4.17.2011-My Favorite Things-Gear Talk Part 2

So, on one wrist I’ve got my fantastic Garmin 305. On my other is something more important (though not quite as tech-cool-fun)...my RoadID. While my Garmin is my favorite and one of my most useful pieces of gear, my RoadID is the most important for safety. It has my name, city and state plus the names and phone numbers of my 3 emergency contacts in case something should happen while I’m out logging miles. I’ve also got a “motto” on it-”Making it Happen!” It fastens around my wrist with velcro (have I ever mentioned how much I love velcro?) and I got it in basic black since that would match everything. It also has reflective stitching to up the safety factor when running while it’s dark out. If you’re not a fan of wearing something on your wrist, they also have ankle ones, dog tags and ones to go on your shoe. I picked the wrist one since a) I’m used to wearing things on my wrist anyway, and b) I’ve heard stories about people being hit by cars where they were knocked out of their shoes...so a shoe one wouldn’t really help if the shoes were missing. Interested in one? Check out www.roadid.com .

Another item I have for safety is my headlamp. I haven’t used it much since I’m normally doing miles while the sun is out, but with the sweltering SoFla summer almost here, I know I’ll be waiting for the sun to set before heading out during my summer training runs so I’ll probably be using it more. Mine is made by Eveready and I picked it up for somewhere around $15 at Walgreens. It has really bright LED lights and 4 settings-area, spot, flood and red lights for night vision (pretty cool but I haven’t found a reason to use the red ones). It has an elastic headband that just goes around the head, not over the top...I don’t even feel it when I’m wearing it since it just slips right over my hat. It also pivots so you can aim the light where you need it to go. It uses 3 AAA batteries so I use my rechargeables. It is available on Amazon as well.

When it comes to safety, I also always run with my iPhone and when I head out I use an app called Glympse. It allows me to send a “Glympse” to my hubby which shows him where I am the whole time I’m out...live GPS. He normally uses it when he’s on the road so I can see where he’s at while he’s driving. I send him a Glympse so he can see where I’m at when I’m running...so if I say I’m going out for 3 miles and I’m not back within a certain timeframe, he can use the app to see where I am in case something’s happened. The app is pretty cool and really accurate...and it’s FREE! Gotta love free apps that are really useful :-)

So that’s it for safety right now...next time hydration on the go.

Oh, and right now I’m in the midst of training for Disney’s Expedition Everest Challenge on May 7th...a 5K with integrated obstacle course (nothing too hard since this is Disney after all) plus scavenger hunt through Animal Kingdom. From all the feedback I’ve heard about the event, it should be a whole lot of fun...I can’t wait, only 3 weeks to go!