'Cuz My Gear

     First off, the title of my post is a reference to a song by rappers RiFF RAFF and Chief Keef. That's right, everyone, I'm that kind of guy. I warned you in my first post. Get out while you can. Here's those rappers in case you wanna check it out:

 
     Anyways, being that I was not a runner in high school, and to quote the great Kenny Powers, "I play real sports, Not tryin' to be the best at exercising," I played sports where having dope gear was integral. Look good, feel good, play good, right? So I though I'd talk about some of my gear that I'm using for my training because even though I have to look good for my training, believe it or not, this stuff is functional. Please do not mistake any of what I am telling you as being correct. This information is based on what some teen-aged kid working at Dick's Sporting Goods, named Kevin, who is on his high school's JV Cross Country team told me plus the experience I have with these products. I really don't have anything to compare them to, but I'll give you my honest opinion. Here is Kevin:

Side note: This is not actually Kevin.

Shoes
    So again, please take my disclaimer about none of this being professional, but I'd venture to guess that shoes are pretty important in terms of running gear. Maybe the most important thing. So now for a little information on my feet and how I run. I have size 12.5 feet and they are rather wide. I have a mid-foot strike when I run and my feet roll outside to in a little bit when I run. My feet are flatter, but I wouldn't really be considered as flat-footed. I suppose I should have really taken this information into consideration when selecting a shoe, but I know for a fact that running gurus would recommend Asics or something and I've never been about that life. I instead had a pair of Nike LunarGlide+ 4 Shield's catch my eye. Anyways, Kevin and I determined, based on a highly scientific method of trying them on, walking around, and agreeing that they look dope on my feet, that these were the kicks for me. I took them back, fully ready to crush a Boston qualifying time on my first run. Well, not exactly, but they are pretty nice. They're really stable which is nice for me, since I am just getting into running and I need good support for my weight. They are extremely light for a stability-centered shoe as far as I'm concerned. The cushioning is great as well, it is super comfortable throughout my whole run. I'm not sure this is what a fast marathoner would want, but for me, I am extremely happy with my dumb luck of finding these shoes. Plus, they're made in Vietnam, so you know they're good. Oh, here's a picture:

Socks

    I just wear Nike mid-calf crew socks. I should probably look into some of those fancy running socks, but Kevin and I couldn't really figure out what's so cool about them. Here is a picture of me shopping for running socks: 


Shirts
 
    So shirts are pretty important to me. After all, this is the material that is going to be best friends with your nips for 26.2 miles. I figure I had better make my shirt selection count to avoid lactating blood for that entire time due to chafing. So in natural label-hound fashion, I went with a Nike Sublimated Stripe Running Shirt. I won't bore you with long details, but it's a nice, light shirt that has that Dri-FIT stuff from those science fiction books, so I don't have to wear a ton of sweat during training. I think I'd like to eventually get one of those singlet shirts, but I kind of feel like that's a right of passage. What I'm saying I don't want to give off the impression that I think I'm faster than I am. Here's a picture of my fancy shirt:




Shorts

    Now that I think about it, shorts are more important than shirts. Yeah, because that first day I ran with compression shorts, I couldn't even walk, so when it came time to pick out shorts, I knew I had to fix that problem or it would be a very long, painful eight months of training. Similar to my desire to wear a singlet shirt while I run, I thought about getting a pair of those super short Larry Bird shorts for running, but I thought I would save people from the sight of my Colorado winter-colored thighs and opt for some longer shorts. I found a pair that I hoped would do the trick. I picked out some Nike 7" Embossed Essential shorts. They are also made of that Dri-FIT material to keep sweat from creating a sauna in my shorts and they also have that bathing suit liner thing, which, not to get too graphic, but it solved my chafing problems. Also, they have pockets, so I can carry my gummy bears and TPS reports and whatever else runners carry in their pockets. Here's those shorts for your viewing pleasure:



    So there you have it. That is some of my favorite gear. No, I'm not getting paid by Nike to talk up their stuff, but it sure would be nice. Hint, hint. I've found that finding the right gear even just to prevent small annoyances during a run, like sweat in a certain place, material bunching up, or material rubbing me makes my run a ton smoother and lets me go that extra distance. I know I should probably just man up or whatever, but when you're alone with your thoughts, stuff really gets to you. I'm looking forward to trying out other gear  as weather changes and my training progresses. Hope this helps. Actually, I really don't care either way, find your own Kevins to help you with gear.