Gear

The deal of the day at Woot is a Reebok watch with the heart rate monitor strap. It’s being sold for a cheap $19.99. It looks like it actually has some pretty decent features too. Check it out if you’re in the market for a new watch.

Everyone who has raced knows the guy who is overloaded with gadgets. He has brand new trail running shoes that probably cost $150+, the Nike iPod gadget, his own ankle champion chip holder, gatters, injinji or some other expensive brand of socks, maybe some sort of a knee running brace, a running outfit that matches and is brand new, a brand new Garmin, a video iPod, plenty of Gu and supplements, sunglasses, a light, a white hat with those funky sides, and probably a rag or something in his hand. Everyone knows that person will likely be towards the back of the pack.

Not that anything is wrong with gadgets but do they really help the average runner? Probably not. They are certainly expensive. They are certainly dorky. They are also a little annoying on the trails. That said, I know that at times they have their place.

It seems like everyone in my trail running club has decided that Garmins are the must have gadget. It’s great that they think it’ll be useful for them, but I know it won’t be useful for me. I run the same speed most of the time and at the same places. I roughly know how far I run. More to the point, for me, it doesn’t matter if I’m exact about my distance.

I’m not a top of the pack runner and won’t be. I don’t have the natural talent or time to overcome my deficiencies. Nor do I want to! I like running because it’s a hobby not because I want to beat other people. I like to push myself a little but not so much that running takes over my life. I like to stay in shape. I don’t like to count every 1/10 of a mile and see what my pace is every second of a run.

I was talking to Gerald Peters who is in the running club and agreed with him that I’d run with nothing if I could. I don’t even like to carry a water bottle. I don’t like having extra things on my feet. I don’t like to have the world with me when I’m out on my run. I like nature.

If gadgets help you run then I’m glad they are serving their purpose. However, if you feel out of place because you too hate gadgets — know that you aren’t alone!

If you aren’t able to improve your finish time by those extra five minutes at your next 50K, I doubt anyone will notice and you might actually feel a little better! Run free of the world and have fun out there.

(For the record I typically run with a watch, shorts, shirt, shoes, hat and a water bottle. I also own a heart rate monitor, camelbak, a couple halo headbands, various shoes, wool socks, and some wristbands.)

I needed a new watch and I lost a water bottle so I wanted to regear. Here is what I decided to buy. Another runner told me that he loves his Camelbak. I decided that it’d be better for me to have a camelbak if I want to either go on long runs (10+ miles) or mountain bike, so I bought this one.

Camelbak Octane XC

Then I bought a Polar that has a foot pod. I knew that I wanted a heart rate monitor so that I could know if I’m running in the appropriate zones. The Garmin isn’t as good at that. I also wanted to avoid the GPS. For one thing it has a terrible battery life. 5-10 hours is probably ok for most athletes but it’s not if you want to run ultramarathons. I don’t want a dead watch. Furthermore, the GPS itself isn’t quite as accurate (I know there is debate) because it doesn’t catch the subtle movements. If you cross the trail a few hundred times in a run the GPS won’t register that extra mileage. A good foot pod will. I went ahead and bought a Polar that will do just that.

This weekend I went to new outlet stores in Houston because they have quite a few sports stores. I went to the Columbia, Puma, and Adidas without buying anything. Then I went to Nike and found some things I wanted to buy. The best was the New Balance store where I found a couple new shirts, a pair of shorts, laces with the little built in notches, and other things I wanted to buy.

Either New Balance is making their new trainer with gold or Endless.com needs a better proofer on entering prices. Either way, you will not ever get this much of a savings again.

Oops, I would be negligent to not amend that last post with a couple more of my very favorite things. I wear a lot of stuff on my body to stop the sweat or protect my eyes or serve both functions at once.

I sweat a lot. If it’s in the 70s or higher I will sweat to a gross level. Even if it’s in the 50s or 60s I sweat. That’s just the way it is so I have to buy gear to help out with it. I also get a runny nose in all weather, although, it’s worse in cold weather. So here goes…

I typically run with a special hat that both wicks sweat and protects my head and eyes. I hit branches so often that I probably should wear a helmet, but I do well enough with a nice hat to protect from scrapes and scratches. The bill of the hat has a black bottom to keep the reflected sun off the ground from further reflecting back into my eyes. It’s lightweight and does a great job at absorbing sweat and getting it off my head and face.

Some days I decide that I don’t want to wear a hat. I still need to protect my eyes from sweat, so I’ll wear a headband. I tried to run with regular terry cloth headbands, but they didn’t do enough once they were saturated with sweat. Now I have a couple Halo headbands that help me on all my hatless runs. Halo headbands have a little rubber inlay that presses against your skin just enough that the sweat will go around it. Thus the sweat is relegated to the sides of my face where it doesn’t interfere with my eyes. This is less burning eyes and less trying to wipe the sweat from my brow.

