How do you decide or prioritise what to spend on?
As a semi-experienced (10 years, 25+ marathons) amateur runner (4hr+ marathon), wanting to improve, I find this a deep dark rabbit hole my wallet is struggling to keep up.
My current expense ratios for this year:
Races: 2xtrail & 1xMarathon ~$175 (35%)
Shoes: 2xshoes ~$175 (35%)
Gear: socks & bottle ~$75 (15%)
Tech: Garmin HRM ~$80 (15%)
Next on my wishlist are
- road shoes
- running tights
- replacing my 3year old Garmin
- running cap/ sunglasses
- a coach
As a sole breadwinner still wanting to pursue my passion of running ,any tips or philosophies to share to help a brother out?
Imho Goodr sunglasses (25 USD) work very well. A solid cap under 20 should be good. Your watch can last 4-5 years and I don’t expect you to need new socks for years. I’d advocate you get a few new pairs of shorts. I like Nike 2-in-1 as I have bigger thighs. For training consider looking into trainingpeaks.com
Re shorts Vs tights, how do you go about testing them? What do you look out for, what feel are you going for while in the shops?
Nike shorts have consistently felt best so I’ve used them over the years. In terms of fit they need to be fitting (tights part) but not super tight. Like you should feel they are there is they fit right. Try not to the the “entry” level ones though. wait for a sale and get the next level up. The quality is generally much better and they will last longer.
But yeah you shouldn’t notice them when they are on and make sure you can “squat” down comfortably wearing them.