Disclaimer – The Fandads have teamed up with Russell Athletic and were compensated for this post. All thoughts, opinions and tired feet are our own.
A few months ago I teamed up with Russell Athletic to write about their Cool Force Performance underwear and talked about how they kept my “boys” cool when I was being the sporty Dadlete that I am. Now Russell Athletic has released their new FreshForce™ Performance underwear and what better way for this dadlete to try these out than by running a half marathon with them on? So how did this turn out? Keep reading to see what happened.
Back in 2015, I hit a milestone in my age and as a way to celebrate it I was going to run a half marathon to celebrate being a dadlete that still keeps himself busy with two children. Well, due to that business, I completely forgot to sign up for the run and never did it. A year later I skipped running a half marathon and plunged into running a full marathon. That was a fantastic experience and I decided to run another marathon this year.
As my birthday approached I was faced with a dilemma: Do I sign up for a half marathon that is in a few days, even though I haven’t really trained enough for it or do I just skip it and focus on the upcoming marathon? Never being one to walk away from a challenge I decided to sign up and run the half marathon. Yeah, I knew it was going to be a little tough, but I had the support of my children and some new underwear from Russell Athletic that were going to keep me fresh.
When walking around the health expo to pick up my running bib and official shirt, my daughter asked me if I was ready for this run. I looked at her and told her no matter how much I train and prepare for the run I am never 100% ready. You can never know what will happen when you are out there and it pretty much is a metaphor for life. I told her that I will do my best when I am out there and that is all I can do. As long as I keep moving forward I will eventually make it to the finish line.
Looking at the picture above you can tell that I made it to the finish line. Running 13.1 miles while only running 5.5 miles the week before is a big difference. My knees started hurting around mile 9, but I knew that I was almost done and needed to just keep moving forward. A dadlete does not quit. It felt fantastic to cross the finish line and I have to amp up my training a little more to be ready for the marathon in October.
As any “great” dadlete does after finishing a race, I put my medal with all the other medals I have collected. I mean, don’t I look fresh standing in front of all of them? (For those of you not around in the 80s “fresh” was another way to say “cool”.) Speaking of fresh, thanks to the FreshForce™ underwear that I was wearing, my boys felt fresh after running all of those miles and if my legs were up to it I could have probably run another five miles. Maybe I’m over selling it, I probably could have run another two miles.
You have to take my word that the freshness in the below region was a little noticeable when I relaxed after the race. I could tell that the Dri-Power 360 moisture-wicking fabric was doing its job to keep me and the boys cool and dry. This will come in handy when I start running the longer miles on those hot summer days. Who knows, maybe I’ll run another race or two before the big one in October, but if I do, I will make sure to stay fresh and ready.
The new Russell Athletic FreshForce™ Underwear in now available at your local Wal-Mart and come in a variety of styles: Sport Brief, Short Leg Boxer Brief, Boxer Brief, Long Leg Boxer Brief and Boxer silhouettes. No matter what your preference is, you will find a style that will work for you and keep you fresh.