What's In Your Pants?

Hmm, well there's a conversation starter for a blog title.  Before your mind wanders too far off track, I was obviously talking about your running pants.  But I doubt anyone would have clicked on the blog title ... "What kind of running accessories do you carry with you in the pockets of your pants when you run a marathon?"

Marathon "in pants" supplies featuring a light blue added pocket,
And yes, this picture got a raised eyebrow from Michael, 
she said, "It's basically a picture of you in your underwear!", 
but I think we're all adults here!

I'm always curious about the things folks carry with them when they run.  For most outings around my neighborhood, it's usually just my iPod, an ID, and maybe a salt capsule.  But for races it's a whole 'nother ballgame.  During most marathons I'll wear a SPIbelt.  SPIbelts are really nice because of the expandable pouch and lightweight fit.  However, fumbling around with a small zipper and fishing through a poor-man's fanny pack at marathon pace can be a little distracting.  So for this marathon I'm trying a new approach.

With my out of control super feminine side, I basically created Couture running shorts!  Oh that surprises you that I know "Couture"!  Well all those years of eye-rolling and passing by the TV as Michael watched "Say Yes To The Dress", and "Fashionista", finally paid off.  Turns out I'm basically a clever little seamstress!

For this marathon, I wanted everything really easy to get to in the front of my shorts, instead of reaching behind me for a pouch or pocket, or even having to stop.  Plus, I didn't want to bother with buttons or zippers, and accidentally drop something on the ground.  So I sewed ... well, I actually bought some of this heat-up-with-an-iron melt into the fabric stuff that basically pretends I sewed it ... an extra pocket inside.  Here's the highly sophisticated description ... the pocket features a brilliant light blue design, created from vintage moisture-wicking running shirt material, and is hidden easily on the interior front panel of the shorts.  Tada!  I made it big enough to hold two or three gels, and a puppy for when it gets cold.

Also, as most of you realize, I'm basically one of the foremost trend-setting creative geniuses of our time ... which leads me to my next creation ... tear-away pill-pouches.  For this marathon I'm going to carry a couple of salt capsules, plus I always like to have a couple of ibuprofen on hand just in case.  In the past, I would tuck them away in the SPIbelt, but frequently they would hit the ground while fumbling for a gel, or a puppy.  So I had the BRILLIANT idea to safety pin them to my shorts in little baggies I bought at Michael's - the craft store, nothing to do with my wife.   I then simply tear them off from the front of my shorts when I need them.  They stay dry and they're easy to access.  I've tested it a few times in the past few weeks and it works great!

My "Good Luck Puck"  ... I've never run a marathon without it!

Here's my list of "Pants Goodies" for the Chicago Marathon ...

Three - GU Roctane Island Nectar Gels w/caffeine
Two - S!Caps salt capsules
Two - Ibuprofen
One - Good Luck Puck I carry every marathon (you can read about it HERE)
One - Pace Chart (maybe)
One - iPod
One - RoadRunnerSports Underwear

All this stuff can make my pants a little bulky at the start, but as the race progresses, I'll rid myself of most the baggage.  Other than that, hopefully the streamlined approach will make it easier to access ye ol' runnin' supplies during the race!

So what's in  your pants? (keep it PG por favor)

Who knows, if my sewing and extra pocket make a big splash, maybe I'll start a business where everyone can send me their running pants and I'll alter them a little.  Never mind ... this is just getting weird.  Seacrest Out.
... be great today!