fanny packs are cool again. (ok, maybe just functional.)

I come from a generation that openly mocks fanny packs. Truly, not a whole lot could be dorkier or funnier, which is why I chose an NPR fanny pack as my donation "prize" a few years ago. I rocked the fanny pack long enough for a picture in the office, then eventually lost the dust-collected awesomeness in a few rounds of spring cleaning.

However, now that I'm running a lot I kind of regret the loss of my NPR pack. Sometimes on those long runs you just need the ability to carry more "stuff"....cell phone, keys, Gu (and transit card in case everything goes wrong...). If I could just get past the hardwired reaction I have to that Style thing.

Still, my man picked up a nifty piece of gear at a running expo in FL and I'm here to say I've seen the light.

The SPIBelt is pretty darned handy, and quite the upgrade from my public radio prize. It's stretchy, so it's always going to be at its smallest form around your waist. And, it's stretchy so when you want to overpack for your run it can accommodate most requests. I think at max we've gotten a full-sized iPod, a Blackberry (pearl), keys, transit cards, random spare change, and a couple of Gu shots in there. We could have pushed it but you know, that whole packing light to run a half marathon thing got in the way.

So far, it's also quite durable. And, it comes in many colors and varieties. And it's reasonably priced. They have several options on the website, and the one J got has a great system for attaching race numbers.

Embrace your inner dork. You already did with convertible pants, may as well go for the whole ensemble, right?

cozy and warm

Most folks in the Southeast (and elsewhere) are experiencing record lows and brutal temperatures these days. I ran this morning and can tell you it's the kind of cold you feel deep within your bones; I was glad I didn't check the Weather Channel's site until after the run (to find out it was something like 18, feels like 8). BRRRR.

That said, I found a nifty little companion on a recent trip, and after this morning's run I think it's my civic duty to spread the word. Namely, I picked up a "Turtle Fur Neck Gaiter" in a tiny, wonderful outdoors shop in Dillon, CO, admittedly because it was orange and soft. Also because, as mentioned in many other posts, I have a tendency to get and stay cold and I'm always looking for new tricks. (Yes, I also have the tendency to adore products with really strange names.)

That little "neck gaiter" you see pictured above rocks. A lot. The warmest part of my body this morning, by far, was my neck. And it's sooooooo soft. So fabulously, non-irritatingly soft. My sensitive skin was not at all unhappy. And, bonus, this is a cheap accessory. I think we're all glad when we get some relief in the budget department, yah?


I like especially that it's relatively small and lightweight (2.1oz!), and something I can easily take off when I actually get too warm but don't want to shed a full layer. And did I mention how soffffft it is? yeaaah...... :-)

Their company website is about as goofy as their name. You can also use Google Shopping to find these.

smart to wear

Reader Chris mentioned this in a post reply, and I thought it important enough to call out in a review. What you see pictured is the Road ID.

It's a pretty simple concept, really: print some basic information on a wristband and wear it when you're out running, cycling, whatever.

My father bought one for me when I was riding a lot, and I've since added it to my running repertoire. There are a few reasons I prefer this over some crap scribbled on a piece of paper and shoved in my pocket:

• It doubles as a light reflector. You can see for yourself in the testimonials that this simple attribute has saved lives: when a car's lights hit the reflective material, you are more visible than you were when you weren't wearing it. You may have other reflective material on other parts of you, but if that angle doesn't hit quite right you may not be visible enough.
  
• It is waterproof and easy to quickly put on. That scribbled note may get wet, you may not feel like writing stuff down, you may even forget to grab your id/insurance card/whatever in your haste to get on the road (if you're like me, anyway). 
• It is easily visible to paramedics or anyone else who may need to access that information. Admit it, you never think you're going to fall or have issues. You prepare pretty well, but you figure you won't fall on most (or any) of your outings. My father cycles quite a bit, and on one of his solo outings a couple of years ago he fell and blacked out—the folks who saw him fall were able to quickly call my mother and find out who he is without digging in his bag or pockets.
  

It really, truly is a cost-effective safety measure with several options for style, color, etc. If you don't want to wear it around your wrist, get it for your shoe or wear it dog-tag style. I especially like that it's not married to a particular pair of running shoes or glued to my bike.

