Saturday/Sunday

I actually wrote this on Sunday, but the internet ate it and I didn't have the will to write it over again til today. Take your pick, if you're training for any kind of long distance, either Saturday or Sunday is a big day for you. It's your long run day. Saturday is my day. And on Sundays, I do a little easy "couple of miles run." In honor of the weekend and long run days here are a few of my favorites running things (I use the term "things" loosely, they may be items or stuff I like about running): 1) Capri running pants. Fact: my thighs rub together. Fact: this is uncomfortable. Capri running pants are awesome because there is no ride up, no awkward, "oh hey, you, yeah I'm pulling the crotch of my pants down as I lope down the trail." And no excrutiatingly painful chafing. I'm ok with my thighs rubbing together, it's the way I'm made. I'm not ok withchaffing if it can be avoided. I have two pairs of capris, one pair is Addidas climalite and the other is UnderArmour Heat Gear. I love/wear them all year round. In the summer/fall/spring their my go to running bottoms. In the winter, I'll wear them under tights or warm-up pants for an extra layer on my thighs (which tend to get extra cold). 2) Brooks running light. It's probably not so good, but I like to run at night. I have a 12 mile route that takes me through DCs "party districts" (Georgetown, Dupont, and Adams Morgan) that I really like to do on Thursday and Friday nights in the summer and fall. In the winter I have a few neighborhood routes I like to run in the evenings. And so the Brooks Nightlife LED is essential. It's magnetic, so you can stick it anywhere and has blinking LED lights to make you more visible to cars, and other vehicles. I usually stick it on the back of my jacket or shirt so traffic coming up behind me can see me better (I hope!). I keep it in the console of our car, so I never forget to take it with me. 3) This American Life. It's my favorite thing to listen to on my iPod when I'm running. The shows are thought provoking, and generally about an hour and then um, narrated by IRA GLASS. I don't know what it is about his voice, but I could listen to it forever. I have a crush on Ira Glass' voice. There I said it. But seriously. TAL is perfect for running. It's gs your mind of the run and gets you thinking about the timely topic their discussing. It's easy to get lost in the story and before you know it, you've been running for an hour or more. 4) Trails. I am so lucky to live where I do and have access to so many fantastic trail systems: The Mount Vernon Trail, The Capital Crescent, the Custis Trail and the Washinger or ton & Old Dominion are all within a few minutes drive of me. It's got to be one of the best things about living it DC and what makes the great DC area so runner friendly. 5) Eastern Mountain Sports Running Vest. This is my go to base layer. It's made of "windstopper" fabric and so it's useful about 3/4 of the year. In the spring and fall and wear it over long sleeve AND short sleeve shirts and in the winter I wear it between my base layers and my running jacket. Think about the difference between a 30 degree day with 15 mile an hour winds and a 30 degree day with no wind. That's the difference between wearing the vest and not.