JackRabbit's New York Running Show!

Well after waking up at 5:45 am to run 4 miles in the rain, and then taking a 45 minute spin class at Flywheel Sports, I was pretty beat. And by the time I finished brunch, it was pretty late. I was a bit tempted to skip out on Jack Rabbit's New York Running Show. But I knew if I missed out on the show I would have been disappointed in the long run. So I mustered up my energy, and headed over to the Metropolitan Pavilion.

As soon as I walked in, I was very happy with my decision. Although it was the second day of the show and I had missed most of the speakers (In particular - Matt Long, author of "The Long Run" was speaking Friday afternoon. I really, really wanted to hear him because i absolutely loved his book - but alas, you can't do it all), there was still a pretty nice crowd.  As I looked around, there were so many booths, I didn't know where to begin! Here's a recap of some of my favorites.

JackRabbit was offering their own treadmill analysis. I was curious to see what shoes they would put me in, but my legs were just too tired!

The first booth I headed towards was Adidas. The first thing I noticed was a display showing off their micoach pacer system. Since I'm a total sucker for new toys - I had to check it out.  Basically, it's a chip that you clip on to your belt, and it  works with any mp3 player, and it measures speed, distance, and heart rate. There's another sensor that you need to clip onto your shoe to measure your stride, and then of course you need to wear the heart rate strap. But the cool part is that it works with your music player, so the system can "coach" you through your run. Then you can log on to your computer, and check out the stats. I would definitely be interested to try it out on a few runs, since I seem to really struggle with pacing.

Adidas micoach system

I also took some time to look at their shoe and clothes display. I need more workout clothes like a hole in the head, but what can I say? I love fashion, I love running, so I like my running clothes!

Adidas clothes - bright for spring!

In particular, there was a pair of racing flats that really caught my eye. My foot is pretty difficult (super narrow, low arch, and I over-pronoate like crazy). The rep said they do have a bit of stability in them...but I think I have alot of work to do on my form before I can go there. But it's fun to look!

Just looking at these beauties makes me want to run fast!

Next stop was Brooks. Their stuff is great and very technical - but both the shoes and the clothes don't really work for me that often. The shoes are too wide (curse of the narrow foot) and the clothes usually seem to be cut a little bigger (or maybe I'm just really petite).

Love the muted tones - so on trend with the runway!

But, even if they are a bit baggy on me, I think their Nightlife line is absoutely genius. It's a line of technical running clothes that comes in very bright yellow/green colors and is super reflective. Sure, my neon yellow pullover might not be the sexiest look for me - but when I'm running in the dark (in well lit areas only with a buddy of course) or even on a dark cloudy day, I just feel much safer knowing I'm more visible to cars

Brooks Nightlife line

My next stop was the Asics booth. The apparel offerings were a bit small, but the shoe selection was quite nice. They had the newish trail 2160s which I was really eager to check out. I've been wearing that line of shoes for ages - I think my first pair started in the 1000s. I have problems with a real motion control shoe because despite my awful gait, I am a small girl, and the motion control can be much "shoe" for me. The 2160 is the perfect compromise for me. But the real sell for me? They come in a AA (narrow) width, and the shoe just fits me like a glove. Unfortunately, the trail version only comes in regular width - so, I'll be stick with my tried-and-true favorites.

Asics 2160s

They also had their tri shoe on display, the Gel-Noosa. Again the whole-horrible-feet-and-gait combo does not make this a shoe for me...but it's just so cool looking, I had to snap a pic

Asics Gel-Noosa - you def won't be missed on the race course wearing these!

My next booth was Moving Comfort - aka the best running bras around. I think any girl can understand how hard it is to find a comfortable bra for your size! I'm a huge fan of the Vixen and the Alexa bras, but of course it all is dependent on your size

The Alexa bra in pretty spring colors! Hey if it's 95 degrees out and the shirt has to come off, at least the bra will look good out, right?

Across the way was CW-X - the original compression tights. Some runners will claim that compression tights solve ALL their problems. I'm a bit skeptical because I don't think any one piece of gear can magically make all your problems go away. But, gear can help, and I must say whenever I do wear my CW-X capris, I do feel a difference. The rep told me they started coming out in some colors because some women requested more than boring black. Hey, I can get on board with that!

I think I might just have to upgrade my black ones for pink and black pair!

My final stop was over at Saucony - and it was brief, because I was quickly starting to crash! But I did spot  a super cute outfit that I couldn't really imagine running in, but would be great for the gym. Hey, runners need to cross train too, right?

I would so rock this for Kettleball class

All in all, it was a great show - and I definitely have a new items on my spring shopping list!