I’m one of those who wear my gear until it no longer functions. My Garmin watch is literally about to fall apart, but I just can’t justify the cost of a new one. It still works.

I am not a world champion, I will not be winning any podiums, and triathlon is mostly a hobby. I have a family, a husband who fortunately puts up with my triathlon antics, and two boys who are constantly outgrowing their clothes and cleaning out my refrigerator. Our house budget is a zero-sum game, that is, taking funds for my triathlon gear translates to taking funds from my family.  And even though everyone seems okay with it, I have a hard time telling myself “it’s okay” or “I deserve it.”  When it gets to “I need it,” then I’ll get it.  So for example, when the black cycling shorts are becoming see through, that’s when they go.

Along with my Garmin, my shades were giving in. I bought them for $40. They did a decent enough job, but you don’t know what you are missing until you get a taste of something better. And that’s exactly what I got. I received an email from Transitions Lenses that my Nike Max Transitions Speed Tint lenses were in the mail.

Seriously? They weren’t asking for a review, I am not being paid to write this post, it was a connection of a connection who did something really nice for me. So I screamed “SCORE!”

My budget glasses have withstood literally hundreds of miles, but it doesn’t mean I was smart about it.  I have an eye condition (Pingeuculum) where if I am outdoors in the sunlight without eye wear, my eye becomes red, irritated and a little ball that is threatening to grow onto my iris swells and pops up. Then, for a couple of days, every person I see will tell me “you have something on your eye, it’s red” as if I didn’t know.  The same thing happens if my eye dries up from wind exposure. So I can’t be without sunglasses, period; this is probably not a piece of equipment I should be cheap about.

Consequently whether it’s running in the dark, or cycling at dawn, I need eyewear. My $40 glasses provided one shade only and it was dark. I’d forget my head if it weren’t attached to my body (ask anyone who knows me), so the thought of getting those glasses with different lenses was not appealing as I would most likely forget the other lenses at home. Instead, I got used to not seeing well in the early parts of my training. I know it sounds bizarre, but that is just how I am, Joe calls it the path of least resistance. In college if I was running out of both underwear and laundry detergent, there was a chance I would just buy more underwear instead of doing the laundry. Don’t judge …

I had seen the Transitions commercials of someone walking from the sunlight outdoors where the glasses are dark, to a meeting room indoors and the lenses turn transparent. I knew they existed, but I didn’t know Transitions had a sport line and a partnership with Nike.

They designed the Nike MAX Transitions Speed Tint specifically for running and cycling activities. So where other Transitions lenses have a violet or green tint this one is red. It’s actually interesting. The green tint is for outdoors so that shadows are brightened and you can see more contrast while hiking on a trail for example. The violet is a golf tint, designed for a better read of the green, and help the ball pop out. The red tint, mine, is designed to eliminate road glare. And if you have ever been out on a run or ride in Miami you know exactly what I am talking about.

The other thing I, and many other endurance athletes do, is focus our eyes on a single point. I do that mostly in running; because I am constantly struggling I always aim at a point ahead, usually about a quarter mile, and tell myself I will not stop until I reach it. I keep my eyes on that post, tree, or mailbox until I get very close to it to then move on to the next marker. I do this constantly, and apparently that is a strain on your eyes. Knowing that we tend to do this, the Nike MAX Transitions Speed Tint is designed to relax your eyes.

I took the sunglasses out for my long ride recently. I set out at 7:00am where our sunrise is at 6:30am. It wasn’t dark but the light was not very bright. My first impression was “wow I can see.” I guess my previous lenses where darker than I thought because this was really a night and day experience.  I later learned it wasn’t only because of the shade of tint I had “transitioned” to, it was also because of what is called the Nike MAX Optics technology so that you have a better vision in a larger than average field of view. So, for example, when you are obsessively looking at that mile marker like I am, there is minimal distortion. Sweet!

My ride that day was three and a half hours, so by the time I was heading home at 10:30am the light was bright but I could still see just as clearly as before. I then took it out for a run, and it was very comfortable. I don’t know enough to know if my eyes were more or less tired than before, but what I do know is that no one is telling me that my eye is red!

Finally, the glasses have the Transitions technology that becomes lighter or darker depending on the light so that you can see just as clearly. I became OBSESSED with trying to get pictures of the different tints but it didn’t work too well. What did happen though, is that I got to the gym and forgot I had them on! The light tint is very light and you can clearly see even with low light levels.

Therefore if you are looking for a new pair of glasses, the NIKE MAX Transitions is certainly worth the try. For more information visit: Transitions

That was my opinion, how about yours? What eye wear do you use when training? If you have these, what do you think about them?