 against your head, really nice so there's no air flow into your ears, but... We're at an upward happy weekend everyone. We did it. We made it through another seven days of very strange times, but we're making it through together. Thanks for stopping by on your weekend to the channel. And yes, we're talking about essential running gear that I use almost every day, basically every day. There's a few items that I may be like, for example, blister care. I finally found something that's working for my blisters. Hopefully I won't have to use these every day, but let's dive in. And yes, the question of the day connects to essential running gear. And I like to make a vlog like this maybe once a quarter. I think it's been a, maybe, I think it was December was the last one that I made. Just a little check-in on my gear and I'm excited, excited. In fact, if you're new to running, I would recommend keep listening, but scroll down to the comments because I know there's gonna be a lot of great comments that roll in with respect to different types of running gear out there on the marketplace to end the, oh yeah, simplicity. Running is all about simplicity in my humble opinion. We don't need very much running gear, but there are a few little items that help. You know, just little tips and tricks that, you know, runners that have been running for like for example, these new blister pads that I'm using now. I actually have never used, I've always been a band-aids guy, but the band-aids were not working, but thanks to some recommendations from viewers out there, they said I should try these and sure enough they're working. So I'll get to them in a minute, but again, we just keep it simple, but there's a few items that do help for runners. Okay, we're gonna, I'm gonna start on the head and work our way all the way down to the feet. And I could, oh my goodness. Yeah, there's, there's, like for example, I'm not gonna talk about shirts. I'm not gonna talk about running shorts. That is a whole another genre of running gear that is, there's a lot of different types of running shorts out there. All right, everyone, here we go. So starting with the head, you all know how much I love my green Solomon running hat, but sadly, everyone, sadly, this green Solomon running hat is not even holding its water even close to this new compressed sport hat that I'm now wearing a lot. So breathable, so lightweight. There it is on your screen. Now, they don't give it away, but I must say, if I was training for a 50k, a 50 miler, a 100 miler, I would 100% probably race in this hat. Now, as I get older, my eyes are very sensitive to the sun. And so I purse, like in high school, in college, I didn't wear hats. I didn't wear sunglasses. But again, as I get a little older, my eyes just don't like the bright sunlight. So this hat has been amazing to help with the sunlight through these winter months. Now, I will say as summer approaches, I'm gonna have to pick up probably a white version, because black is no good for summertime, because it attracts the sun. So that'll be something that I'll need to pick up at some point. But to pair with this hat, I love the look of these sunglasses. And there's a very popular company out there called Gooder, G-O-O-D-R, that makes sunglasses similar to these. These are not good or sunglasses. And the reason I don't like good or sunglasses for running, I like good or sunglasses for kicking around and hanging out. But you all know how much I love my Smith Attack Max chroma pop sunglasses. And it's not really because of the lenses, as far as like the depth of field that I get from the lenses, which you do get. The reason I love these sunglasses is because there's no rim on the bottom, which means my line of sight is not impeded when I'm running, especially on trails. That is why I love these sunglasses. Do I like the look of these sunglasses much, much more? 100%. Like, I like the look of good or sunglasses. But as far as from a practical standpoint of running fast on trails, especially I prefer my Smith Attack Max chroma pop sunglasses. Now they don't give them away. I've seen them as cheap as $90, which is still a lot of money, and all the way up to, yes, $250. So I protect them. Be careful if you pick a pair up. But that is why you always see me wearing these sunglasses. Okay, moving on to the buff, the buff. All right, this is called a buff. It's just a piece of material, ladies and gentlemen. You slide it over your head in the winter time. It's absolutely amazing because in the winter, when it's chilly out, you wear it like this. And it really works well with sunglasses because the sunglasses hold the buff against your head really nice. So there's no airflow into your ears. But if you get a little warm out, like in the springtime right now, I usually start with a buff like this, and then you just slide it off. And then it's still protecting your neck, which we lose, correct me if I'm wrong, but we lose a lot of our heat through our neck, right? I believe I'm right there. And then in the summertime, I love buffs because of the intense sunlight here in Colorado, the UV rays beating down on my neck and on my ears. And so sometimes when I'm up in the mountains, I'll just have a buff on a really thin buff, which this is one of them. And I'll just pull it up just to protect my ears from the sunlight. So I'll go like this, I'll go like that, and then like that. If I'm really out there for a long, long time up in the mountains, okay, moving on to the Nathan Handheld Yes Hydration. Hold on, let me, let me take this off real quick. The Nathan Handheld Water Bottle. So last week we did a live stream, Ask Me Anything. A question came up about my hydration system. And the question was, do I prefer handheld water bottles or do I prefer a running vest? And I will say that for racing, I prefer a vest. For training, I prefer a handheld. When I'm racing, I don't know what it is. I love my hands to be free. I don't know if it's just like I'm pumping my arms harder and I just like, I don't know what it is, but I prefer, but for training, you know, unless I'm like, if I'm doing a threshold run, I won't carry a handheld water bottle. But for long runs, for middle distance runs, I will. So this is a Nathan Handheld. It's insulated. And yes, I should mention it is available down below from Amazon. I think this is 16 ounces. Okay, moving on