Gear List

While I have some ideas about what to put on this little blog, I at least wanted to give you an idea of what I'm using and having luck with in terms of gear.  Every runner is different - we all have different preferences, goals, foot types, temperature thresholds, injury history - you name it.  So, please understand this is not a list of what I think you SHOULD use, it's just what I use.

First - shoes:

After flirting with barefoot running about a year ago, it worked out that while barefoot isn't a good choice for me, that minimal differential shoes are a great choice.  While many offer a definition of 'minimal', I tend to lean toward shoes that have a 4mm offset or less (heel is 4mm higher than the forefoot).  For a frame of reference, most shoes reside at about a 12-14mm offset.  So, here's my choice:

Newton Distance:

Why are there two pictures here?  Well, I have both of these and rotate runs in them.  Why?  Because while I have found the Newton Distance to be the best shoe I've ever run in, they are freaking expensive and I want to maximize both pair.  I'm hoping for about 500 miles per shoe, and with 216 on one and roughly 50 on the other, there's plenty of life left in both sets of lugs.  I'm also fighting the temptation to out and out review both shoes - that will come later.

Tracking mechanism:

The Garmin Forerunner 110 is, for the money, the best 'watch' on the market.  Most running watches are loaded with features, and in most cases they are much more than 'watches'.  It is true that one can find a watch with more features, larger readout, etc, they can get pricey, and look a bit like a laptop on your wrist. I've found this little device to have enough functionality to be worth the $125 pricetag.

Outerwear:

While I do have two Saucony 1/2 zip Sport-tops, I actually have 4 tops total in that style of different brands. I have found that for runs of any distance in temps between 20 and 40 degrees, I can be very comfortable with this as an outer layer and a compression base layer.  I prefer (in nearly every context) technical running gear to cotton or wool.  It's what I'm comfortable in and keeps me from going Andy Bernard.

I also do sport calf sleeves from time to time depending on the goal of the run and how much extra support my body is asking for.  I've had the best luck with CEP sleeves (a review of different brands is coming), and they are literally the only piece of gear that I thought were a gimmick, tried them out, and turns out they're not.  The science of shoes is well documented, and, frankly there's enough 'science' out there to make a case for literally every style of shoe.  I always thought that sleeve 'science' was sketchy, but the proof is in the pudding - or that is to say, how great my lower legs feel when I wear them versus not wearing them.  I have found that they are of the most benefit on runs of 10 miles or more, but I think anyone could benefit from them.

Finally, when I do listen to music on the road (which is about 30% of the time), I still stick with my trusty SanDisk Sansa mp3 player.  Why?  Because it runs on batteries.  Normal ones - and computer time is at a premium at my house and so are the charging areas.  So, for no other reason than that, I want to just put a regular AAA battery in my music player and go.

So, there's a list of the major pieces of gear that I use on a regular basis.  Believe me, I have more stuff :)  This is enough to get rolling.  

Have questions about your gear or anything worth sharing - please, comment away!