Christmas ideas for runners! (Aka stuff you can buy me)

I have a confession: I hate spending money on running gear. Hate it.

I will drop $100+ on a race and not think twice about it (hello, Nike Women's Marathon) but if you ask me to spend that much money on a jacket that I will wear daily for months it makes me want to cry.

Because of this I love Christmas because I can ask for whatever I want and then let someone else pick and choose what they want give me and I am truly happy with anything I get. The socks I wear are $10 a pair and even just one new pair makes me giddy. I mean, what better way to celebrate the birth of the messiah but with new shoelaces? Honestly.

Here are some ideas of things that I personally love that the runner in your life (or you!) might enjoy.

A good winter running jacket
If you live in a cold climate then winter running can be extrememly rewarding if dressed properly for it but they can be pretty expensive. I just got this jacket during my running store's Black Friday sale and while it was painful to fork over the money for it (I did get an awesome deal though) I have run with it every single day since and I have no idea what I did winters before this without decent outerwear. It keeps me warm but not too hot, water and snow run right off of it and it has a lot of reflective bits. I'm in love.

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Winter running pants

During the sale I also picked up a great pair of running pants. I really like how light they are while still keeping me warm but not TOO warm. That's the key, not overheating. I don't know how these will compare to my beloved Under Armor winter pants (that don't fit right now so that is the last we will speak of them until they do) but in 30-40 degrees they've been awesome.

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Running mittens

The worst part about winter running (in my opinion) is wet feet. The second worse is cold hands and the best way to prevent that it by some good mittens. The problem is that they are expensive. $30 for mittens is CRAZY so your runner might not want to buy them for themselves! But let me tell you what...they are worth every penny. Mittens allow your hands to stay warmer than gloves because they let the heat from your fingers combine instead of seperating them it to their own personal isolation cells where no heat can mingle. I don't have running mittens right now but that's probably changing this weekend before I find my fingers falling off in self defense.

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Smartwool socks

Wet feet, you say? Get your runner some Smartwool socks. They are usually around $20 a pair which is enough to make me hyperventilate when I think about buying more than one pair at a time but a pair as a little gift would be perfect (do you need my address? Let me know). They are too much for me to run in in the summer but in the winter we are solid (they are all I wear to work in the winter, too which is classy when my dress pants ride up and you see my bright green knee high snowboarding socks but I won't stop wearing them  and you can't make me!). My feet do still get wet sometimes but they stay warm and pretty happy and the people running with me don't have to listen to me whine...as much...because I always whine ;) And other than the thick hiking ones that I wear snowshoeing I run in pretty much all of the other ones.

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A subscription to Runner's World Magazine

This is one of the presents I have looked forward to getting for the last three years and my mom never lets me down, I love this magazine and have gotten so much knowledge from it that I would be sad without it. This year I am looking forward to my subscription running out so I can get it on my iPad and always have all the issues with me since I like to reference them. And by reference them I mean force people who could care less about running look at photos of what Kara Goucher eats post race (I have chocolate milk, in case you were wondering. It's the best recovery drink out there).

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The Runner's Rule Book

This book is a really easy read but pretty comprehensive on what to do and not do in the running world and even better is that it's FUNNY. New runners will find lots of great info (don't wear all black unless you're a ninja, the other runner's will laugh at you) and seasoned runner's will probably nod their head a lot and get a good chuckle from it (no, you're not the only one making fun of that person wearing all black). 

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The Runner's Field Manual

Written by the same dude who wrote the Runner's Rule Book, this is a bit more info on the running world written with the same ease and humor but in the style of a boy scout's field guide. I love this one equally as much as the first.

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Anything!

I truly love and appreciate anything that anyone gives me in relation to running because I rarely buy anything new for myself. There are tons of other things that you could give from big to small like:
-A running GPS
-Entry to a race
-A rack for hanging medals (check Etsy for some cool ones)
-A folio for storing bibs
-A handheld water bottle
-Gels or Shotbloks
-Get crafty and look up your runner's favorite race they've done (they probably talk about it a lot because we always do) and print a picture from the race and put it in a frame along with their race time and a spot for their bib. You can get the pictures and times just by using Google and digging a bit (but don't be googling my times because I am a tortoise right now but will still be fast enough to Mr. Miagi you in the face if you pick on my 10:30 minute miles ;)

So there you have it, I hope that helps someone!

Oh! And what am I hoping Santa will bring me this year?

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The Garmin Forerunner 10. Isn't she beautiful? Fingers crossed!

What are you hoping for this year, running or otherwise?

Socks, shoes and a few challenges.

Here's what's going on: I sit down to write, I start to write, I get a paragraph in, I get distracted by something really important like Instagram or watching the bun trying to hide my socks when she thinks I'm not watching and then it's game over. Therefore, you are getting some bulleted business so that I can catch you all up and get back to this blogging thing because I miss it.