to the Flip Belt is my go-to band that I wear for my running Flip FLIP belt. Very simple. I also own a Nathan and a compressed port belt. I prefer Flip Belt the most. I think the bounce. So the phone is actually in there right now. So there's a little, you can see it there. All right, there it is. It just slides right out. And I think the Flip Belt does the best job for preventing the phone from bouncing when you're running. I will say it doesn't necessarily keep the phone sweat-free. All right, just started to put out the details. But like your phone will get a little sweaty, especially if you're running faster or if it's like the summertime. So keep that in mind if you don't want that to happen to your phone. Okay, moving on to, yes, the J-Birds. I did though, I did the shower water test. They are very waterproof, not a hundred. Like you can't go into swimming pool with these, but J-Bird wireless headphones right there. And I don't listen to music when I run. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks. I love reading, but I just don't have time to read. It's so sad. I used to read a lot. I don't know. I guess before I was married or before I had kids, like I used to read a ton, but now I have to listen to audiobooks in order to read. So I'm going to give a shout out to three books that I'm reading right now, Running Books Endure by Alex Hutchinson. It's all about the mind and about the strength of the runner as an endurance athlete. The Way of the Runner, which is about Japanese running culture. His last name is Finn F-I-N-N. He's the author. And another book by Finn that I'm just starting is called The Rise of the Ultra Runners. Okay, The Rise of the Ultra Runners also by Finn F-I-N-N. Okay, there you go. So again, J-Bird wireless headphones. Love in these. Love, love, love these. And a very lightweight, like very, yeah, very durable piece of running gear. Okay, moving on to my watch. I get a lot of questions about my watch, even though I don't train by heart rate. This Polar Vantage V is my favorite watch that I own. I just, I love it. It's expensive. They don't give it away, but even though I don't train by heart rate, I can tell that this heart rate is very accurate. And it's just a, it's just a wrist based heart rate monitor. Okay, I don't wear a chest strap. I know those are more accurate, but as far as a wrist heart rate monitor, I do believe the Polar Vantage V is pretty spot on. So there you go. That is my watch. And moving down to the legs, you all know how much I wear compression sleeves to help with recovery. I have found Compress Sport to be my favorite. Yeah, Compress Sport, there they are on your screen. And yes, for my socks right now, I made a vlog a year ago just about running socks. I can't believe it. And I did not own these socks at the time. Shout out to Run Territory Company. I believe they're based out of Washington and I like them a lot, especially during the winter months. They're becoming my go-to running sock that I grab for. And it's so crazy. You might think like a running sock, like a sock is a sock. It's true. But I'm telling you, the more socks that you test out, there are some pretty significant differences between different types of material that's being used in these socks. And I don't know how they will do in the summertime because I haven't tried them out in the summertime. Stay tuned for that. But so far, I'm really loving the Run Territory Company running socks in the winter 2020 testing season. Okay. And yes, moving on to the blisters. Here we go. Care Science. Shout out to that company. SmartHeal is the, these are 100% waterproof seal. Finally, I found something that's really working and sticking to my Achilles tendon because of the blisters that I've been suffering from. And I don't remember who recommended these for me, but thank you so, so much. They're working very well. And yes, my blisters are healing up quickly. Again, the Asics Nova Blasts love the shoe, but that is the culprit for my blisters. Okay. Last but not least, I didn't bring it out here, but I would be, if I didn't give a shout out to this piece of running gear in early 2020, I would like this, I might not be running right now. And of course, a shout out, excuse me, to Mark, who I believe, I don't, gosh, he, I think he reached out to me in early January and said, Seth, you have to try the slant board for your runner's knee. Okay. Here it is on your screen. I'm using it. This piece of equipment may have saved my, like it may have been one of the biggest reasons that I overcame my runner's knee. And I'm still using it not every day, but probably five days a week where I do these reverse lunges and it's just to strengthen everything in my legs, but especially really focusing on what's happening around my left knee. If you are new to the channel, welcome by the way, I had a runner's knee in January and late December and it was so painful. It actually knocked me, I had to take, I think I took three weeks off or four weeks off. I don't even remember. It was really bad, but sure enough, this slant board helped so, so much. And here it is on your screen. I think it was $50 to $60. So not cheap, but I'm going to have this thing for the rest of my life. It just, and it's built really, really, really high build quality just so you know, okay, that is my early 2020 running gear essential items that I am using basically every single day. I love it all. But I want to hear from you question of the day, what is one piece of running gear that you could not live without in early 2020? So it's crazy, but we're a quarter of the way through 2020. So that is the question of the day, what's one piece of gear that's really helping you? And again, for all the new runners out there, if you're new to the sport, welcome to the global running family, but there might be a few pieces of equipment down below that just could help you enjoy your running a little bit more. So that is the goal of today's running vlog. Sound good, everyone? I don't know if the vlog is over. We shall see. We'll go check in on the family and onward and upward. I think we covered it all. I don't think I'm missing anything. Oh, and I can't wait just so you know, everyone, as far as more gear for the studio, the light is arriving very, very soon. So we'll have that new light in here soon rather than later. All right, let's go check in side.