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Marathon Gear: 18 Running Items That Got Me Through Training for My First Race

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I’ve been a casual but constant runner for almost 10 years: I’ve raced more 5Ks than I could count, sprinkled in a couple 10Ks, and even finished one half-marathon. But the full 26.2-distance remained elusive to me—by choice.

To be honest, as someone who has placed the highest personal fitness priority on strength training and lifting heavy, I just never felt the pull to shift my focus on my running to prep for such a distance. I’ve always run frequently, usually several times a week at four miles or so a pop, but never really purposefully. I saved the training logs, careful programming, and the majority of my effort for my strength training.

But then COVID-19 hit and upheaved my fitness routine, just like it did to everything else in the world. Even after gyms reopened in my area last summer, I didn’t feel safe going back until I was fully vaccinated, which kept me limited to at-home workouts for well over a year. Before the pandemic, I went to the gym all the time. It was such a habit—and in many ways, a respite—for me that I didn’t know what I’d do without it.

Turns out, I survived just fine with my dumbbells, a couple kettlebells, and an adjustable bench tucked into the corner of my bedroom. I’m not going to lie, I was thrilled when I was able to get back to my barbells, but my time away from the gym made me realize that it’s OK to experiment with your fitness routine a little bit, to try some new things out—and not have to feel so tied to one particular thing.

So when I was offered the opportunity from New Balance to run the New York City Marathon, I decided to take it, knowing that my running would move up to the front seat for a few months as I prepared for that distance. And yes, the training has been an adjustment—goodbye, long runs that are over when you hit the hour mark, and hello, ones double and triple that. Since I’ve always run, I figured marathon training would be like regular running, but just way, way longer. The same stuff that works for my four-milers should continue to hold true, right?

In some ways, that’s held up. But the gear has been different, in that I’ve learned through trial and error that running gear becomes a lot more important when you’re going long. Shorts that don’t bug you on mile three, for instance, might become a chafing nightmare by the time double digits roll around. And running gels and chews, which were nonexistent in my running life before, have become a necessity.

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Here are a few pieces of marathon gear that I’ve sworn by as I’ve prepped for my first take on 26.2, some of which I received as samples, others which I’ve purchased. If you’re considering your first marathon, maybe these marathon gear picks can serve as a jump off point for the kind of stuff that can help your long runs feel just a little bit better, too.

Source: Self

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