4 Pieces of Gear I fell in love with in 2011 and one that left me : /

2011 over and done. 

What a learning year it was for me.  Y'all got a front row seat.  Thanks for being interested.

Running over 2,500 miles in the course of a year gives me a license to have "opinions" on what I think is good gear.  Of course, you need to try things out for yourself.  But if you are looking for gear that was battle tested by a guy who gave a lot of things a try over the last 12 months...take a quick peek.

These are not affiliate links or anything so if you want to see the gear close up, hit the link.

Shoes:  Many of you are going to fall over when I tell you that my favorite running shoes of the year were not the Newton Gravities that I trained in for RAA1 and ran 20% across the USA in.  

Whaaaaat?

Yes, I am going to say that I am now a bigger fan of the New Balance MT101s.  Why?  They are light as a feather.  They don't hurt my achilles tendon.  They are great for trails...AND okay to run on the road with.  At $75 bucks they are about 1/2 the cost of the Newtons to boot!  And as my running buddy Hugh says, they are also sharp enough to wear with a tuxedo!

Socks:  I tried every brand of running sock known to mankind.  If you are looking for some great socks, try Northface brand running socks.  My wife says the reason I like them is they are clearly marked Left and Right.  I say I like them because they stay tight, keep your feet from getting blisters and if you are lazy, you can wear them with dress shoes as the tops are black! HA!


Best drink while running:  Another surprise. 

I drank a lot of Cytomax in the last year.  I am still a big fan of a bottle of Cytomax or two for recovery.  However, my favorite run drink for long runs is Ginger People's Ginger Soother with honey. 

For a couple of reasons...

First, when I run longer miles I some times get a little stomach anger.  Ginger Soother calms it right down.   Second, the stuff is super sweet and almost always gives me a sugar boost when I need it.  You still need to take eCaps or some other electrolyte capsule on a long day, but they go down nicely with Ginger Juice!


Best way to get 400 Calories into you: 

Moonpies...nuff said!

Finally, one piece of gear to stay away from: 

If you are looking for a running watch with GPS and heartrate monitor, steer clear of the Timex Ironman Series. 

Why?

The GPS function sucks.  I sometimes never get it to link up...45 minutes into my run.  When I do, it sometimes lapses...so my milage on new routes is always suspect.  Additionally, the battery life is low.  You may laugh, but sometimes when I run, I expect the battery to last more than 12 hours.  I was getting less than 8 when the HR monitor was running and 10-11 when just in GPS mode.  Also, compared to some of the other brands out there, the Ironman Timex is huge.  Not to mention the huge price tag!  ($360 bucks when new...)


Anyways, these are just my opinions.  I am sure you have some favorites as well!  These worked for me!

2012....here we come!