Three things I can't run without

This one is for my runner friends.

If you've ever seen some of my running photos, you will probably notice 3 things that show up in every photos because they are 3 things that you will not see me run a race without...

1) A Sweatvac visor.   I love these things and own several colors. I have a large head (gotta put the brains somewhere) and what's nice about the visor is that it has an elastic stretch thing in the back to expand. That way I can adjust it if I need to add ear warmers in the winter time. I find that the backing of a normal hat/visor doesn't adjust large enough sometimes and gives me a headache.  My only complaint is that I've run out of colors to purchase - and I wish there were more design options for the front. Other than that - they rock (and they are machine washable). My hubby wears the hat version and loves it too.

As if on cue - I got an email from with with a promotional offer - woo hoo!! Like em on Facebook and get 25% off.

2) My Ultimate Direction water bottle. I can't quite put in to words how much I love this H2O bottle. I love the soft piece that you suck out of, I love the hand holder with pocket to put things in, and I love how versatile it is - at a race they were offering beer at the end and ran out of cups so I used my bottle to fill er up.  I know there are lots of other great water bottles out there - for instance my husband prefers his Nathan - but I will stick with my ultimate direction!!  I find the ones with hard plastic pieces that you have to bite down on to open too painful/cumbersome for my liking.  I bought my original one at a local running store, but they stopped carrying them so I recently found them at REI.

3) I saved the best for last - my balega socks! O-M-G these rock. I got them at my local running store and have since then highly recommended them to all other runners. They may be pricey (approx $10 a pair) but they are so worth it. Your feet will thank you, your shoes will thank you, and the little piggy that went wee wee wee all the way home will thank you.  I will still occasionally get a random blister, but other than that they've been wonderful. My husband prefers the more cushioned version, but I rock the ones with the small band on top - mainly so we can tell who they belong to when they come out of the drier.

Look - even the dog is drooling over them.