Boston Marathon 2017: The Gear

Despite the other things that went wrong, my gear was absolutely RIGHT! So I wanted to share what worked so well for me.

Tank: Custom from Hyperthreads! They are THE BEST. Before, Kindal and I had talked about putting our names on plain tanks with vinyl, but that seemed so boring and I really wanted a quality top for 26.2. We were talking about it during a trainer ride, and I commented that I just really wished you could have pockets in the back for a marathon like you do for triathlon... And that's when the lightbulb went off. Of course! So I got in touch with Hyperthreads and they were all for it. They took my rough design idea and made it infinitely better, and then made my dreams come true with these amazing tanks! The fabric is SO breathable and dries quickly, which turned out to be clutch on a hot marathon day. The pockets were perfect and I loved not having to fumble for my gels and salt. And they looked SO good!

Sports bra: I realized I never mention this, but my favorite for days that count is actually the high impact from GapFit.

Sunglasses: Rudy Project Momentum! Rudy's are my *favorite* because they perform really well for the run and bike but also look awesome. I wear them as my normal daily sunglasses, too! (You know, when the sun decides to shine in Ohio, ha.) I wore the pink Momentums for Ironman Florida and have been lusting over the blue ones. Rudy was nice enough to send them to us to match our outfits for Boston. They worked out perfectly on that sunny day and got so many compliments!

Shorts: It's all about the LBS -- little black shorts! Lululemon speed shorts have never failed me on a long run or race. I wouldn't run a marathon in anything else.

Socks: White ProCompression. I actually didn't have plain white and ordered them too late, so my friend Tam came to my rescue and sent them with my momma!

Shoes: The new Newton Running Gravity 6! I was thrilled/relieved when these were released just in time for Boston! Newton was awesome and got them to me a little early so I could break them in before the race. The new foam in ultra responsive and oh my word, the saturation of that pink is heavenly. Love.

Sunscreen and ANTI-CHAFE!: Both from Zealios Sport. I use Zealios sunscreen for Ironman because it's waterproof and super-long-lasting. I also use their chamois cream on the bike, and had the brilliant idea to pack it for Boston to use as anti-chafe on my thighs and underarms. And I made it through a hot marathon with ZERO chafing! I've found my new favorite trick.

Headphones: This was my fail. I've used Yurbuds in the past, which are great at staying put. And last summer, I upgraded to bluetooth Jaybirds -- SO nice! But I lost one of the ear pieces and had so much going on that I neglected to get a replacement... and got stuck with my basic wired Apple headphones (thanks to not having a phone jack in the new iPhone). Whomp, whomp. It was annoying to have to adjust them and I was wishing for my Jaybirds! The less you have to worry about, the better.

Phone holder: The RooSport. I usually have my phone in a handheld water bottle case (by Nathan) for training runs but definitely didn't want to carry that for the race. I was also not in the mood for a belt of any kind, though I do have a couple that I like. So the RooSport was the perfect solution -- it's small and sleek and just magnetically clips onto your shorts. Super easy and effective! The only time this became a problem was toward the end of the race when my shorts were so dripping wet from all of my water-dousing that they were heavy. My Monday preschool alarm kept going off (oops) and when I finally got my phone out to turn it off, I was worried that I'd give people a show if I tried the RooSport back on my sopping shorts! Haha. But remember my tank pockets? Yep, saved the day again.

Turning off that preschool alarm! Haha

Great gear = happy runner!