Marathon Morning Checklist, Part One: The Boy Scout

So, um, I’m not a minimalist. Laugh if you must, but in honor of the Marine Corps Marathon, which Denise and I will be rockin’ on Sunday (send us good vibes!) we thought we’d do a sort of comparison of our running styles – and by styles I don’t mean pronation.

Unlike Denise, who will post her own take on this very shortly, after much trial and error, I have adopted the ‘always prepared’ Boy Scout approach: I'm now of the opinion if you even think you might need it, carry it with you. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.* (Monster-blisters on three continents’ll do that to you.)

Without further ado, from head to toe:

1. Nike Dri-Fit Featherlight cap – It’s lightweight, machine washable with a plastic shape-retaining brim, and the underside of the brim is black, significantly cutting down on glare.
2. Polarized sunglasses – I like to pretend I need them to shield my eyes from the gnarly windspeed I’m creating, but really it’s just because I’m a vampire who is hyper-sensitive to the glare of the sun.
3. iPod – I don’t care what the race officials say. That’s right, I’m a rebel.
4. Garmin Forerunner and chest strap – Never mind that I like knowing how exactly fast I’m running and how fast my heart’s racing, what I really want to know is how many calories I’ve burned, so I know exactly how many I can pile back on at my post-race feast.
5. Nip Guards and Body Glide on all my chafe-y spots
6. Fuelbelt – When I’m in my winter gear and I strap this puppy on, I confess, I do sort of feel like a superhero, albeit a superhero weighted down with: 2- 8 oz. bottles of water, 2 - 8 oz. bottles of Accelerade (grapefruit flavor, how I miss you!), a phone for encouraging where-the-hell-are-you texts from my peeps at the finish line, ID/Insurance Card/Keys tucked securely in a zippered pocket, an assortment of gels, and spare socks in a ziploc bag to keep me from sweating on them before I'm ready to
7. Old school nylon fannypack – Stylish or not, it’s still functional as hell. Just enough space for what I need it for, which includes: Tiny baggies of Advil and electrolyte capsules, 3M MediPore tape, collapsible scissors, sterile lancets for blister-draining on the go, alcohol preps to dry out my sweaty feet before applying adhesive bandages, and blister packs of tincture of benzoin to help said adhesive bandaging stick
8. Drymax Maximum Protection running socks – slipped on over feet that have been pre-taped and Body Glided in an elaborate blister-prevention ritual that would meet the approval of any practicing Voodoo priestess
9. GymBoss Vibrating Interval Timer – My newest gadget, with which, judging by my recent successful training runs, I hope to run-walk my way to my best time ever by at least an hour. (Hey, if regular walk-breaks will do that for my time, I will feel no shame!)
   
   Please join us again very soon when Denise will pose the question, ‘So, D, are you running this marathon, or are you going backpacking?’
   
   *Rest assured, if it’s on this list, at some point I’ve needed it and not had it.