Running Accessories

I have an extremely difficult time purchasing things for myself. Especially expensive things. Go figure I would pick a sport that requires spending.

Races are one thing, because I am paying for the experience. I can justify that (even though I've had to explain many times the point of "paying to run").

Anything else beyond that I felt as though it wasn't worth the money/I didn't need it/I could just do this without all the expensive gadgets. Plus, I wasn't really planning on doing this longer than the first marathon. 

Then I got into it. I bought my first gadget, an interval timer that you can set up with your specific intervals and it will beep when it's time to walk and when it's time to run. Perfection! I no longer had to clock watch, which tends to make the time go by slower. 

Not long after that, my sister bought herself a GPS watch. It wasn't the first time I had seen one, but it was the first time I had seen one up close. I wanted one.. Badly. But I waited because I couldn't justify such an expensive item for myself. I finally decided to buy it for myself as a Christmas present knowing that I would wear it all the time and that I would get my money's worth of use out of it. 

Perhaps the stupidest thing to wait to buy was properly fitted shoes. I had lucked out for the most part by buying my shoes at Kohl's. I would try them on, walk around a little and I could usually tell right away if they would work or not. I saved money and it worked out pretty well, up until it didn't.

I almost quit the LA Marathon (and running in general) this past March when I was experiencing extreme pain in my feet and shins. I was urged to go to a running store to be properly fitted and was offered a new pair of shoes from my parents. Best decision ever! 

My GPS watch stopped working at the end of August. I was devastated. It felt as though I had lost a close friend. I was upset that I no longer had that particular GPS watch (which had been discontinued), but that I would need to spend money on a new one. Thankfully I didn't spend the same length of time debating as to whether or not I was going to buy a new one. I only needed to pick one and purchase it. I am actually using (and loving) the online features. I plug the watch into the computer every so often and am able to look at a lot of data, including a map with the course, elevation, weather and of course speed/distance, etc.

My first GPS watch.

My current GPS watch.

A couple of nights ago, as I was walking to the apartment from my car, my interval timer fell from my purse to the ground. It's been dropped many times and I have often thought of replacing it as it will often times stop showing the display. It still worked though, so spending $20 didn't seem worth it. Unfortunately, this last drop did it in and it no longer works.

I was devastated. It seems so silly to get attached to these things, but when they've been with you for over 1500 miles you get used to them. They become your running buddy and they help push you through difficult times. (Yes, I know I sound crazy).

It was time to order a new interval timer. I'm excited for the colors of this new timer and am expecting it to come in the mail early next week. Until then I am relying on other people and their timers when I run with them. Otherwise, I am just counting steps and although it gets repetitive it is what needs to be done in order to continue my streak.

The last thing I needed to replace were my running shoes. I calculated my mileage from my running log and realized that the pain in my foot (that I self diagnosed as bone spurs, tendinitis and a stress fracture) ended up being that I'm using shoes that have gone well over 500 miles. Although I had replaced the insoles and was trying to make them last just a little longer, I knew that the time was coming.

I am so grateful that I have a friend who 1. enjoys running and 2. knows how much I love running. She was kind enough to tell me of the Amazon deal of the day on Monday. It was 45% off on New Balance athletic shoes. The exact brand that I use. I called Patrick to ask if I could buy a pair. He kindly said yes, of course and I purchased a pair. I then realized that I had mentioned to my mom about needing new running shoes. She had offered to buy them for either Christmas or my birthday. I called her and told her about the deal and she bought me a pair too for when the ones I bought need to be retired.

They arrived yesterday and I guess I didn't quite realize how badly I needed new shoes until I saw the bottoms of both the old pair and the new pair side by side.

Now I just need to break them in. I plan on running today and tomorrow my normal 2 miles and then Saturday is a 14 mile training run. I might try to run again either tonight or tomorrow so that they can be a little more broken in before such a long training run, but I'm not sure if that will be able to happen or not. I'm not too concerned, since I had to break in my first pair pretty quickly before the LA Marathon, but I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be.

I know feel accessorized and ready to begin my Santa to Santa goal next month. I have everything I need: shoes, GPS watch, interval timer and most importantly the desire to do it.