• My favorites: the Nike Air Structure Triax 11+. Yeah, it’s a mouthful, but what a shoe! They compensate well for my flat arches and yet manage to feel delicious on. I take the sockliner out and insert over-the-counter arch supports, though the podiatrist has suggested custom orthotics that I haven’t bought yet. I wear these as much as possible on race day because my feet absolutely adore how they feel. I don’t seem to get a great deal of mileage out of them–the knee pain started at mile 260 on my first pair–but I absolutely love these shoes. I’m hoping to get more mileage out of my current pair by rotating them with favorite pair #2 . . .

• My next favorite, the Brooks Adrenaline 7. (I am waiting for the 9 instead of wearing the 8. ‘Nuff said.) Feels great on, gives the old pancake feet plenty of support, and get more mileage than the Nikes–last pair went about 350 before the knees started noticing the pavement. At 9.5 ounces, they’re a half-ounce heavier than the Triax, and stiffer and less responsive, which is why they’re not my go-to shoe on race day. How ’bout the name for brilliant marketing? This from the same company that names another of its shoes the Beast, though. Gotta wonder.

• Ah, yes, the essential training tool–the Garmin Forerunner 205. Tells me distance, pace, time of day, hill grade, sunrise, sunset, and how far behind myself I am from the last time I ran the distance or the same course. Fantastic little tool. I’m not as yet anxious to upgrade, either to the 305, which would give me a heartrate monitor (I’m not that interested yet in another piece of data about my running) or the 405, which I hear is a little bit hinky. The 205 is just what I need. In the last race I ran before getting it, I went out way too fast and crashed at about mile 2. Garmie (and experience) will keep me from ever doing that again.

• This half-ounce light is made by FunSource in several colors, including orange, green, and purple. Mine is clear plastic but flashes red. And what a flash it is! This tiny light can be seen from quite a distance in any of its three patterns–circling lights, flashing, or steady. It is powered by two cell batteries that will be easy to replace when the need arises.

• I bought the hat first: the Boss bought it for me when we went to our last tennis tournament. I just got the visor, and I love it! The Feather Light visor reflects light, which is great for those of us, who, by choice or force, are part of the predawn patrol. It also does a good job of keepling sweat off my brow on those long runs when the sun rises at mile 8–in Florida, that can happen year-round.

• I experimented with Sport Beans for the first time the summer of 2008–my first summer of true distance running. Water alone is insufficient for 10+ miles of running in southeastern Florida during our hot and humid summer months. These small packs of jelly beans are great–easy to carry and manage, and also easy to consume as you can have one every once in a while and munch while you run. Good distraction, too.

• As much as I love Sport Beans, they’re not practical for runs at race pace–I know some of my running friends who can take solid food while they run hard, but my system isn’t that well-oiled yet. For race day, I had to experiment with Gu, which worked great! I liked the Chocolate Outrage flavor because, warmed in the hand for about a half mile or longer during the run, it’s really almost indistinguishable from yummy delicious chocolate syrup. Though I thought I might have trouble digesting it, I did not–yay!

• The Race-Ready shorts were an experiment initiated as part of my long-term plan for marathon training. I knew long long runs would require carrying some kind of fuel. I considered a fuel belt, but they all seemed uncomfortable. My long run route is also extremely well hydrated, so all I really need is pockets. Enter Race Ready shorts. Since I did need to carry two Gus for the 13.1 Fort Lauderdale, I wore them for that race, too.  The rise is a little on the high side, but I’m not out for sexy looks when I’m running.

• You don’t have to be a 400-pound candidate for The Biggest Loser to have some uncomfortable skin rubbing while you run, especially if you are beginning to extend your distances. You could use diaper rash creme, which I suppose has some properties to protect your skin, but why do that when a product exists to specifically address this problem–in adults? BodyGlide is odor-, color-, and, for me, so far, stain-free, though I’ve heard of instances where it has not been, so use at your own risk. In case you have this problem and don’t want to say this out loud, go to your local running store and pick up a stick. Glide it anywhere you might see fit–legs, underarms, bra line, feet. Slick is better than not slick and painful. Just sayin’.



• The Long and Lean tank from Target’s C9 line by Champion is my new go-to choice on most training days. It took me a while to make the transition to these tanks, mostly because I’m fairly modest and these tanks are fit fairly snugly. Because of this, though, they do wick sweat well and offer little wind resistance on those all-too frequent windy days here on the coast. In our not-too-cold winter, they make a great base layer because they fit so close to the body. I believe they’ll make great race-day wear, too, though they haven’t as yet been tested under race day conditions. The picture shows their most garish color, great for predawn runs, but the tank is also available in less neon shades.



• Target also sells these running tights by C9. They come to the knee and have small reflective strips the color of the tank shown above. The tights have a small zippered pocket at the back that would hold a car key or a couple packets of Gu (and maybe even both). As evidenced by the picture, the rise is mercifully low, and though Target’s inseam selection in their regular clothes is woefully slim, they somehow saw the light in their athletic department and saw fit to offer these tights in a petite size. The small runs a little large in the waist for me, but I hate tight-fitting running clothes, so it ends up being just right. In our corner of the woods, my coolest runs are in about the upper 40s, sometimes into 15-20mph winds, and these tights, paired with long-sleeve tech tees, have been just the thing.
• Discovered recently at the Expo for the Marathon of the Palm Beaches and now worn on every daily run, my new SpiBelt. You know, I didn’t really believe the hype when I read the advertising saying that you could put stuff in it and it wouldn’t bounce and ride. I mean, really. I’ve had bad experiences with fuel belts, and everybody knows that fanny packs stink. But this thing is genius. It’s built with pleats, so it stays flat if you pack light and grows if you stuff it (and I’ve stuffed it). And it does not bounce. Since my daily runs are completed mostly in the dark, the Boss prefers I run with my cell phone, so the SpiBelt is now part of my daily gear. The blinky light clips to its comfy belt, house key goes inside, and I hardly know it’s there. It’s also carried a few Gus on a long run for me before. Great tool.

• My handheld water bottle from Fuel Belt, the 10-ounce Sprint, is a new must-have for the summer months. I’ll confess that as the temperature begins to soar, I go through the 10 ounces quickly, in about six miles, so I need a refill or a bigger bottle. I’m reluctant to explore the second option because this one fits my hand just right. The two pockets are fairly large, considering how comfortable and lightweight the entire contraption is. Two thumbs up.