H2O Audio Giveaway!

Check out this photo of eleven-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin - notice anything "unusual?"

It's hard to see, but she's actually wearing an iPod Shuffle on the back of her goggles along with some waterproof ear-buds. The case for the iPod and the waterproof ear-buds are from H20 Audio. Here are some more photos of H2O Audio's gear:

Coughlin swimming again with iPod on her goggles


Clipped to suit


iPhone / large iPod case headed out to sea


Pro triathlete couple Greg and Laura Bennett with their iPods
in their H2O Audio cases on the back of their hats


Greg going for a swim with his H2O Audio gear

WHY AM I TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS H20 AUDIO GEAR? Well, H20 Audio is one of the sponsors of the Trinona Triathlon, and the race director for the Trinona Triathlon has asked me to help giveaway TWO different cases from H2O Audio.

We thought it'd be good to do a mini-review of H20 Audio as part of the giveaway, and here's what the race director sent me:

Full disclosure: I am the Race Director for Trinona and the Life Time Minneapolis Triathlon and H20 Audio is a sponsor. But a big part of the reason I wanted them as sponsor in the first place was in the hopes that their product line may solve one of my biggest hurdles (and I’m guessing a hurdle for many an age grouper) – surviving the boredom of my swim workouts.

Over the past few years, I’ve largely ignored my swim. I’ll wait for my first race of the season to roll around and only then will I jump in the water to wake up the shoulders after what is typically about a 6-month or more off-season from swimming. That makes it hard to get faster.

The idea of being able to not only zone-out to music, but actually get motivated while I swim to the beats is a seductive proposition. But, I’ve been down this road before. In high school I invested in some goofy waterproof swim radio. That was a bust.

I revisited the topic about 4 years ago when I invested in the SwiMP3 player. This seemed promising. But after a few sessions, it found its way onto eBay. It suffered from a few key problems from my perspective. The biggest issue was volume – there simply wasn’t enough. I found myself straining to make out the lyrics and instrumentation as it would frequently get buried underneath the splashing and pool atmospherics. The act of listening became more frustrating than swimming silently.

The other issue that killed the SwiMP3 for me was their bone-conduction technology. These replaced the traditional headphones with a couple of pads that hung off the goggle straps and rested on the high cheek bones or just in front of the ears. At first, I was wowed. I dunked my head under water and the music was as clear as day. Unfortunately, once out of the water, the sound quality would change. This spells trouble when, as a freestyler, you spend your entire time placing your cheek in and out of the water as you rhythmic breathe. Beyond that, I’d find myself getting noxious. Not sure if it was the technology at play or the straining to listen, but either way, my days with this device were very few.

So I gave up. I had resigned myself to the conclusion that my solo swim sessions would continue to be the slow, fluid, human metronome of boredom that they often would become during my training sessions.

I believe that all has now changed after a single introduction to the new Interval 4G by H20 Audio. This is a waterproof fully-functional shell designed exclusively for the newest model (4th Gen) of the iPod Shuffle®.

The device is elegantly simple to set-up and use. Pop it open, plug in you Shuffle, close it and you’re ready to go. It took all of 30 seconds to get the device situated on the back of my goggle strap, a couple of minor strap adjustments and I was ready to go.

The model comes with several ear-bud options to ensure a watertight fit with different sized/shaped ear cavities. I was prepared to experiment but found that the bud that came standard fit perfectly. Not only that, but it comfortable.

I pressed play and started swimming. At first, the audio quality seemed clear with surprisingly decent fidelity, base, and richness. And after my first length I waited for the buds to pop out or the quality to lag or something to go haywire. But it didn’t.

I tested the volume and as I began swimming faster, I found myself wanting to up it a bit. And there was plenty of volume to play with. In fact, I never max’d it out. I simply didn’t need to.

The new Beastie Boys album, the Black Keys, Rage Against the Machine… they all came across better than I had expected. It certainly exceeded my expectations.

