 Oh, it's cold. It's cold. All right, folks. It is now what December 27th I have officially taken off an entire week of no running no strength training just resting a little bit of light Stretching here at the house, but yes now it is time to begin the process of building a foundation for 2019 and it's an it's an act of patience You just can't dive right into you know, 50 mile weeks of running or you know squats like tonight at the gym I'm not gonna do squats. I'm not gonna do any heavy lifting just building that foundation a little bit of core work lots of stretching and A little bit of upper body. So anyway, it's exciting to begin the comeback for Next week a week from today. I will start running again So anyway, here we go. And yes, we will be talking about the top gear of 2018 here in a minute Stay tuned for that. I just got it. Well, go get go get a little gym timing. Go get a little gym timing All right, here we go. There you go folks There you go the first lift of 2019's training block and it wasn't really a lift as you saw it was more of a stretch Just getting the legs getting the body ready for the hard stuff to come in, you know a month from now So it's all about starting now slowly patience and yes My planter fasciitis is gone But I did notice tonight that my left side When I was stretching my hamstring on my yeah on that machine that it was Tighter it was tighter than my right side. And so I'm gonna get on it right now So that it doesn't pop up this summer in six months and because this is that's how planter fasciitis in my experience starts when you're just not doing the maintenance in between the Challenging runs. All right, folks. Here we go onward to the gear reviews Okay, as we begin the running gear the top running gear that I have enjoyed and used a ton in 2018 Keep in mind that I am in I am an ultra runner who is in 2019 I'm going to transition from 50k races 50 mile races back Down to the marathon half marathon But yes, I will probably race 150k in 2019 But I'm excited to develop my speed again But anyway, a lot of this gear is definitely aimed a little bit more so at bigger Days of running Specifically in the mountains, but you can use it of course anywhere But just keep that in mind like three hour runs five hour runs Yes, I even did some six and seven hour training runs getting ready for the hundred mile race that I did All right enough talking. Let's start with item number one and this is a very basic I think it's about $20 it's made by halo. It's the halo headband. Why the halo headband? Basically, I sweat, you know, I'm not afraid to say it. I'm sure you do too and in the summertime It's not even humid here. It's not in Denver. Like we have very very little humidity I cannot imagine training in Chicago in St. Louis in New Orleans in Houston in some of these air New York in Florida Oh my goodness, or I don't know even places in Europe or wherever in the world Singapore It gets humid you sweat guys. You remember when you're you the worst Wiping sweat away from your your forehead all the time. No good. This is a halo headband It goes just like this and by the way, I should mention all of these items are available from Amazon down below in the description So if you're interested in these items, I did yeah, you can buy them from Amazon But if you can find these items at your local running store even better support your local running store You know, I appreciate the support through Amazon, but definitely go support your local running store Okay, so this is the halo headband and it basically Wicks away the sweat from your head away from your eyeballs So your eyeballs are not stinging in those hot summer runs. I love this thing every I mean, if I forget to wear this on a long run in the summertime I'm just like oh my eyes are stinging Sunscreen is like dripping into my eyeballs. It's just not a good situation. Okay, that's item number one the halo headband And yes, it's down below item number two. Oh, yeah, baby. Oh, yeah the hoca recovery sandal, all right, and this guy is about $40 a little expensive for a sandal, but I I'm telling you because of my plantar fasciitis This thing served saved me in 2018 I could barely walk across my house which has hardwood floors We don't have carpet without this sandal like this baby saved me It's up here as well and so comfortable. I prefer at this point and I know like I went back and forth a little bit I prefer the hoca recovery sandal over the ufus recovery sandal because there's just a little more support And I like the arch a little bit better in this recovery sandal. Mm. Very good item number two highly recommend All right, we're gonna put this guy and item number three Which is very relevant to winter running right now when it's dark out The petzl now right there the petzl now headlamp. I love this thing. I love this thing. Let's put it on just like that Boom boom just like that. Here we go. Turn it on. Let's see if we can get both going here. There it is There it is. I'll try not to blind you basically this petzl now headlamp is Amazing and the batteries. Yes, you can charge directly through your your computer. It's a usb connection and it's just So bright for those light. I actually I will look up how many lumens. This is I don't remember how many lumens It's amazing now It's a little heavier than some headlamps And so if you live in a city and you don't you know how there's so many city lights You may not need this headlamp if you live in a city I'm just gonna say that right now But if you do a lot of night running, let's say on dirt roads or Maybe uh in the you know in the forest sometimes I go out at night in the forest I'm