Welcome, welcome, one and all. This weekend I tackled a ridiculous feat…
The semi-annual cleaning of the running drawer. (It should really happen more than it actually does but let’s not make too big of a deal about that!)
I’m assuming that everyone has a drawer like this. It’s as messy as a “junk” drawer, but there’s NO JUNK in this drawer. It’s all gold, my friends, and it’s all extremely important when it comes to running.
Uh, except for maybe this. Not sure how this wound up in the running drawer…
Okay, so let’s get down to the good stuff!
I’m a big fan of the cinch bags that some race series give out at their expos. I use these bad boys to bring things to Track and Field practices and meets for the kiddo and at other races (way to publicize!). And every time I use one, much like a race shirt, it takes me back to that race. Memories, like the corners of my mind.
I’ve got gadgets and gizmos a’plenty! Need a spoon on a string (and who doesn’t)? Check! That was from the Jog ‘n Hog this past summer.
credit: Jog ‘n Hog Boss Hog
Foot Rubz ball? We’ve got two; Jay has the other one squirreled away somewhere. I use it after every. single. race. Stickers! Blister Treatment! (Knock on wood, I haven’t had any blisters lately.) And of course, my trusty Road ID. Okay, well, the Road ID box. The actually Road ID itself doesn’t usually make it back into the box because I use it so frequently.
Ah, the cold weather gear. How necessary yet how unfortunate that it’s necessary. In my perfect world, I’d not need these. It would be lovely fall weather all the time. Alas, such is not the case here in New Jersey and it’s already getting to the time of the year when we have the windows down, heat up.
Rocking the $3 Target hat (notice the gloves in hand) at last year’s Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge.
When I began running Vic took me to Target, pointed out the men’s hats and told me to stock up. When you spend a couple of bucks on a hat or a dollar on gloves, you don’t get too broke up if you need to throw them to the side if you get too warm while running. The Lululemon ones? Those don’t get tossed (added bonus: they were a gift from Jess).
Not shown: Strong Mama Sox Box Socks
They’re in the wash.
I have a socks drawer but that’s not where my long socks live. Oh no, they have a special place of honor in my running drawer! And each time I pull out a pair of the socks, it brings me back to when I got them and where I’ve worn them. (My mind likes to retain random information that is pertinent to exactly nothing.)
Heart Running Skirts socks at runDisney’s Tangled 5k.
Red ProCompression Socks at the Broad Street Run
And finally…
I’ve got fuel! I’ve got arm warmers (that are actually Baby Legs)! Tissues! Safety pins! Handheld water bottle! SPIbelt! These are the things that float around the drawer, usually toward the top, because I need them more often than most.
It should be noted that the drawer stayed neat for maybe a day and a half before it got all messed up again. Yep.
What’s in your running drawer? Or where do you keep all your “Stuff” with a capital S?
That is awesome. I have three running / yoga clothing drawers that are a part of my dresser: one for long sleeved-tops, one for short-sleeves and tanks, and one for all of the bottoms long and short. The other running drawer is downstairs in the kitchen in a special cabinet, and it contains the grab-before-you-go stuff: fuel/water belt, iPod arm holder, headphones, fuel, KT tape, stickers, pins, tattoos, compression sleeves…you name it! Isn’t it crazy how our running stuff takes over???
My closet has all of my apparel (and my laundry basket, laundry room, clothes line) too. Those things tend to spread all over the house since they’re in constant rotation. One day when I’m rich and famous, I’ll have a separate closet just for my gear! 😉
wow. you had a pretty change purse and a spoon on a string!?!? you have me beat. my running drawer, although slightly over stuffed, is just full of shirts and shorts. really lame and nothing too exciting.
The shirts and shorts live in the closet, next to the regular, boring clothes. They must feel so ordinary.
First off, I now have a certain Little Mermaid song in my head. Thanks for that. 😛
Second… I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE!!! My running drawer is filled to the brim, and it just gets worse every month when the new StrideBox comes! Maybe one of these days I’ll overcome my fear of gels and get it under control, but until then, I’ll be a happy hoarder.