Criticisms? I struggle to find any. The bulk might take a little getting used to on the back of your noggin, but it weighs less than it looks. I might suggest a swim cap, as the latex or silicone might help keep the unit from slipping on wet hair.

Bottom line, I’m pretty pumped. Not only have I found a new training tool, but I also am able to wholeheartedly endorse one of our sponsors. Had this thing stunk, things might have gotten awkward.

We’ll be giving a bunch of this product away at both Trinona (June 12 : www.trinona.com) AND the Life Time Minneapolis Triathlon (July 9 : www.MPLStri.com). We’ve got players for the various MP3 players and smart phones, along with headphones and other swag. Learn more about the full line of waterproof cases and accessories at H20audio.com.

So, the race director of the Trinona Triathlon wants to give away 2 cases from H20 Audio. There will be 2 winners picked from 2 different "locations." You can enter 2 different ways:

1. By commenting on THIS blog post.

2. By commenting on Trinona Triathlon's Facebook wall.

I suppose if you enter in both, you COULD possibly win BOTH cases!

The winners will get to pick one of the following:

- Interval™ Waterproof headphone System Designed for 4th Gen iPod Shuffle®

- Amphibx Fit™ Lightweight Waterproof Armband for iPod Nano®, Shuffle® and small MP3 Players

- Amphibx Fit™ Lightweight Waterproof Armband for iPhone® and all Large MP3 Players & Phones

The iPhone / large mp3 case

HERE’S HOW TO ENTER TO WIN A CASE AND HEADPHONES FROM H2O AUDIO:

You can possibly win TWO TIMES! You can leave a comment on this post to be entered to win 1 case. And you can leave a comment on Trinona Triathlon's Facebook wall to be entered to win another case! There will be a random entrant selected from BOTH locations!

Follow these steps to enter on my blog:

• Step 1 (optional): to earn +1 extra entry: leave a comment on THIS blog post to be entered! If you want you name thrown in a hat MULTIPLE times for this option, you can follow Trinona Triathlon and H2O Audio on Twitter and send out this tweet:

The @Trinona Triathlon is giving away some @H2Oaudio iPod/iPhone cases on @SteveinaSpeedo’s blog - http://bit.ly/yAxKX

(If you already follow Trinona and H2O Audio on twitter, you still earn an extra entry for sending out the tweet.)

• Step 2 (optional): to earn +1 extra entry: head to Trinona Triathlon's Facebook wall, become a fan, post a comment on their wall post where they asked where you like to do your swim training!

• Step 3: comment on this post to be entered and tell me how many entries you "earned!" If you sent out that tweet and / or commented on Facebook, make sure to tell me that you did in your comment so I can throw your name in the hat 2 or 3 times. For example: “Hey Steve, this John Smith from Topeka. I followed Trinona on twitter and sent out the tweet, so put my name in the hat twice! Thanks!”

• Step 4: check back to see if your a winner! I'll announce the winners NEXT Sunday, the 29th of May. It's EXTRA important to stop back if you’re not a blogger, because I have no way of contacting you! The contest is open NOW through midnight (central time) on Friday night, May 27th. At that point, I'll print out all the entries, give extra numbers to those who earned extra entries, and then choose one at random by a random number generator, drawing numbers out of a hat, or other random selection process.

Pseudo-legal stuff:
- Contest only open to residents of the continental US. Sorry Canada - you've been getting the shaft lately.
- You may comment now (on THIS post) through midnight Central time on Friday May 27th.
- The winners will be chosen at random by a random number generator or by drawing numbers out of a hat. If you’ve earned multiple entries, you will get multiple numbers, thus bettering your chances at winning.
- Check back next Sunday (May 29th) to see if you won! (Especially if you don’t have a blogger account because I have no way of contacting you.)
- If I can't get in touch with a winner within 2-3 days, I'll choose a new winner. So check back!
- The winner will get to choose which kind of case he/she wants.

One final big THANKS to the people at the Trinona Triathlon and H20 Audio for the awesome giveaway!

The "Interval" for the Shuffle.


The iPhone / large mp3 case.