Gasparilla Recap: Part 3: My Gear

I hope you guys are enjoying reading about my first race!  If you missed my earlier posts, you can check out Part 1:  The Race and Part 2:  Preparation here.


In this post, I wanted to talk about the all-important topic of What I Wore on race day.


Accuweather was calling for temperatures in the 50's or 60's with 40 mph wind gusts so I was pretty sure I wanted to wear something that would keep me warm while we waited at the starting line.  I bought a cheap sweatshirt at a local thrift shop (it had a skull and crossbones on it to go with the Pirate theme!) that I wouldn't feel bad about leaving behind when I warmed up.  My plan was to just toss it into a trash bin or leave it on the ground so it could be collected and donated to charity after the race.

Underneath my throw-away layer, I had on a dry-fit long sleeved t-shirt (Brian's from one of his Marine Corps Marathons that he ran, I wore it for good luck!) and over that was a short-sleeved t-shirt.  I wore some running capri-length tights and my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11's with blue Superfeet orthotics inside.  Luckily, I ended up really happy with the outfit I had chosen, it provided just enough warmth until I got warmed up enough but it also allowed my sweat to dry quickly.  

I also wore my new iFitness belt which held my cellphone (so I could take some pre, post and during-race photos) and our car keys.  I had bought the belt the day prior at the Expo after comparing it to the SPIbelt.  Honestly, I think I would have been happy with either brand but the SPIbelt folks at the Expo were sold out of their water-proof all-black belt, so I went with iFitness and I'm happy with it (and it was a few dollars cheaper).  It didn't bounce or ride up at all and it fit my iPhone and my car key fob perfectly, I completely forgot I had it on because it was really quite comfortable.  I'm excited that I bought it because I can wear it on my long walks with Hudson and have somewhere to hold the house key and my phone and still have both hands free.

At the race expo, I picked up a cute pirate Chica Band to wear during the race.  This was more cosmetic than functional but it stayed in place perfectly during the race due to the velvet backing on it.  The shop had lots of cute colors and patterns but I decided on the pirate band because after all, it was Gasparilla!

I also wore my cheap Target watch and sunglasses.  I used the stopwatch feature to keep track of my splits at the mile markers to make sure I was on target with my pace.  

I did NOT wear my Gasparilla race t-shirt because I don't know about you, but I just didn't feel right wearing it before having completed the race!  Brian didn't have any problem with it so he wore his.  So did a lot of other runners, I guess just didn't want to jinx myself (?!)

You can kinda see my iFitness belt in this photo.  Brian didn't feel weird about wearing his race shirt to the race!

I also didn't run with my iPod this time.  Brian and I were running together so I didn't think I would need the distraction for the race.  I didn't miss it, but usually when I'm running alone I have my iPod nano that I wear on an armband, it works pretty well for me.

I wore my race t-shirt on Monday, AFTER I had already completed the race.  And I love my iFitness belt for walking Hudson - I just put my iPhone in there and I can listen to music, podcasts, talk on the phone, whatever!

Well, I think that's about it.  I'm sure as I run more I will get more and more gear but for now, this stuff does the trick.  First on my wish list is a Garmin GPS watch!  But they're pretty expensive so I think I may be waiting for a while :-/

Stay tuned for my last post on the Gasparilla 8K!  I'm going to talk about recovery from the race, what I learned from the experience and my final reflections!

What is your must-have running gear?  What do you have to run with?  What gear or gadgets do you recommend?