Remember a few weeks ago, when I recommended eight excellent Chanukah gifts for runners?

Well, I decided to treat myself to the silver foam roller from OPTP.

Much to my surprise, it arrived very quickly, despite the holiday shipping rush.  I was so excited to see it leaning against my door when I returned home after a long day of walking around the city.

Overall, I am quite pleased.  The color is a bit darker than it appears on my laptop screen, but it is still a true silver and the foam gives it this fantastic marbled effect.  It has a higher-end appearance than I expected.  It is light but dense, and after a few test rolls, I can say it feels just as sturdy as the foam rollers at my gym.

For under $30, I consider it to be an excellent investment.  I ordinarily foam roll three times a week, when I am working out at the gym.  But now that I have one at home, I am sure that I will use it more often.  Especially now, when I am in the midst of a run streak and running every day.

I rolled out my tired and sore calves both before and after my muddy trail run this morning.  The pre-run foam roll definitely loosened up my legs enough to get me through a short but very challenging run.  The post-run foam roll offered a hurts-so-good massage that refreshed and soothed.

In total, I spent about twenty minutes foam rolling today, following some of the exercises that you can learn more about from the links below.  A foam roller is a highly useful tool for any distance runner.  It is one that I consider essential to post-run recovery.

I cannot say how the OPTP roller will hold up over time, but I am pleased with it for the present moment.

If you are looking for a belated holiday gift for your favorite runner, I would recommend looking in to this shimmering festive roller.

Happy Holidays!

To learn more about the benefits of foam rolling, and how to foam roll, check out these posts:

On a Roll (Runner’s World)

Foam Rolling for Strength (Runner’s World)

The (almost) Magical Foam Roller (Runner’s World)

Soothe Muscle Soreness (Women’s Health)

This is not a sponsored post.