Finally, I have become a fan of running with a wristband or two. I didn’t see the point of a wristband in running because a little sweat on the hands never hurt anybody. But when I heard someone say that they make a great alternative to carrying a bandana or something to wipe your nose I was sold. I don’t like blowing my nose into the unknown at the side of the trail because I think that’s a little gross for runners around me. I also don’t really like blowing my nose into my shirt because I also wipe my sweat some with my shirt. So it makes perfect sense to have something on my wrist that can just wipe that snot right off. They are cheap to buy in bulk and easy to wear on your arm.

I think that’s all the stuff that I really love to use in runs. Of course, there are always the little things that come in handy too but that’s the bulk of it.

Here is some of the stuff I would sponsee if only they would accept me…

I can’t live without Gu. I typically take about one every hour when I’m on long runs or long races. I’ve also become quite fond of Powerbar gels.

Closely related: I love Clif Bloks — especially the raspberry flavor. They are very easy to eat on both runs and bike rides. For proper hydration, I like to use Nuun to keep my hydration going well. This last race I didn’t bring any and I paid the price for it.

I’ve got to have a good jacket and tights (that aren’t too tight) for when it gets cold. I like Brooks clothing in cold weather running.

I also wear Brooks shoes on almost all of my trail runs. Occasionally, I will wear a pair of Sauconys.

If I’m going to run a road race it’s a different story for my shoes. I will usually wear either my standby pair by Saucony (not the same shoe) or my new pair of Pumas that kick butt.

I wear any type of technical shirt, any shorts that have enough pockets for anything I want to carry, and always put on a nice layer of Bodyglide before I get dressed.

To keep the trail in check, I like to wear a headlight on my head. I prefer to use Princeton Tec because of it’s long battery length. If the sun is out, I will wear Smith Optic sunglasses because they make it easy for me to change out my lenses.

In my hands I will carry an iPod (very rarely), a water bottle (the hand-carrier available on the cheap at Target work as well as the Nathan bottle I have except a little less storage space) , and a cheap Timex watch with a stopwatch, timer, and alarm on it.

That’s the type of stuff I use on most of my runs. Enjoy!

Should races and the USATF ban iPods? I don’t have much of a stake in the debate, because I rarely run USA Track & Field (USATF) certified courses, but I don’t think wearing an iPod — or other electronics device — in a race is that big of a deal.

1st the USATF has argued that it’s for safety and insurance reasons. This is a facially bogus claim. Insurance could be handled with a simple assumption of the risk clause or closing the course (like Portland Marathon has done) or both. With assumption of the risk it just has to be made clear that the decision of wearing an iPod lies with the runner and they accept the responsibility of any of the consequences (i.e. harm) that comes from it.

The other part of this that is bogus is that there are other devices that cause just as many safety issues. Perhaps we should ban people from carrying Gu and other energy aids? Many people focus their attention on those when they are simultaneously running and trying to open the gu.  Clearly, on an open course, that is a potentially dangerous thing.

Of course I’m not advocating to ban this. I think it’s up to a runner to decide and to change the safety of the course for themselves.

2nd. It has been argued that iPods give an unnatural advantage. This is also ludicrious. Until the USATF bans energy gels, pace setting watches, GPS watches, pacers, splits, and other devices that might not be available from the race to each racer — it’s just a red herring. Courses want to encourage people to run and will allow certain devices that do assist in getting a better time if you know how to use them.

So do I think iPods should be banned in USATF races? No. I think it’s a stupid decision from the USATF. It’s just one of many that make me not want to run races certified by it.

Tomorrow I’m running in the 50K part of the Rocky Raccoon 50K/25K race. I’m happy because instead of the normal t-shirt, they gave out Brooks technical shirts with the race name and graphic. I love that they spend a couple extra bucks to give us something useful.

Just in case you were looking for some running shorts — Old Navy is selling women’s running shorts for 6.99. I’m not sure about the quality but they have side vents, sewn in briefs, and a key pocket. Seems like a good deal.

I guess that drinking a pedialyte-type drink has become more popular outside of endurance sports. Athletes I know who run ultras have been doing it for years after long races. I typically make my own rather than buying the stuff at the store. It’s easy enough to do and a lot cheaper.

Here is what you need to mix together:

• 8 level teaspoons of sugar
• 1 level teaspoon of table salt
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 liter of water

Don’t use artificial sweeteners or fructose (fruit sugar) in the place of regular sugar as it won’t provide sufficient energy.

I noticed today that my shoes, about 8 months old, were starting to feel a little too worn down. Feet are too important to mess with so I ordered a new pair of the exact same shoes.

Knowing that I would get the same thing, I decided that it would be smart to look for a good deal online. I ordered this pair through endless.com, which not only has a cool site design but it has the security of amazon.com as it’s owned by amazon. Right now they will credit orders with $5 for the overnight shipping. That made my Brooks end up costing me $67 and no drive to the nearest running store (30ish miles each way!).

