Day 35: Fetish

This running thing is quite the racket... if you're in the business of selling all the fancy -- and super-expensive -- gear. I swear, it's like a fetish. For tomorrow's TEN-MILE long run (I know! -- no one has ever run that far before!), I've gotten the following equipment ready:

• Super-tech T-shirt, with "wicking fabric"
• Snazzy headband and artificial-fiber hat
• Sunglasses that make me look like a psycho (old Ray-Bans shattered in the bike crash)
• Wristband (actually just a plain old wristband -- it stands out!)
• Gnarly running shorts, with built-in unmentionables
• Double-layered blister-inhibiting socks
• Brooks Adrenaline anti-pronation shoes
• Knee-brace (left leg)
• Stopwatch (left wrist) and heart-rate monitor (chest and right wrist)
• iPod loaded with podcast of "Talk of the Nation" (intermittently insufferable)
• Waist-mounted bottle holder and pocket, with water, "goo," and electrolyte-replacement

There are so many catalogs and stores that sell this stuff. You could go nuts. Do I get the Nike shirt, or the Brooks shoes, or the Adidas this, or the Asics that? And am I actually expected to pay retail?

Meanwhile, tomorrow may be the hottest day of the year -- mid-90s, and humid. Maybe I should just have gotten the helmet that holds two ice-cold cans of beer!