Runners, gear up: New and noteworthy for March

It's March. A new month. A new start. And renewed hope that there will be many dry pavement miles ahead.

To make those miles go by a little better, a little faster {or suck a little less, if winter never ends}, there's a few new products available to runners.

Nuun Energy. This new product launches today launched at Nuun.com, and it comes in three flavors - wild berry, cherry limeade and lemon lime. What is Nuun Energy? Just like other Nuun products, Energy is an effervescent tablet, but it is enhanced with caffeine and B vitamins. It has the same electrolyte properties as Nuun Active Hydration and uses a unique blend of B vitamins for energy metabolism and caffeine for increased endurance output/cognition.

I have not had a chance to try this tab yet but I'm excited as I have been wanting something to drink pre-workout. I was entertaining Advocare Spark or E-Boost but think this might fit my needs - with far fewer calories - if I ever get up at 4:30 a.m. to run. 

Enso roller. It seemed like more than coincidence that I had been gazing at the enso Roller in a running magazine the same day I got an email from a PR team asking whether I wanted to try it. I sat on it for a few hours and then sent an enthusiastic reply. Yes, I did want to test it out.

The the ensō has eight discs of varying diameters that can be arranged to the users' preference, so the roller can conform and support to meet the demands of the user's body type or need. According to the website, the enso Roller elongates muscles, relaxes tight muscles and aids in breaking up scar tissue, increases circulation and flexibility.

It comes with a guide of arrangement suggestions based on what area one would like to target, which I found to be very helpful. I've used it several times thus far and though I'm not ready to offer a full review, I will say that I've benefited from being able to specifically target my glute medius and IT band, both areas sore from running in the snow.

Shamrock socks. You've been waiting for these almost as much as you've been waiting for a shamrock shake - and these don't cost you two hours in the gym.

ProCompression's Shamrock Sock is out and ready for your St. Patrick's Day race. I'm not doing the 5 Kilt run here but ordered a pair anyway as I'll take any form of luck I can get these days. Use the code CLOVER to save 40 percent and get free shipping.

What running products have you discovered lately?