Recently when heading out for a warm easy run I got thinking about all the gear I was wearing; technical socks, shorts, shirt, hat etc, water belt loaded with electrolytes and gels, a heart rate monitor and a Garmin. With the temperature hitting close to 20 degrees for the first time of the season I pondered how much of this gear was necessary as I remembered back to the dawn of my running career pre-gear.
When I began running there were no hydration systems outside of holding a plastic water bottle and while there were gels available no one used electrolyte except for Gatorade. Before technical gear the clothing material of choice from head to toe was cotton, wonderfully soft, absorbent cotton. Thinking back to my first marathon wearing baggy loose shorts and a cotton singlet and where after months of carrying a plastic water bottle my training partner suggested we don?t bother and just drink at each station. While I enjoyed my race so much I was crossing the line thinking about where my next one would be I know the experience would have been that much more comfortable with my current gear.
Race day began at 6am in the pitch black already pushing 90 degrees plus humidity. Before our first water stop at 2k I was already missing my water bottle and when we hit the second water station everyone else was too as there was a dead stop line up for our 4 ounces of liquid gold. After the sun came up we ran through 24k as the race took us around the Richard Petty race track, one mile of heat sucking, shelter absent black top with the temperature touching 98 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Gels were available at 30k and orange slices at 32k; beyond that we subsisted on swallows of warm water and our knowledge that the finish line got closer with every foot step. Not knowing our pace or elapsed time we had nothing more than the race clock and our watches to remind us of how long we had been and nothing more than our ever reddening faces as a hint to how much longer we would be.
Looking back at our finishing photos, with shirts drenched in sweat, cheeks glowing, dragging ourselves across the finish line staring at our shoes it is an obvious reminder as to why I?m dressed the way I am on today?s run. While it can be done with any gear the technical stuff makes it that much more enjoyable.
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On April 23 Tracy Croll participated in the Uxbridge Half crossing the line in 2:50:35. For those looking for an event the Quinte West Half marathon, half marathon relay, 10k and 5k in support of the Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation will be held on Sunday May at Centennial Park. Also this weekend is the Health & Fitness Expo to be held in Belleville. For more information go to
http://www.healthandfitnessexpo.ca/index.html.