I really recommend you nab one of these and make it a permanent part of your fitness/activity wardrobe. It just makes sense.

Because running hurts...

In case you have not figured it out yet from the abundance of running-related posts, two of the three Adventure Women are currently training for a fall marathon. I have been lucky this time around. With only 69 days remaining until race day, I am not yet hobbling around like an 80 year old woman without her walker from my training runs. Whether this is the surfaces I have been running on, my body's ability to adapt or sheer luck, I couldn't say. However, there was a time when I was not so lucky, training for my first marathon last fall...

Training for Marathon #1 was agony. For two months I had shin splints and walked around my office with ice packs tied to my legs under my pants (if you think I'm joking, it's only because you don't know me); then came the muscle tear in my calf after running the Silver Comet Half Marathon. For two months I continued to do training runs though my leg would occasionally buckle over and I was always in some pain. Let's just say I was not missing this race!

For awhile I ran with a brace over my calf when I could. Then a friend suggested the Stabilyx running tights from CW-X. They weren't the cheapest, about $80 on Zappos, but at this point I was willing to try anything to prevent falling on my face from my muscle's inability to support me as I ran (this happened a couple of times). (Caveat: Don't be an idiot. If you are injured, rest and let yourself heal. However, if, like me, you just plain are an idiot and you can't curb your running addiction to let a muscle tear heal properly, try these.)

Pros:

1. They provide excellent support for key running muscles, knees, etc., so as to reduce the potential for injury and shorten overall recovery time. (See product description for specifics.) I did a couple of very long training runs (18 and 20 miles) with these on and experienced no new injuries and little soreness on a relative scale.
2. They act as a brace for your already mildly injured muscles. Simply put, they helped support the calf that was ailing me. They were not a perfect fix, but they helped.
3. They support abdominal muscles. This can reduce cramping, in my experience.
4. They are warm. These are great for cold weather running.

Cons:

1. They are tight. I mean TIGHT. They are hard to put on. Out of the package, they look like they would fit an 8 year old. A small 8 year old. You also have to position them correctly to avoid reduced blood flow, which in my case caused mild ankle pain while running on some occasions. This pain was reduced/eliminated by adjusting the pants.
2. Attractiveness. Again, they are TIGHT. Muffin top is a possibility. Wearing shorts or a running skirt over them makes them less ugly. I advise it.
3. They are warm. I can't wear them for training runs in the summer.

All in all, while they have their cons and I can live without them, I like these tights. They helped me through a rough patch, they kept me warm on some really cold long runs and they may have even prevented some injuries (though who's to say). If you are training in colder months, wrestle with frequent leg muscle or knee issues or are just afraid of being derailed by such things in the future, I recommend these tights.

Grade: B

Stop! In the Name of Blood(y Nips)

Despite my habit of forking out money for the techiest of tech apparel, as a curvy female, I often find myself chafing in places that should not chafe. When hiking or biking, slathering some Bodyglide or Vaseline onto the chafe-prone areas prior to the activity usually does the trick, but when I’m running, mmmmnot so much – not in one very specific area, anyway.

Only that particular breed of masochist known as the long-distance runner will empathize with me. It wasn’t till I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, sweat drenched, chest heaving…

Wait, scratch that.

It wasn’t until I jumped in the shower after my first marathon and screamed bloody murder when the water hit my skin that I understood the agony that accompanies chafed nipples. And I vowed to never, ever experience it again.

Now, I am the first to admit that this is normally more of a guy problem than a girl problem (as jog bras usually prevent the problem in smaller-breasted women). I’d seen guys at the finish line with bloody lines extending down from each nipple, guys with band-aids, guys who’d lost their band-aids to sweat and friction, and guys with these weird octagonal-shaped nipples protruding from their Coolmax.

After experimenting with sports lubricants such as Bodyglide, Sportslick, and Hydropel to no avail – and being quite confident it had nothing to do with the level of support I was getting from my jog bra – I stumbled onto a product called NipGuards at a race expo. Basically, NipGuards are small octagonal pieces of foam with a strong adhesive on one side, which you stick overtop your nipples. The outside of the foam is friction-resistant, allowing whatever fabric that would normally rub up against your skin to move with ease.