not afraid and so this guy is just money for that. It's the petzl now and yes It is down below as well. I love this thing for night running and just like the how it fits the head You could adjust it so well. Uh, huh. I could go on and on about this. All right. That's item number three the petzl now headlamp And item number four. Oh, baby the foot log You better believe it the foot log toward the end of my battle with planter fasciitis This guy was money in the bank. I just uh the massaging that you can do with this foot log But more importantly the stretching of the fascia I developed a way of basically placing and building up a tolerance to putting all of my body weight On my foot gently and I had to work up to it just so you know, I didn't just do it like that And I believe this Basically the diameter of this foot log it it just fit my arch so well for stretching out my fascia So this is item number four that I would strongly recommend Especially if you do long runs like 20 plus miles You're gonna be in heaven heaven. I'm telling you if you are able to uh acquire this and massage your foot After those long long runs or I would also say for all the high schoolers out there that are Spiking up and doing workouts in spikes or college, you know college cross country guys Like if you're doing track workouts in spikes, you know, how much your feet are getting beat up Mm money in the bank right here. All right. That's item number four and item number five I actually don't have it. I don't have it. They're they're m. I a right now. I don't know where they're at It's my smith sunglasses. You guys know my smith chroma pop max sunglasses I'm trying basically these are gooders sunglasses and I like these but I am I know for a fact I will be purchasing a new pair of smith sunglasses. They're a little expensive just so you know Okay, they're expensive 250 dollars But I did see them for cheaper on backcountry.com and also steep and cheap So, you know, don't don't go to smith and buy them from smith buy them somewhere else I love them so much. Uh, the reason I love them for the lens is amazing But more importantly for me because I'm oftentimes running over rocky trails These the gooders sunglasses have this rim here and it basically inhibits my ability to see rocks Sometimes is what I'm noticing now. I haven't had these for too long But I have run in um and I should mention when I'm going out into the mountains And it's sunny out like I never wore sunglasses in high school in college But when you're out there under the sun for three hours Four hours of five hours your eyeballs They start to get tired and my eyeballs get really bloodshot. And so oh my goodness my smith sunglasses I will be getting a new pair probably in like the next three to four weeks as my mileage increases And these guys are gonna be the gooders sunglasses will be my easy day sunglasses Anyway, I cannot I cannot rave enough about the smith sunglasses. They're down below Oh, but you can find them for cheaper if you just dig a little bit Uh, so anyway, whoo and last but not least my favorite, you know what it is You already know what it is my favorite piece of running gear from 2018 again. Keep in mind I'm doing these long runs at elevation Exposed to serious sunlight and I don't want to get skin cancer And so yes, it is my bright green Solomon hat. Um and right now I have this Basically like uh, oh gosh, what's it called the gator or the flap on the back to protect my neck? And again, it's just like when you're out there running for two hours three hours Your neck is might get sunburned if you're not careful and I don't want to sunburn. Nobody wants a sunburn So I love this hat. Why do I get green? Just so you know, why do I like green? Okay, green is yes. It is my favorite color, but more importantly safety When I'm in the mountains I like to be able to be found in case like I roll my ankle and I I'm you know stuck up in the mountains for some reason If somebody comes looking for me, they're they're gonna be able to see this bright green hat And so anyway, just so you know the reason I lean toward bright green It's actually a safety reason for running up in the mountains But it's also it's also nice, you know to pop out a little bit on film when I'm filming videos for you Up in the mountains. All right. And so this is my favorite item of 2018 You better believe it the Solomon XA hat. Oh, I just love this and it's it's very very lightweight Very breathable wicks away moisture very well And yes, basically my setup. I'll just show it to you right now Usually I when I'm running in the mountains. I do the halo headband Boom and actually usually I wear it forward just like that. Boom And then the sweat is being wicked away And then the hat is protecting my my eyeballs and then my smith sunglasses and it's just like it's a beautiful thing It's a beautiful thing And of course the keyword of the day is gear and what was question of the day What was the favorite piece of gear running gear that you purchased in 2018 and we're talking watches water bottles hydration systems socks Outer wear, I mean the list recovery recovery tools the list goes on and on and on So think about you know and go all the way back to january 2018 and work your way forward like what did I purchase throughout the year that worked really really well for me Thank you for hitting the question of the day and the keyword and I love you and thanks for being here What a day. What a day youtube. What a day. Whoo tomorrow Mm. Yep. Yep. All right come back tomorrow. We're gonna be talking about running shoes You better believe it come back tomorrow for that. See beauty work hard You