Outside It's Cold and Dreary, But I'm Bright and Cheery

As corny as that title now seems written out, it still is very true.  The weather here in Minnesota has turned towards winter.  Last Wednesday it was 60 degrees and even with a light drizzle it was pleasant.  The next day it was 39 degrees, with a 20 mph sustained wind, giving a 29 degree wind chill.  Oh, it was also raining sometimes changing over into snow.  However, I still went out for my run and enjoyed it.

The temperatures have remained in the 40s and will so for the next few weeks.  That is if they do not go lower by then.  Still I’m staying very positive and the weather isn’t bothering me in the slightest.

Two things are keeping me upbeat.  First, I’m feeling like a “runner” again.  I haven’t been running that far or anything, but I am running on a consistent schedule again after dealing with my chest cold.  I kept holding myself back from pushing too hard at first, but now I’ve gotten to a point where I can fully tax my body again.  I’ve even been able to tie some personal best times for some of my shorter routes.  Now I can actually think about finally signing up for a 5K or other race, which will probably be in the form of a “Turkey Trot” when I’m at my parents for Thanksgiving.

The other way I’m staying “bright and cheery” is quite literal.  I finally got around to updating some of my running wardrobe.  I had updated my short-sleeved shirts but that was it.  My shorts were (embarrassingly) going on seven years old.  I also have some long-sleeved shirts that were a few years old as well, but more importantly were black – not the color you want to be running in with sundown so much earlier.  I also needed a new running/cycling jacket, as my old one was getting a bit weathered and dingy.  Plus it was also grayish white – not a color you want to be running/biking in once the snow is flying.

I didn’t necessarily plan to buy everything within a span of two weeks but that’s what happened.  Luckily, I purchased everything very frugally.  Maybe it happens to every rational person once they start living on their own, but I now purchase everything on the cheap – looking for the best deals or using coupons at the right time.

To put that in perspective, let’s start with my new shorts.  I guess they’re not actually that bright and cheery being black and gray, but just wait until further into this post.  These shorts are the C9 brand made by Champion, apparently exclusively available at Target (I looked that bit up).  I did indeed stumble upon these at Target at was glad to find that these were just as good as my trusty Nike running shorts I had been wearing.  They are also a bit longer than the Nike shorts too, hopefully reducing the issue of my shorts riding up on longer runs.  (Sorry for the specifics.)  Best yet was the price.  For some reason I can distinctly remember back all the years to when I bought the Nike shorts, paying $30 per pair.  These C9 shorts?  They’re $16.99 per pair.

 

Bringing on the bright colors, I also stumbled upon good deals for long-sleeved shirts.  In the picture below, the left and center shirts are C9 brand as well (and were of course purchased at Target).  The shirt on the right is by Tek Gear, the house brand athletic label of Kohl’s department stores.  Again, these are not only just as good as the premium brand shirts I had, but were far cheaper.  The C9 bright orange shirt (a bit thicker than the others) was $24.99, the neon yellow C9 shirt was $16.99, and the Tek Gear orange shirt was $18.99.  Those prices are even better than the severe closeout prices I’ve seen at various marathon/running event expos.

Lastly, I have my new running/cycling jacket.  It’s made my Pearl Izumi, what I would call a premium name brand, and is a wind and rain resistant jacket.  Just like my older Pearl Izumi jacket, it also converts from a full jacket into a vest.  Compared to the shorts and the shirts, this is my splurge item but I still got a deal.  The normal price on the jacket is $110.00.  However, I used a 20% off coupon I had from being a REI member, getting it instead at $88.

So why am I sharing all these deals?  Well first, it’s my blog and I can do what I want…  Really though, I wanted to show that running and biking gear doesn’t have to be expensive.  There seems to be a trend with running, cycling, and triathlon that the gear needs to be expensive and somehow that exorbitant price makes you faster, etc.  In truth, it’s really just the marketing – better marketing, making people pay more, in turn generating higher marketing budgets for even better marketing.  In terms of quality and function, they’re really not that much different from the generic house brands.  As I’ve said, I even like my new cheaper house brand running clothes more than the premium brand clothes I’ve used before.

Either way – if you take my advice or leave it – I’ll be out running in my new inexpensive running clothes.  Considering their brightness, I know you’ll be able to see me.

Note: I suppose I should mention that Champion, Target, nor Kohl’s influenced my purchases or this post in any way.  This was done on my own accord and with my own money.  Now if they did want to give me money or product…