I had my doubts that the adhesive would hold for that many miles, but I was willing to give it a shot. I was a little worried about looking silly, but I figured octagon-nipples (at approximately $0.90 a pair) were a small price to pay for a chafe-free marathon.

To my great surprise, the product worked like a charm – no chafing, no movement. The adhesive was strong enough to survive 26 miles and buckets of sweat and rain. They didn’t come off till I peeled them off in my post-race scream-free shower.

I will never run a distance over thirteen miles without them again.

Grade: A+++++++

'Tis the season...

...For running. Ok, actually, it's totally not, but this is the weekend of the Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest and most popular road race for reasons entirely beyond my comprehension, so I figured, why not write a review about running shoes and how to shop for them.

I learned the hard way that you don't just show up at the sporting goods store and buy the high-rated, expensive shoe. In January 2008, while training for my first big race, I decided that I would buy some "serious" running shoes. I promptly made my way to Dick's Sporting Goods, where I picked up a pair of $130.00 Saucony shoes that were heaven on my feet. (Of course, they were last year's model, and marked down to about half off. I may be an impulse buyer, but I am still cheap.) Runner's World loved these shoes and had them listed as one of the best of 2007. These shoes were so soft on the inside I wore them everywhere just so my feet could be in them. Totally jazzed about the new investment, I ran two 7 milers on a week when my long run was only supposed to be 5 miles. I thought I was unstoppable.

About 3 days after the second of these 7 mile runs, as I was running an easy 2-3 miles on the treadmill after work, I was in agony. That night my ankle was so swollen I could barely stand on it. I ended up with an overuse injury that put me out of the sport of running (and just about everything else) for about a month. Every day as I drove home from work and watched the runners in my neighborhood, I cringed because I could not join them. It was mental agony until early March. Was I able to run the half marathon in April? Yes, with Advil and effort, and everything was killing me when I did it. In May of 2008, a debilitating ankle injury and some nasty shin splints later, I finally cracked under the pressure and decided it was time for a stride test.

I made my way over to the Big Peach Running Company in Decatur expecting to break the bank. This was a specialty store where they would test my stride and tell me the only way I could ever successfully continue my running career would be to buy their $300.00 shoe with $150.00 inserts. My palms were sweating around my credit card, but I was determined. I had signed up for a marathon and I was going to run it.

What I experienced was unlike what I had imagined. Two salespeople measured my arch and put me on a treadmill, where I ran for several minutes in all of about 12 pairs of shoes while at least one other person and I watched the way my legs moved and discussed the effectiveness of each shoe. Now I was expecting to spend $800.00. Forty-five minutes of personal attention later, I settled on a shoe I loved - the Mizuno Wave Rider, which offered some support for a mild overpronation, but not so much that I would underpronate. Or something. Who understands that stuff? I closed my eyes and asked the price hesitantly. The guy said to me "$200.00." I said "Ok." Not so bad. "I'm just kidding, they're $97.00."

Forty-five minutes of personal attention, help from two salespeople, two different types of testing, and I spent less than $100.00 on my shoes?!?!?! Yes, this really happened. And I have been satisfied with the result. Of course, I have had injuries since then. I didn't stop running. Shoes are just shoes, not the miracle cure-all for your feet and legs. However, I could feel the difference in my runs, and I wasn't getting hurt every time I hit the pavement. I love this store so much, I will not buy my shoes anywhere else, even if I find them for a better price. I tell everyone I know to go there. If you are not lucky enough to live in Atlanta and have a Big Peach of your own, by all means, go to another store, but make sure you get the stride test if you want to be serious about running, and hopefully you will find a place that is comparable.

Grade: This store gets a resounding A+ rating from me. When I was at the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon Expo last fall and saw a pair of my shoes for $80.00, I wasn't going to buy them, until I realized the stand was run by Big Peach.

Tip for the Peachtree Road Race: Bring snacks and money for more snacks. Unlike every other road race I have ever run and despite extensive sponsorship, they do not feed you at the end of the Peachtree. Your muscles need calories to recover, so be prepared by carrying a post-run snack or some cash to grab one at the Park Tavern.