-My running is going really well. My base is at a solid 10 miles and I ran the best run I've had in two years last Sunday. It wasn't that I was faster than normal, it was that I felt amazing. I finally got in my running zone and when I was done I swear I could have easily done five more miles. You have no idea how good that felt, it's what I have spent the last 6 months working towards. My goal is to run at least one 5 mile run during the week and one 8-12 mile run on Sundays until February when I start half marathon training again in order to keep my base solid.

-That being said I have committed (in my own mind, which is all I need) to the Runner's World Holiday Running Streak where I need to run at least one mile a day every day until January 1. I'm not sure how it's going to go on days that I leave at 6am and get home at 8pm but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. You can read about it here: http://www.runnersworld.com/cold-weather-running/2012-holiday-running-streak and I am wicked excited about it so I am sure I will check in a lot about it.

-I've finished several races since I last wrote: the Wineglass Half marathon in Corning, NY; the Empire Half Marathon here in Syracuse; and the Baldwinsville 10k Turkey Trot yesterday. Both halves went much better than I expected and I finished almost an hour faster than the half I attempted in March. I will try to remember to write about them. Hold me to it :) And if I don't here are a few pictures:

Wineglass swag! The medal is glass as Corning is known for the Corning Museum of Glass, one of my favorite places.

Empire bling

-I have found my holy grail of sneakers. They are Nike's and I have no idea what exactly they are but we are in love and I have no intention of cheating on them anytime soon. Well, not counting when I have to start wearing my winter Asics soon. Do you hear that faint sound of sobbing? It's my butt because they weigh about a pound more than my normal sneakers. But anyway, back to the Nikes. They are soft and squishy and amazing and don't give me blisters and they look cool and they don't really show dirt and even when I'm done running I don't want to take them off. All of these things are proof that we were meant to be.

My soul mates.

-I signed up for my dream race last week after waiting 8 months for them to announce the sign up and I will find out December 14 if I got in. Please cross your fingers, toes and pray to the makers of Cadbury Eggs for me (aka my version of Jesus) that I get in.

Yes, that is a picture that I took of my iPad with my iPhone while sitting in my car on a call on my OTHER iPhone. God bless technology.

-Enough about running, I have another challenge that I have put forth for myself and it's a little something I like to call Curltember. My goal is to curl my hair every working day from now until January in honor of one of my most amazing friends who had to shave her glorious curls recently for a reason that I have named Nipplegate. And that's all you need to know because it's her story :) I will tell you that my hair might not make it out alive but I'm doing it anyway out of 90% solidarity and 10% insanity because my hair is super straight and curl resistant and it will take an act of Ulta to get it to hold a curl consistently. I bought a Hot Tools curling iron today, a gallon of heat protectant spray and enough hair spray to turn Nutella into silly putty. Let's do this!

Also, that lipstick is my life right now. It's Mac's Creamsheen lipstick in On Hold and I'm obsessed.

-I went to my friend's baby shower recently and wore the amazing BCBG dress I wrote about a while ago (which, btw, is also an awesome date dress. It's an awesome everything dress) and my current favorite Nine West shoes. I still have no idea why anyone ever wears pants. I mean, I do sometimes but I don't like it. Not one bit.

I also ate cupcakes of the cookie dough variety and they made me not fit in my dress the next day.

-As for my back, it's doing ok. It was better, then it was way worse, then I found out I had a herniated disk, then I started back to work, then I started back to PT, then I got some narcotics, then I was told it isn't a herniated disk, then I got mad because I hate the human medicine world and that's where we're at. I maintain I have a herniated disk though and am just working around it accordingly. AND FOR THE RECORD: No one has told me that I have to stop running! Quite the opposite actually because the longer I run, the better my back feels (most days, some days it's not happy and I take it easier those days). It's funny how once you have an injury everyone magically has an MD and has an opinion about it which usually is 1) You need surgery and 2) You shouldn't be running. I do appreciate the concern but it gets a little frustrating after a while. It's been improving with PT though so I'm sticking with that for the time being and I have decided not to go for the cortisone injections that the unhelpful spinal doctor prescribed to me in my 7 minute visit, 3 of which involved discussing his cat. If I am not feeling better in a few weeks that I am considering a second opinion but only because I like answers. It amazes me sometimes how different veterinary medicine and human medicine is, it's not too often that a client will let you get away with "I don't know" in regards to their pet's health yet that seems to be a viable answer for my own.

/End rant :)

And with that I think you are all sufficiently updated on my life so I will leave you with a parting gift of the bun rearranging my socks when she thinks I'm not looking. The Smartwool ones are her favorite because they are more stiff than my Balega running socks and are therefore easier to throw. I think? Who knows, I'm not a bun.