I keep seeing the various running sandals by Teva, Keen, and various others and think they look cool. However, I hear that they aren’t too great for trail running because rocks and debris will get lodged in them. Does anyone have any experiences with trail running in these things?

I wanted to say that I’m feeling 100% better. I went out on a seven mile run today in which I planned to kick some butt. My lungs and the heat got the better of me after about 4 miles, so I finished the 7 miles in 1:11 which is s-l-o-w. However, my first mile was in under 8 minutes which was nice.

With the past couple races, I have noticed that the foliage, scrambling, and water hazards have cut my arms and legs a little bit. I use Doctor Burt’s on them and they heal up in a day or two. It is much better than anything else I have used.

A friend in my running club let me know his trick for drying out shoes. As you might have read, my most recent race had a down pour of rain and then plenty of mud. I decided to clean out my shoes. Regardless of the washing shoes, they would have been wet and in the need of drying them out.

The problem is that you shouldn’t dry shoes in a dryer. Aside from how noisy it would be, they don’t hold up well with that sort of intense heat. If you set them in the sun, it can take awhile for them to actually dry.

My friend told me to put them by the vent on your refrigerator. It works perfectly! If the vent is on the front, place your shoes on the floor. If your vent is on the back, then you can try overhanging them a little on the top of the fridge.

Despite the rain, I decided that I would go on a quick three or four mile run last night. There was a lull in the rain, so I figured I could miss most of the rain, which I did. I also wanted to try out my new hat and gloves in the colder weather. I’m happy to say that I was so warm that both my hands and head were sweating a little.

After I made it out a mile and half, I decided to turn around and head back in. It was sort of errie at the lake because the only things I saw were the flooded lake and a few random cars parked along the side of the lake. I’m guessing the people inside of them were only there to make out on that somewhat secluded road.

I did have my flashlight with me, so I felt pretty safe, and was going back at a good clip. I was able to see about a 100 feet in front of me a lone runner was coming the opposite direction on the path. When we crossed, he turned around and asked if he could run with me. Of course, I said that I’d be happy to have someone else out with me.

He let me know that he’s training for the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth and was out on an 18 mile run. I think he was also a little lonely out there as there was really nobody running. This wasn’t even late, maybe like 5:45 or 6pm. It was great to have someone come over and decide to run.

Nick, if you happen to run across this, thanks for running with me for a couple miles and best of luck at the marathon.

And this is not in a running injury or toenail losing sort of way, it’s my socks! I just bought a couple pairs of those toe loving injinji’s and they are goofy feeling. I like that they are like gloves for the foot. I bought a pair of comfort ones to wear around the house and a pair for trail running. If all goes well, I will buy a couple more pairs.

While I don’t like the taste, I do enjoy the end result of Recoverite. Until this year, I would just drink a lot of Gatorade and water after a long run or race. However, the people at the Ultracentric gave us a promotional packet of Recoverite and I love it!

After my 10 mile run on Monday I finished things up with a water bottle full of this. It helped me a lot with my muscle soreness the following day. I encourage you to try it if you also get sore after long runs.

I have 7 pairs of shoes! I decided to walk around my apartment and count the number of running shoes I own. These, mind you, are all ones that are still in proper condition for running. Maybe I should stop buying them for awhile?

Just a boring three mile run today. The wind was blowing like crazy, so I enjoyed powering through that. To make up for it, I went and bought some new trail running shoes at DSW. I ended up getting the Saucony Excursion shoes which I’ll try out soon.

Daylight Savings Time has always presented a problem for me because the daylight hours shorten which leaves me less time for running. I know many runners will either turn to cross training, treadmills, or simply take time off but I enjoy night running.

Recently, I have been going on runs around White Rock Lake with after the sun has set because of the peace and focus I can achieve. It’s very satisfying to focus on one small area of space as you run without worries about the world around.

Night running is certainly more dangerous, so I would not recommend it to everyone. Most importantly, you have to have a running partner if you are going to run safely. I think running partners and running clubs are very beneficial to running in general, however, I think it’s essential if you’re going to expose yourself to the dangers of night running. This means that the group or partner should adjust their speed to make sure the entire group is running together.
Slow down. Night running isn’t meant to break any records and it’s going to be a little more difficult to react to your surroundings. This is most applicable when you are trail running at night.

It’s important to have a good headlight or flashlight or both. Petzl and Princeton Tec make light weight headlights that will light a 60 yard area as you run. Lightweight LED flashlights are also a good option if you want to carry a handheld light. Make sure that you pack a extra batteries if you plan to be out on a long night run.

It’s also a good idea to let someone else know that you’re going out on a run. I have really enjoyed all my night runs and always look forward to this time of the year when the runs are still early enough in the evening that I can get a few good miles in before heading home.