanced materials on the market. 

Rudy Project – Rydon

The Rudy Project Rydon shades are made with an interesting Impactx-2 Photochromic lens technology. Honestly, I am not a lens genius (and I sound like a poser trying…), but the team at Rudy Project is! Here is some information about the awesome lens technology of the ImpactX-2® :

• Fast-Acting Photochromic Technology – activates & darkens 80% within 10 seconds
  HDR – High Dynamic Range – gives you enhanced contrast under low light and bright light conditions
• 3 different photochromic transition options – Clear to Grey; Clear to Red and Clear to Brown
• Darkens in presence of natural light (e.g., behind the windshield of a car) and UV – best of both worlds
• Unbreakable for life and super resistant to chemicals and heat
• Comes with our Lifetime Replacement Lens Guarantee

My Experience

While I am not a sunglasses guru, I have been very happy with the performance of these shades!

Out of the box, the Rydon Frozen Ash With Impactx-2 Photochromic Clear To Laser Black Lenses (that is a LONG title, ha!) are super lightweight, have a flexible frame, and have visually appealing clean lines. Seeing as my kid took them out of the box and promptly tried to twist and pull them apart made me come out of my skin, but the flexibility of the frame was phenomenal!

After further reading, I found that the “carbonium frame and revolutionary aerospatial aluminum alloy (Kynetium) temples [combined with] magnesium, silcium and titanium create an unbelievably lightweight, durable and flexible sunglass.” (via Rudy Project) Good thing, because they would have been broken in 2 seconds in my house…

As you can see, I received the Clear To Laser Black Lenses. In the “lack of sun” (AKA at my desk at work), the lenses are clean and clear. I could practically wear them as glasses (also available with a Rx lens). Once I head towards a door or window with natural light coming through, the lenses start to turn dark, AKA sunglass mode. I haven’t felt the need to time the transition, but Rudy Project stated that the lenses go from 0-80% (clear to black) within the first 10 seconds! That is a fast transition!

While in the sun, the glasses are like a mirror! I can totally see through them just fine when wearing them, AND I can use them as a mirror if I happen to have something in my teeth along the run…ha! This reflection does make it a little difficult to take good pictures of the glasses in action…but can make for some fun pictures!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really love the Rudy Project Rydon shades! As I started the review, I have not used many sunglasses in the past – especially nice ones like these. The Rydon’s are super lightweight, shield my eyes from the sun, keep my eyes save from flying debris (I do live in windy Kansas), and they look super cool! I even got a chance to use them in my marathon this past weekend and they worked great in the wind and rain. I look forward to running around in the sun this summer without my typical sun-in-my-eyes squinty face 🙂 

My fellow BibRave Pro’s were also able to watch the GODSPEED documentary and try out their own pair of Rudy Project Rydon shades. Be sure to check them out and show them some love (links added as available)!

Juan   Katie   Amy S.   Andrea   Angie   Emily   Barb S.   Brenda   Christine   Amy W.   Jenn   John   Kim   Maria   Mark   Melissa   Michael   Rach   Brad

Check out Rudy Project on their social handles for fun promotions and to get the scoop on new products : Facebook    Twitter    YouTube    Instagram

And don’t forget to check out your local listings of the GODSPEED documentary on May 22nd. Get your tickets ordered today with Fathom Events!

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As mentioned before… RACE WEEK!

I feel like I KEEP asking my running buddy if time really has flown this winter/spring?! This is her first full marathon and she is planning on finishing with (or ahead) of me. With any luck, she will stick by my side until the last mile or so and then I can push her out of the pack to finish ahead of me. That is…if we don’t melt in the rain (which if the fine people who ran Boston last week didn’t melt, I think we will fare alright…)

**PS- I am writing the above prediction before the race…by the time this is posted, we shall see what happened (if not posted, I did indeed melt in the rain)!**

weekly workouts : week 8 (apr 16)

Monday
Scheduled : OFF
Actual : 3 miles + cardio

Yep, the Boston Marathon live stream and my lack of weekend miles got me itching to get out of my desk and go for an afternoon run. Good thing Mother Nature allowed spring to come back – it was a breezy, beautiful mid-50s while out! Amazing running weather! My Rudy Project Rydon shades worked wonders to keep the sun out of my eyes ♥

 

Little man also felt inspired by the amazing weather and wanted to go for a walk when we got home for the day – so we went for a walk!

Tuesday
Scheduled : 3 miles
Actual : 4 miles + 1 mile walk + cardio

Whoops…another run that I messed up the miles… Oh well! It felt good and  the pup was happy she got in her mile ♥

Wednesday
Scheduled : 4 miles
Actual : 4 miles + cardio

Between running to the store (and wandering around because I didn’t know where to go), the running to little man’s daycare (to drop off what I got from the store), and then running back to work – I managed to get my 4 miles! Happy dance! It is WINDY and chilly…but felt great! My Orange Mud Gear Vest was packed with person items and the purchase (so I wouldn’t bend it all up) and worked out great! 

 

Thursday
Scheduled : OFF
Actual : OFF + cardio

Taper has me a little crazy…but I was able to keep it under control. After work, I was able to get in my workout and we headed to the lake to see the hubs. He is camping out tonight and we are meeting up for dinner ♥

Friday
Scheduled : 2 miles
Actual : morning cardio + standing around…

Since the hubs was camping last night, I opted to get my cardio workout in the morning and try to run later in the day. While I didn’t run, I was able to talk to a bunch of runners at the pacer booth at the packet pick-up expo 🙂 So much excitement (but not about the rain expected tomorrow)… 

Saturday
Scheduled : Garmin Marathon
Actual :  26.4 miles of the Garmin Marathon

While the course ended up being a little long on my watch, I was able to make it to the finish in a little less than 5:30. Success! More to come…

Sunday
Scheduled : nothin…
Actual : OFF

Weekly Miles : 40 miles
Training Miles : 307 miles
Annual Miles : 648 miles (goal = 2,018 in 2018)

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Next Week’s Projected Workouts

Next week starts my BIG 100 mile training cycle! Finally!

While the goal for the cycle is in September, I have several races in between to keep me energized! Check out my spring race training update from last week for the details of my race schedule!

Miles, miles, miles! Check out the weekly workout
recap via @livinglovingrun & other #linkups!
https://ctt.ec/A68Uc+ #bibchat #runchat

Check out these awesome run-spiring linkups this week :

Weekly Wrap     Weekly Training Recap     Tuesday’s on the Run
Wild Workout Wednesday     Running Coach’s Corner

How did your training week go? What are you training for?

I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and start a conversation!

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