A couple weeks ago, I suggested running socks with inspirational messages as a great Christmas gift. As I've been gearing up for winter running, I've noticed a few more items that, while not necessities, are sure nice to have. Those are the type of items that make great gifts--things that are fun treats but many people wouldn't buy for themselves. First is my Garmin 235. A GPS watch is a tool that is very versatile. The good old Timex Ironman watches work perfectly well to time runs, but I enjoy some of the features on my Garmin. The main thing is that it measures distance. I can change and adjust my route and know exactly how far I've gone. Other cool features that I use less frequently are heart rate, pace alerts, workouts and interval timers. The watch syncs itself to Garmin Connect on my iPhone where I can see all sorts of graphs and data. I'll admit that I don't often use a lot of that data, but it's there if I ever want it. I also enjoy being able to see how much I normally run per week and month to see how my overall program is going. The second item I'd be sad to be without is my headlight. I use a Diamond brand light with a blinking red light for the back of my head, too. The feature that would make one of these lights a great gift is getting one that is rechargeable. I like the fact that I don't have to wait until the light is dead to get it nice and bright again. At this time of year, I usually try to charge it about every 4-5 days. The final item that I suggest runners would like to see under the tree are Aftershokx headphones. This week, I ran alone more days with one friend recovering from surgery and another lucky enough for a long weekend golfing in California. My Aftershokx make the solo running easier with audio books although neither of the past two I've been "reading" are feel-good stories. It takes a couple good Hallmark Christmas movies to pick me back up! The nicest feature of the Aftershokx is that they do not prevent runners from hearing what is going on around them such as traffic, dogs and other exercisers.
If none of these fun treats suit the runners on your holiday gift list, new running shoes are always appreciated, especially if you take the time to get just the right model and size or even take your runner to the local running store to be fit for a new pair. Hoping that your shopping to-do list is getting shorter by the day and that your weather has been mild like we are having in Minnesota this week. I now I'm looking forward to some longer runs to check out the holiday decorations. Happy running! Missee
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
Categories |