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The Things I Carried*

Ok, Ok, I promise, this is the last blog post related to Angeles Crest. I swear. At least for this year. 🙂

Some people have asked me about the gear I used and clothing I wore during the race. What worked and what didn’t. What I would recommend to others. And as you may have realized, I love talking about gear. And researching gear. And trying out new things. And writing about it all.

Also, I was really fortunate that at the race pretty much everything I chose to use or wear worked out perfectly for me. So this post is pretty much a long list of things I like.  Here goes.

CLOTHING:
I started the day wearing the following (you can see most of it in the above picture that Elizabeth took when I was coming into the first aid station at Inspiration Point):

• My pink Headsweats hat from Jackrabbit Sports in NYC: I love this hat. It’s brought me great luck in racing this year. And, of course, I like that it’s flashy!  I never took the hat off during the race.  I only wear Headsweats hats and visors when I’m running.  I have a closet full of them, but it’s the pink one that I race in.  I’ve written a lot about the store in this blog. They don’t have online shopping, but if you’re in NYC, it’s definitely worth stopping in.
• Brooks Rev Sleeveless shirt: I like racing in white shirts, especially if it’s gonna be hot.  This one fits me really well.  I changed my shirt twice during the race – at Shortcut (mile 59.3) I put on my bright green Craft shirt and at Chantry (mile 74.55), I put on my longsleeve Nike shirt.   
• Nike 2-in-1 shorts: They have a boxer brief liner. These shorts were last year’s model and I haven’t been able to find the same shorts this year. The updated ones don’t fit as well.
• Skins ICE Men’s Half Tights: I wore these compression shorts under the Nike shorts. They supposedly help keep your legs feeling cool. I’m not sure if I really feel that effect, but sure they are comfortable.  I wore them and the Nike shorts throughout the race.  
• Drymax Maximum Protection Trail Running Socks: This is the only item that I got for free. These socks are definitely my favorite racing socks. They’re super comfortable and keep my feet really dry. I never changed them during the race. And never even felt like I wanted to. I’ve been wearing Drymax socks for a few months now and these are my current favorites. The only drawback is that they’re really expensive.
• New Balance MT100 shoes: I love these shoes. Since I got my first pair early this year, I’ve done nearly all of my trail running in them. I’ve run over 450 miles in my first pair and over 250 miles in the pair I wore at AC. They’re comfortable and light and fast! They’re also impossible to find right now anywhere. But the updated MT101 is due out next month!
• DeSoto Arm Coolers: Another product I’ve been wearing for a couple years. I wear them in pretty much any race when it might get hot. They provide sun protection and when it gets hot, you can either spray them with cold water or stuff them with ice for instant cool down.
• Lululemon Foldin Key Cuff: Kristin and Colin introduced these to me this spring. It’s an awesome, super simple idea. A lightweight piece of fabric that goes around the wrist and stretches to hold keys, money, gels, food, a phone, etc. I used it to carry my Salt Stick salt tablets during the entire race. They’re not always available or easy to find in an acceptable color, so if you find them, buy a couple!
• Glitter star tattoos: This isn’t something I “wore” as much as something that was “on” me.  I got the glitter tattoos done a couple days before the race. They turned out awesome and were a ton of fun. Especially because they washed off a few days after the race! In LA, you can contact Sparkle & Shine and they’ll hook you up.
• At the Three Points aid station (mile 42.72), I changed my shoes and swapped the MT100s for a pair of Brooks Launch. This was the longest and the furthest I’d run in the MT100s and planned all along on changing them around here. It was a great decision and the Launches carried me through the rest of the race. I like the Launch because they’re light (9.3 oz) but still comfortable enough for 60+ miles of running.

NUTRITION/HYDRATION:

• Ultimate Direction Fast Draw Extreme handheld bottles: I started the race with two UD Fast Draw Extreme handhelds. I used the UD 20oz bottle in one hand filled with Infinit. But in the second handheld, I swapped out the UD bottle for a Camelback 24oz Podium Bottle with just water. I wanted to have the Camelback bottle because, while I love the UD kicker valve on their bottles, the valve on the Camelback bottles is easier for squirting water on my face or arm coolers.
• Ultimate Direction Wasp Hydration Pack: I did my research and chose this pack. I’m still happy I went with it and wore it during a lot of long stretches during the race. It’s comfortable and carries everything I need.
• Infinit: If you’re a reader of this blog, you know that I love this stuff. I’ve been using it for years and have relied on it for all my calories for Ironman races and 50 mile ultras. I used it for probably 75% of my calories at AC until Shortcut Saddle (mile 59.3 – 13 hours into the race), when I decided I couldn’t drink another sip of it!
• Accel Gel: I’ve been using these gels for years as a back-up for or supplement to Infinit. I prefer the vanilla flavor, but when I need some caffeine, I’ll use the chocolate.  At pretty much all times during the race I had three of these gels with me.  
• Salt Stick: Supplementing with salt is new for me. But after a few training runs where I bonked or finished covered in salt on my skin and clothes, I realized I needed to start doing it. Salt Stick is the only one I’ve used and it seems to work for me.

NIGHT RUNNING:

• This was the only place I feel like I made a “mistake” during the race. All along, I figured that it would get dark somewhere between Shortcut Saddle (mile 59.3) and Chantry Flats (mile 74.55). But in my plan it wouldn’t get really dark until towards the end of this section. So, I decided I grab a cheap little Duracell headlamp at Shortcut and then trade it for my better headlamp when I got to Chantry. (I actually wore this same headlamp at the beginning of the race and it was fine then. But it got light quickly in the morning and I was running with other people who had lights so it didn’t matter as much.) The problem was that I didn’t actually get to Shortcut until 6:10pm and didn’t change my plan. And then it got very dark very quickly. And the little headlamp sucked – it’s not bright enough in the first place and it was losing battery strength. This was definitely a “better safe than sorry” moment that I messed up!
• Last year, I bought the Black Diamond Spot headlamp. It’s a great light and perfect for night running on fireroads and relatively easy trails. But as AC got closer I got worried that it wouldn’t be enough for the technical running through the night during the last 25 miles at AC. So, at the last minute I stepped up, opened my wallet and bought a Petzl MYO RXP. And I’m so glad I did. You can see it in the picture above that Billy took when Jimmy and I were leaving Chantry.  The MYO RXP rocks. It’s bright and comfortable. It has a ton of functions that I still haven’t figured out how to use.  And even though it has a 3xAA battery pack on the strap on the back of the head, it doesn’t feel heavy and doesn’t bounce. I think I could have comfortably worn this lamp all the way from Shortcut (though I definitely would have needed to change the batteries during that time).

If anyone has any questions or wants more details, let me know!

(*Sincere apologies to Tim O’Brien for bastardizing the title of his incredible book. I haven’t read it in years, but it’s one of those books that has always stayed with me.)