Hahaha, you’re most welcome! If it helps, I’m singing right along with you. I wanna be where the people are!
See, I don’t even GET the StrideBoxes… so I’m not exactly sure what my excuse is. I can’t help but want to buy a little something at each expo! I’ve stopped using gels as much… now I’ve been carrying the PowerFuel with me.
The purse was probably there from the old days, before you became a runner. Hard to remember back before you became running obsessed. ;D
That was grandma’s purse and I adore it! I just don’t get to use it all that often. Sigh!
Baby Legs as arm warmers… why didn’t I think of that? You just helped my budget! Thanks 🙂
You’re most welcome!
You are awesome! It never occurred to me to have a special run drawer! I have a bag, a Robin Ruth bag that says Paris, where I keep all my portable gear. It’s a grab and go for races and when I have to drive to a park or the river valley. I also keep $20 in it for emergencies…like coffee
The drawer was created last year out of need. The top of my dresser was becoming overrun with gear and I’d say, “Honey, where is my ________ (fill in the blank)?” And it was all very messy. So, yes. And coffee is always an emergency!
I think I need to go find myself some baby legs I can throw away for my race this weekend! That could work because I’ve been told I have freakishly thin forearms…
Dude, the baby legs have lasted me a couple of races because if I get hot, I just push them down. Then they are like leg warmers… for my arms. It’s brilliant.
Absolutely brilliant idea! I might need to try this one out!
I have a drawer in my dresser (okay, maybe two) that’s dedicated to all my running/yoga/gym clothes. For gear, I bought these two small shelving units from Lowe’s a few years ago and each shelf has a bin. At one point it was all organized and nice, but now it’s just a mess. Of course, I have more than my running gear over there – it has pretty much all my stuff like weights, DVDs, etc. Everything except my yoga mat. And I also love the cheap gloves from Target. I am always afraid I am going to lose my nicer gloves.
My weights live downstairs next to my treadmill. And a dinosaur that my kids refuse to get rid of even though no one plays with it. The cheap gloves from Target are the best – I love the ones that have the fingers you can use on screens too (because, hello, technology!).
My running stuff is all over the place. The running socks (I have 9 pair) stay in my sock drawer. Tech shirts and running shorts have a different drawer in my room. My Garmin and charger stay in a drawer in the room I keep my laptop. My Nuun and fuel have a shelf in the pantry. My handheld water bottles tend to stay on the kitchen counters until my wife gets annoyed and puts them somewhere.
Ah yes, my Nuun is in the kitchen in the cabinets, next to the Pocketfuel. Running stuff lives everywhere in my house but I try as hard as I can to keep it neat. 😉 So much stuff!
Ever since I bought my hatchback a couple years ago I’ve kept a 40 gallon plastic storage bin back there, and within it I keep hats, gloves, headbands, lights, hair ties, ice grips, hand warmers, reflective vests, tissues and toiletries in it. Right now it looks like that plastic bin has thrown up all over the back because I also have retired sneakers, sweatshirts and other assorted random stuff back there. In my kitchen, I keep some energy bars in my spice drawer, and then I have others still in the bag from the store or in a basket in my office. My running socks are in their own separate space from non-running socks, and sports bras too. My running shirts and sweatshirts take up more than 2/3 of a 9-bin organizer. Running bottoms are starting to spill over beyond one drawer of my dresser. Water bottles are on the kitchen counter mostly, but some are in the car and in the fridge. Nuun is on the kitchen counter, in my backpack and in the console in the car.
Oooh, very smart! I like the idea of keeping all that stuff in the car so that way you’ve always got it along for the ride. Impromptu run? You’re good to go!
I need to get more organized with my gear. It seems to end up all over my house.
I hear ya! Everything that lives in that drawer is pretty contained but there’s still more more more. Always more. 😉