Running Paraphrenelia

I love running gadgets. If it claims to make me run longer, faster, or with less pain, I'm willing to try it!

My husband is a minimalist runner. He runs in shorts and sunscreen. No shoes, no iPod, no athletic tape.

I, on the other hand am decked out, head to toe, with equipment that I think makes me a better runner. Starting with my fave aqua sox and extra padded non-cotton socks, I sometimes wear KT tape on my ankles when they hurt. I'm a sucker for compression tights; I don't actually think these live up to any of the claims of helping prevent muscle fatigue, but I like that they don't ride up like traditional shorts do when my thighs rub together. TMI, I know.

You won't every catch me running without my water/utility belt. I can't make it through a 3 miler without this thing on. It carries a 24 ounce bottle of Cytomax or Zipfizz and has a zippered pouch to carry chapstick, keys, snacks and my cell phone. I'm not in love with this belt, but it does the job. I really need something that can carry more liquid. I also have some difficulties with getting items out of the pouch. Today, for example, I smashed my cell phone when it slipped out of my hands trying to get it out of the pouch. And when I say smashed, I'm not exaggerating. It fell on the concrete, my running buddy kicked it, and the phone, the battery, and the back all flew in different directions. This was bad on a number of levels. First, we had to stop to recover the pieces (thank goodness we found them all and the phone was shockingly unharmed). Second, it stopped my fitness app that was tracking our mileage and speed. Thankfully we had already passed the halfway point and had turned around to come back. Anyhow, back to the belt. It serves as a good place to clip my iPod Shuffle, which I use with headsets custom fit to my ears.

Topped off with a dri-fit hat, sunglasses, and at least SPF 50, you have my standard running outfit!

Miles logged: 9