Analyitics

Monday, July 22, 2013

Summer Running Gear

Here in the nation's capital, we've been having an unusually hot, humid summer.  It started the first weekend of June -- the weekend of The North Face Endurance Challenge -- when temperatures reached 91 degrees with an average humidity of 57%.  Since then, the temperatures have kept and rising, and so has the humidity, which often hovers in the 80-90% range during the day.

So, what running gear works in this kind of weather?

So far, I've been happy wearing the same shoes and socks.  My road shoe are Brooks Launch, and my trail shoes are Brooks Cascadia 8 and Inov-8 Roclite 295.  Drymax Lite trail running socks continue to be go to socks, whether I am on the road or the trails.  But what about the rest?

Salomon trail running shorts are absolutely the best shorts I've found.  They are super light, comfortable, don't bunch up, and don't chafe.

On top, I've taken a page from fellrnr and am wearing the Under Armour long sleeve shirt.  It evaporates sweat quickly, and it keeps the suns rays from beating directly on my skin.  Whenever there is even a slight breeze, it feels icy cool.  I've also been impressed by my North Face technical T-shirt with FlashDry technology.  It does what it says.

My Maui Jim Hot Sands sunglasses absolutely rock.  I wore them on the 50-miler and they never felt heavy or tiresome, never too dark or light, crystal clear vision the whole way.  Love them.

I have a love-hate relationship with headwear in general.  I'd rather not have anything on my head, but a visor does keep the sweat from dripping all over my face.   The Patagonia visor I wear has a nice wide headband, and comes in white, which can get a bit grungy looking, but reflects the heat.

On long runs I continue to use a Nathan HPL 020 race vest.  Super comfortable, very light, very breathable.  It never gets hot or sweaty on my back or underneath the straps.  I love having the multiple pockets up front.  No wonder its the favorite of ultra runners everywhere. My only complaint is the slightly leaky reservoir that came with it, which I've since swapped out with a Camelbak reservoir.

Questions about any of the above gear?  Favorites of your own you want to share?  Leave a comment!

1 comment:

  1. the brooks essential running short has been working really well for me this summer.

    also, a strong agreement on the north face flashdry shirt. no better shirt that i own for hot days.

    i've been liking the drymax hot weather socks as well.

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