Five Running Gadgets I Can’t Live Without

Everyone serious about running, or any other sport for that matter, has a couple of items they absolutely cannot do without! These are my top five:

1. My iPod. I’ve been running with my three year old iPod since I started running 2+ years ago, and lately it’s been getting wonky on my longer runs (running over an hour), so I recently purchased an iPod shuffle! It’s been great (besides the fact that it wasn’t compatible with my four year old Macbook, but that’s a complaint for another time). Fortunately I got it synced up to my parents’ laptop that has Windows 7 and it works perfectly. I wore it on my 12 miler the other day and it played strong the whole time!!

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2. Running shoes. You can’t run without a good pair of running shoes. Well, you can, but I’m not that daring because I have bad feet. But anyway, I have horrible bunions on each foot…but thankfully I have been running pain free in my New Balance WR760s. These are my second pair and I’ve had no trouble with them. They are super comfortable and adorable.

3. Spibelt. AKA: the most amazing invention ever. This belt holds my cell phone and it doesn’t bounce up and down at all during my runs. I even keep my keys in here when I need to. Cannot run without it.

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4. A good sports bra. I need a good sports bra. I cannot run comfortably without this thing. I also can only wear a certain kind due to my…ahem larger chest size. (sorry if that was TMI, but it’s a problem a lot of female runners deal with.) I run in the Champion 360, and this thing has never given me any problems. A previous type of Champion sports bra ended up chafing my shoulders and around my rib cage, but found it was due to the fact that it was getting worn out. But this baby has been great so far!

5. Clif Shot Gels and Bloks. I ONLY consume these during runs that are longer than seven miles. AND let me tell you, they WORK. On one of my long runs while training for my first half marathon I was so exhausted I almost gave up after six miles. But after stopping at home for water and a Gel, I completed the remaining four miles with a great boost of energy! It was an amazing feeling. And they use natural ingredients so I know I’m not putting any weird crap or chemicals in my body. AND they taste yummy.

NOTE: I am not paid for my view on these products; these are my genuine opinions of the items I use that I couldn’t run without!

Anyway, this week my running has been cut back a little bit. I’m planning on running 2 or 3 days this week, depending on my schedule. I definitely plan on running a five mile run Wednesday evening, but it might have to be on the treadmill if the weather doesn’t cooperate. I’ve been getting so excited about the race and I’ve even been having dreams about it! Five more days!