The Gear I Wear

Hello! I hope everyone is having a decent Monday!

Yesterday was the SF Rock n Roll Half Marathon. It was definitely a fun race with excellent running weather. I'm not gonna lie though, I am just a tad bit sore from all those hills! The pain (and struggle of waking up at 4am) was totally worth it as the views were spectacular and running across the Golden Gate Bridge is an unforgettable experience.  I'm all about hoarding medals so I was so happy to add another one to my (slowly) growing collection!

But before I continue on with the rest of the race/ running post, here are some pics of my NOTD.  Feel free to check it out and then click out of this post if running doesn't interest you. It's okay, I totally understand! ;)

Not sure if you can really tell in these pics but the NYC color is this really pretty gray with a duochrome-ish finish! Kind of reminds me of the rainbow colors you see in a bubble.

Sinful Colors Mint Apple and NYC Rock the Party

Now back to the race! Since the part of the reason I signed up for this race (besides the medal) is to train for the full marathon in June, I decided to take it easy and not push myself too hard.  I would have loved to push harder but unfortunately that results in some bruised toes and I'll be out of commission for about a week.  I can't afford to take a week off because training for the full never stops! This upcoming weekend will be my longest run ever... 16 miles! holy smokes! And I certainly want to be in the best shape possible to tackle it. I'm kind of bummed that my time wasn't my fastest but that's okay. I'm sure I'll run another half sometime in the future.

I thought I'd share some of my gear with you in this post so that anyone that is a runner or is interested in running can benefit from my reviews/ experiences. First up I'll start with the shoe.  I'm still not quite sure what shoe is best suited for me.  I've gone to two different running specialty store and have been told two different answers in regards to whether I should be running in a neutral shoe or a stability shoe.  For this race season I started with the neutral shoe so I'm going to stick with it.  To me, it's a little late in the training schedule to switch shoes.  I can go in more detail if anyone is interested.  Just let me know in the comments if you're interested in knowing more about the differences in shoes. Anyway, I'm currently running in the Saucony Ride 5 (neutral shoe).  It's a pretty good shoe but I will say that when I first started running in them they gave my ankle pains (because my ankles were weak at the time).  

Saucony Ride 5

If you're in the market for a neutral shoe, I'd suggest you head over to a running store and test it out.  Definitely test it out before you buy it! 

Garmin Forerunner 110

I also run with a GPS watch/ Heart rate monitor.  The hubby got me this one for my birthday one year and I love it! I have pretty tiny wrists and this watch isn't too bulky for me.  A few downsides I've noticed is that sometimes it takes a while (minutes) for it to locate a signal depending on your location.  It's really only bothersome if you're in a rush. The other downside is that it doesn't have your current pace.  It has your pacing for that current mile.  By that I mean if you're running a slow mile and then you do a quick sprint for a short distance your watch won't reflect that fast sprint pace on your watch.. It will just average your time for that mile.  It's not horrible to me, I can live without an instantaneous pace.  I forgot to mention, this is the Garmin Forerunner 110.  You can find this on Amazon.

Fuel Belt Revenge R2O

The last item I wanted to share with you is the dreaded Fuel Belt (or Bat Belt as a certain someone likes to call it).  Before I started training for the full marathon I scoffed at the belt.  I thought (and still do think) that it is so freakin ugly and dumb looking.  Unfortunately if you run upwards of 12 miles you will need to take some water with you.  I'm not a fan of the Camelbak backpacks because my back gets all hot. I've only used this belt twice so far.  Once for a 10 miler, and yesterday.  Both times I found that this belt would ride up as I run.  I moved it up higher to my natural waist on the 10 mile run and found that it didn't shift that much.  That's why I decided to use it for the race.  I kind of regret it because it was annoying the whole time.  I started it on my natural waist but then it kept spinning around.  Eventually the two water bottles wound up in the front even though they're supposed to be in the back! And then because it was around my stomach it was making me nauseous.  All the water/Gatorade/gel packs I ate weren't moving anywhere and just sat there.  I actually felt like I wanted to throw up after the race (but I didn't!).  So my verdict on the belt? Undecided.  I need to find a way to keep it on my hips rather than my natural waist and also keep it from riding up or spinning around.  If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear it!

I hope some of you found this post useful! And I hope the rest of you weren't bored to death! =P