New Gear.

What to do with some gift cards?  Buy new running gear of course.  I've had a few gift cards laying around just waiting for the right opportunity to use them.  Well, that opportunity finally showed its purdy little face yesterday.  Oh, darn!  Shucks!  I had bought some new cold weather running gear last month but have recently found that it keeps me a bit too warm so I wanted to get a few lighter items along with a couple of other necessities.

True Runner here I come (I'm so glad that they have come to Boston)!  I started out looking for a good windbreaker that would help cut that pesky wind while running along the Charles.  After much back and forth between three different jackets (my wife would say that it was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and then back and forth X 20), I ended up with the Infinity Elite Series from PEARL iZUMi.  I ran today with it for the first time and absolutely loved it!  It kept me so much cooler than the Nike jacket that I previously had been using.  I even got a compliment from someone who said that they liked it so I guess I did OK. 

New Gear from True Runner

The next item on the shopping list, a new hat.  The cap that I had previously was a fleece hat and completely trapped the heat in and created "Mr. Wet" head.  I would always have completely drenched hair after running in it.  The first hat that I picked up yesterday was the one that I ended up getting.  This time only one back and forth.  It was a Nike Dri-Fit Stay Cool cap which allows the moisture to wick away.  I wore it today for the first time and loved it as well!  It kept my head warm and just a bit moist.  So much better than having a full head of wet hair like I had just stepped out of the shower.

Socks. Seems like a very simple thing.  I found out that it really isn't.  I have some Asics socks for training but felt it was time to get some new socks while stepping it up a notch (no pun intended... well maybe it was).  Who knew that it would take me forever to figure out which ones I wanted to get this time around.  After much back and forth (I won't even list how many there were this time around as you would be so bored with just reading them over and over again).  I decided on the Feetures! Elite socks.  I was told that they have more compression than most socks.  Boy, was that an understatement!  There is a lot of compression in them but felt that that was a good thing when I took them for a run today.  It took a bit to get used to them but I think that they are going to work out well.  I think that I'm going to try wool socks next (no, not the scratchy sheep smelling ones).

I finally picked up a foam roller too.  The "Original The Grid" is the one I decided on.  I've heard so much about them and have wavered on getting one but figured that I should give it a shot.  I've used it a few times and it is great.  Definitely worth picking up.

Finally, I picked up some re-fueling gels.  I'll get into refueling and all of the different gels that I've tried in a future post.

Getting the right gear definitely makes such a difference in helping to make the most out of a run.  The better equipped that you are the better you will perform and the better you will feel about what you have done.  Thank goodness for those gift cards!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!