My Running Essentials: The Oscar Edition

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So today I decided to write about my favorite running essentials; the things I need to get through a long run or a race. Because it's the night of the Academy Awards I decided to do it Oscar's style.

And the award for:

1. Best Essential in a Supporting Role goes to:

Jelly Belly Sport Beans
$2.29 ea (I bought an entire box on Amazon, if you're going to buy a whole box I recommend the mixed flavor)
I love these! On long runs they truly make a difference for me, what could be better than candy with electrolytes?!

2. Best Essential in a Leading Role goes to:

Fuel Belt 2 Bottles (with straps over caps)
$43.00 from the Running Room
This is my 4th running belt, it took me that many to realize that I need to have one with the straps over top otherwise the bottles fall out as I run, though it must be where I wear my belt because I haven't met any other runners with this issue. My favorite thing to fill my bottles with is the lemon-lime Gatorade mix.












3. Best Costume goes to:

Nike Air Pegasus
The price varies between US/Canada $75 - $130 (go to an outlet)
Obviously footwear is the most important thing for a runner. I've tried other shoes and brands but these work the best. Also I've found that alternating between two pairs allows for each pair to last longer.
 







I have to say though these are a close second to my running shoes now:

CWX Compression Pro 3/4 Tights or "Magic Pants"
$89.95 (only available in the US right now)
I had mixed feelings about these at first but now I love them, I happened to not wear them for my run today and I totally missed them, I can't wait to get the full length tights for the cooler days.






4. Best Makeup & Hairstyling  goes to:

  

Lululemon Ear Warmer/Head Band & Body Glide 

For these cooler runs you truly can't go wrong with an ear warmer and some gloves, they're easy to remove as you get warmer and I am a much happier runner without frozen hands/ears.

I am not and will never be the type of runner who gets all dolled up for a run so the closest thing to makeup that is a running essential is Body Glide, it's the most common anti-chafing remedy out there. I put it on my feet, under the band of my sports bra, anywhere where you might be bothered during 21k of running.

5. Best Sound Mixing goes to:

YurBuds Inspire Duro
$49.99 at the Running Room
Despite their odd shape, these are AMAZING. I've had a lot of trouble with headphones falling out of my ears or getting wrecked from sweat/rain, these have solved both of those problems. So comfortable, a must-have.





6. Best Director goes to:

Garmin 610 w/HRM
$399.99
This is by far my most expensive item that I've bought for running but it's pretty cool! I hate to admit it but I've never actually used the Heart Rate Monitor part of it, I'll have to try that out. It catalogs and saves all my running data and automatically uploads it to my computer when I get within 3 meters of the syncing USB stick. I love coming home and seeing the graph and my progress. It also must have huge memory because I hadn't used the computer part for a long time and it saved over 30 runs.











 7. Best Picture goes to:

 (Left to Right: Nikki, Solana, Me, & Hilary)

Running Buddies
$PRICELESS
Best Picture, the one everyone waits for. By far the biggest running essential is running buddies. I have major difficulty doing any training runs over 10k by myself. Attending run club and all the races have lead me to meet some amazing runners and friends that are irreplaceable. The picture above is from the Vancouver First 1/2 Half Marathon. I also have many friends at the Running Room whom I don't have photos with like Tracey, Marijke, and Janette! Also, it's always nice to have someone to get a coffee with after a long chilly run!

I hope you've enjoyed my Oscar Edition of my running essentials. I'll be watching the Academy Awards tonight and eating leftover meatloaf for dinner, mmm!