New Gear!!

I am generally not the type to go out and spend too much money on the latest gear, running gadgets or apparel but I did just pony up some cash for running tights. Yes running tights...but not just any tights, these compression recovery tights from Skins are supposed to have similar effects to icing when recovering for a race, hard workout or long flights stuck on an airplane.

So how do they work, well full discloser that I have yet to receive them yet so I will want to post a review until I have had a chance to try them out. The general concept behind compression tights or any compression apparel is that it provides pressure on certain muscle areas to prevent swelling and help promote blood flow. While there is a lot of great studies and information on the benefits of compression wear for recover reason, which is what my new tights will be for, evidence on the benefits of wearing compression apparel during a race or activity is spotty at best.

So I shelled out $120 in hopes that these new tights will aid in my recovery, reduce the effects of jet lag on your body and reduce the amount of times I have to sit in a tub of ice. I did do some research and read some reviews on the different tights and these seemed to be the best. Skins Travel & Recovery compression tights, others that I considered were from Zoot and 2XU but Skins seemed to fit my needs the best.

Multi-Functional Running Gear:

I just figured out that my running head lamp also works great for a reading light. With 100 hour life on one set of batteries, you could even use rechargeable ones, you should get plenty of use out you headlamp now.

Nike Free

As some of you know I am starting to become a advocator for barefoot running or minimalist running shoes.  Well, Nike seemed to be one of the few companies out there that is at least trying to tailor to this audience.  The Nike Free series are shoes designed to simulate barefoot running.  Here is a good review I found on them along with another article on the top three companies producing minimalist running shoes.

Enjoy!

Nike Free 5.0 Running Shoes Review

Running Shoes That Promise to Improve Your Running Style 

New Running Gear

Salomon Speedcross

La Sportiva Crosslite

North Face E-Race BOA

North Face Thresher

I'm looking at getting some new running gear for a few trail races.  I took a look at some trail shoes and a few camel pack hydration pack.  As far as shoes go I think I'm going to go with either the Salomon Speedcross or La Sportiva Crosslite.  Both are trail running shoes and both are very much a minimal shoes relative to the average trail running shoes, which is what I'm looking for.

As far as hydration packs go I got to try out the North Face Thrasher camel pack and the North Face E-Racer BOA.  The Thrasher was nice but is was sort of big and it didn't have any water in it.  I think that the E-Racer is a little nicer, it is $30 more and it does have a new system that tightens over the water bladder so that as it empties it tightens and reduces the sloshing around.  But it does only have a 50oz bladder as opposed to the Thrashers 70oz bladder.