Please excuse me a moment while I sing what’s been bursting to get out of me ever since a run two runs ago:
HALLELUJAH!
HALLELUJAH!
HALLELUUUUUJAH!
Not sure what was going on with the headband here!
For more than four years I have been struggling to find a suitable place on my body to store my insulin pump while running. If I clip it onto my shorts, it feels as though it’s gonna tug them right off my butt, or chafes if any skin is exposed; if I clip it onto my winter tights, it slides annoyingly from side to side, and sometimes, without any warning at all, it unclips, yanking at the infusion in my skin; if I put it in my sports bra, I risk looking like I have a third square boob, or risk bruising my breastbone by forgetting to remove the clip (yep, that happened my first run with the pump – ouch!); and if I stuff it into a waist belt under my shirt, I risk having the belt bounce if it’s not cinched tight enough or feel as though I’ve got a weight holding me back. And these are only just a few of the annoyances Dear Diabetes has provided me since switching over to the pump.
So, when I was contacted by a Brooklyn-based clothing designer last month asking if I’d be interested in testing out one of her new tanks, called Type Tanks, that is specifically designed for active woman using insulin pumps – like me! – I didn’t even need a second to think about that one. Heck yes I did!
The tank arrived last week, and I’m already two runs, one strength training session, and a full day of work in with it. (We do a LOT of laundry in this lofthold ;))
And look the packaging matches my orange toe nails! Kismet?
Three words: Holy. Freaking. Brilliant.
With two zip-up pouches in the back, each featuring a hole inside to accommodate the tubing, as well as a third pouch up front in the built-in bra area, this tank is designed with options galore for wherever you’ve got your infusion inserted.
In previous runs, the location of my infusion on my arm would have caused annoyances in finding a suitable location for the tubing so as not to get in the way of my arm swings.
There was no incessant pump rubbing on skin; no bouncing pump irritations; no tubing being accidentally yanked by arm swings; no cinching and re-cinching of waist belts; or nagging adjustments on my tights. In fact, if I wasn’t purposely thinking about my insulin pump, I would have completely forgotten I was wearing a pump. I kid you not, it was that good.
Seriously, I’ve been waiting for a perfect, pump-irritation-free run like this for more than four years. HALLELUJAH!
But wait, that’s not all, it is also SUPER comfortable and SUPER cute! It’s not tacky. It doesn’t look bulky. The pouches are designed in a way that’s actually flattering. No guff. And the second pouch I wasn’t using, I was able to stuff my iPhone into no problem.
My only complaints: I would have liked for TYPE TANKS to be featured in bold on the front. A product this good should be full-on bragged about. I’d also like to see more colour options; currently the only colour listed on the website is black. And I do still have to wear an undertank when running, but I think that’s more a preference, given how bloody long my torso is, than a complaint. Other than that, brilliant!
More information on the product can be found on the Type Tanks website at www.typetanks.com.
Disclosure: Type Tanks sent the tank top at no cost to me. I receive no compensation for writing this post. As with all my posts, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are 100 per cent my own.