Attacking The Funk: a product review for your viewing pleasure.

Every couple of weeks I get an email or two from some random triathlete/fitness community out there in the Cyber World asking me to plug their services or features. More often than not, these little emails of admiration (because let's face it, they try to make you feel like the greatest blogger and athlete in the world...which is definitely not my case) end up in my junk box.

I guess it was back in December a company I'd never heard of nicely reached out to me...asking if it would be okay to send me a sample of their product to test and then write a good ole fashioned, honest review. I figured it had been a while since I'd done anything like this so I figured why not (plus who would turn down the opportunity to test out some sport stuff for free?). I warned them that I'd want to use the product over time before drawing any conclusions...hence, why I'm just now sharing my thoughts a whole 4 months later.

Let me start by saying, when I train...I am one funky girl (and not funky in the "play that funky music, white boy" sense). I smell. Reeeeeeeeeak is more like it. Typically the pungent stench that oozes from my body after a long run is similar to that of the homeless man panhandling on the street corner downtown. The stench seeps into my clothes and promptly stinks up any confined space I may occupy. It's quite unpleasant (or so I'm told by my husband and by people I ride the elevator with in my building). But that smell is sort of like an ownable right proclaiming to the world that "I trained harder than you did" today.

So while Dove soap handles the body odor, we typically need a strong detergent to help out with the apparel odor. The last thing you want is for your clothes to keep that proud smell after they've already been washed.

...which was one of the problems we had in the past with Penguin Wash. It never really felt our clothes were really clean. Like residual funk remained and a ghost stench loomed. We've also tried WIN with mixed results, so I was pretty amped to have the opportunity to give ProWash Detergent a go.

The first thing I noticed before I ever even used ProWash was its packaging. It's a pouch. Not a clunky plastic bottle that takes up valuable room in my linen closet. So thumbs up on being green (the packaging apparently has 9x less of an impact on the earth than its plastic bottle counterparts). Plus the backside has a clear part where you can see just how much detergent you've got left.

All pretty, sparkling packaging aside, since it's the stuff inside that counts. To be honest...Mike and I have been quite pleased with the results to date. After many weeks of use, there have been no problems with color fading and it does a great job fighting off the stench without damaging the fabric and takes stains right out. Our running and tri gear actually feels clean when we put it on now. And that's a big plus.

My one and only complaint about ProWash comes from the scoop. While I do love the packaging, I wish there was a better way to attach the scoop to the product itself. When we received it, the scoop was tethered to a little piece of plastic that snapped onto spout. And for the girl who manages to misplace everything even when it's right in front of her...this just means trouble. It's a good thing that Mike handles most of the laundry responsibilities (seriously...he gets the best husband ever award) or else I'm sure the scoop would be hiding from me behind the washing machine.

So that's that. If you're a funky guy or gal...you should definitely try and get your hands on this little miracle worker and give it a go. It's apparently available at most Wal-Mart locations and a few other local places across the country. Or if you're too busy training to actually make it to the store, you can just buy it online.

In other news, training this week is going well. I have 2100 yards in the pool and a bike test on tap for today (which should be interesting considering I don't have a power meter to work with). Strangely enough, I'm actually enjoying the strength training portions of my week, though I may be singing a different tune next week as I have to move up to the next pound level. I've never been one for weights, but it's kind of a fun challenge. Who would've guessed I like making my arms all wobbly?!

This weekend I'm going to be switching my ride and run days because...Spring is finally here! Saturday will be 70 and sunny...which just begs for an outdoor ride (nevermind I'll be running in the cold rain on Sunday)! Now...I just need to figure out where to go for my first time back on the open road.