Time for some new gear

I read somewhere runners have a superstitious streak, and I'm afraid that I am one of them. I love new running clothes, and I will buy new running clothes without hesitation. The problem is throwing away the old stuff. And apparently, clothes do have a life, and even the best technical items will eventually lose some of their "tech" and decrease in how they work.

The weekend's long run was a 8-miler. Dave's driving test is Wednesday, and Ted promised to help him perfect the parking portion of the exam. The rest of the day's schedule was slightly tight, so the best possible itinerary meant I ran, while Ted parked.

I packed up my MP3 Friends and decided to do an out-and-back course, with some considerable hills, both steep and quick as well as long and gradual. Not even halfway through, the batteries died in my player, and the back-ups I carried were dead, as well (Note to Self: Remember to throw out dead batteries instead of letting them stay in your shoe pouch). I was forced to run the rest of the course with nothing but nature to entertain me.

The 8-miler turned out to be a 9.2, which I was happy about, until I got home and plopped on the floor.

Apparently, my sports bra and shirt do not love me as much as I love them. I am in pain...chafed, red, raw, and scabbed over. Ted made me promise to pick up new items today, and promise to also throw out the old (imagine that conversation: MAN: Honey, go buy new clothes. WOMAN: But I love my clothes right now, I've had them so long! MAN: Go buy new clothes). But my current running clothes have been through so much with me...I feel like I'm betraying them. How can I just toss them, like they're meaningless pieces of fabric?

But I will, only because a bust line of scars is not really what I want to think of when I think back on runs. I prefer medals as mementos, not scabs. So my shopping list today is a few new items of running apparel, power gels (now that the runs for Broad Street training are over 6 miles), and some body glide, to help un-do some of the painful damage that has already been done.