Not a Minimalist Runner

Last weekend, when I ran with Betsy, she commented that I run with a lot of stuff.

She’s not wrong.

That particular day, I was out for an 11 mile run.  I was wearing a t-shirt and a Sparkle Skirt with all its amazing pockets.  I don’t think Betsy realized just how much stuff I had on me.  With me, I had:

It seems like a lot, but really, I’m not sure what I would leave at home if I were trying to minimize what I was carrying.  The headphones?  The items I was carrying fall into a few categories.

Health – Gu (fuel), water (hydration), inhaler and Garmin 305.  Since I have to watch my heartrate, I need some sort of HRM when I run.  I suppose I could have something with less bells and whistles. But I like the data from the 305.

Safety – Road ID and phone.  Keys too, I suppose, because the other option is to leave the house unlocked or hide keys, neither of which sounds like a good idea.

The lip balm?  Not really a necessity, though the SPF sort of is.

I plug the headphones into my phone and listen to podcasts while I run.  I prefer podcasts to music because it’s much easier to hear what’s going on around me. Music tends to drown out sounds like the biker bells behind me.

So that’s what I tend to carry on a long run.  Still trying to figure out hydration for the longer runs coming up.  I think there’s a water fountain near a school that I pass on my route.  Going to have to look into that.

What do you carry when you run?

 

 

4 thoughts on “Not a Minimalist Runner

  1. Well, in terms of time rather than distance, how long were you out there? I tend to think like that when determining what to carry. I’ve been the one carrying a bunch of stuff before – you should have seen the looks I got running the Green Bay full with my hydration vest. But I was training for a 50K, and I needed to know that the setup would work!

    Maybe you could consolidate some things. Some folks mix the Gu with their water ahead of time. Road ID makes a shoe pouch, in which you can keep a key. Otherwise, if you want to just go for it, I highly recommend the Wink. 🙂 I love having pouches up front for the stuff to which I need access, and the compartments in the back hold a ton more!

  2. Haha. Once again proving our similarities. My list is almost exactly the same! Depending on the distance I’ll use either my 2-bottle (20 oz) or 4-bottle (40 oz) water belt. Also, in the front tiny velcro pocket of the belt I’ll carry a couple tylenol and a few enduralytes). If it’s over 85* I’ll tuck my ChillyPad into my belt as well. I figure if the SparkleSkirt pockets can handle the stuff, why not bring it?

  3. In addition to what you carry, I usually have individually wrapped wet ones and/or Cottonelle wipes in the pouch on my water belt. This have come in handy for me or those running with me on more than one occasion.

  4. You carry a lot less than most. I consider myself a minimalist runner and the only thing from your list that I don’t take with me on long runs is my phone & headphones. Well, and the inhaler, but that’s only b/c I don’t need one.

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