AUTUMN BRINGS WITH IT COOLER TEMPERATURES, WETTER WEATHER, LESS DAYLIGHT. There might be more reason to carry gear and protect it than in the summer.  10 ITEMS, featured in a Competitor.com slideshow article, are designed to help you carry ‘stuff’. Included are:  a performance t-shirt with several zippered pockets, waist-pack that comes with a soft flask, running shorts with multiple pockets, packable jacket with pockets, ‘strappy’ bra with a front pocket, short running skort with side and back pockets.
 
Clothes with sufficient stowing capacity are much-prized apparel. Sometimes additional carry space is needed.  The slideshow includes gear that offers more ingenious ways to address this issue. I would like to try each:
 
-Ultimate Direction Fastdraw 600 hand-carry water bottle with a small ’backpack’ on it to carry a good-sized phone and a few other small items.
 
-Oiselle Roga Hat with a small, head-hugging zippered compartment
 
-UnderFuse Plus iron-on small pocket, recommended for the front of tights or compression shorts or tights.

-Armband by Sprigs that stretches to accommodate a phone of any size!
 
The item I am most interested in trying (it is ordered) is the Amphipod Xinglet Pocket Plus that helps runners position a phone in front, mid-chest, to use the flashlight or video function via a clear window in a protective pocket.  This also seems like an ideal place to simply carry a phone for easy access.  
 
The image shown in the article pictures the gray/silver version.  There is also a neon green “hi-viz” color. BOTH color models have a good amount of brilliant, highly reflective material on the adjustable straps, a BONUS SAFETY feature.  If this product performs as advertised, it seems like a real winner for fall running/walking in low light conditions! See it BELOW, and on the GEAR LOVE page, as well as the Sprigs armband.
 
RUN HAPPY!
 
http://running.competitor.com/2017/08/shoes-and-gear/pieces-gear-stash-stuff-run_167164
 
http://www.amphipod.com/products/visibility/xingletsbelts/xinglet-pocket-plus
 

GALVESTON ISLAND IN COASTAL SOUTHEAST TEXAS has been threatened all week by Harvey in it's forms as a tropical storm and hurricane, This is one of my training sites. Hot and very humid in the summer, it is nonetheless a lovely island beach on which to run and walk all year round,  on the Gulf of Mexico..  Not being in the area when weather trouble started, I'll need to wait to return.  My heart and prayers are with friends and family who remained for the duration.  And with everyone else affected. May returning clear bright skies jumpstart recovery.  Hang tough, Galveston! 

​RUN HAPPY!
​
http://www.galveston.com/tropical/harvey/

2017 FALL RUNNING/WALKING SEASON PREVIEW PLANNING
THANKSGIVING DAY IS THE NUMBER ONE most popular race day in the country according to RunningUSA.com post in 2016.  Do you want to be prepared to join the fun and run a 5K race? If you’ve not participated before, the Earned Runs Turkey Trot with (optional) Track Day Training Plan for beginners will start Monday September 11 this year.   It’s based on a plan developed by Mario Fraioli for Competitor.com. In 10 weeks, with a few travel days to spare, you will be ready.  Look for it to be posted shortly before or after Labor Day, September 4
 
Halloween and Day of the Dead: Turkey Trot Previews?
Halloween is the second most popular day to run a road race! Some beginners training with the Earned Runs Turkey Trot plan would be able to perform the long workout scheduled for October 28, as a practice event (not raced), on a 5K course that allowed at least 60 minutes to finish.  More details would be provided closer to race day.  Thus, a Halloween 5k scheduled October 28 or 29 might be a chance to experience a preview of an upcoming Turkey Trot race on Thanksgiving.
 
That day (October 28) the workout session includes a 5-minute warm-up walk, then 27-minute run/walk (3 rounds of 8 minutes running followed by 1 minute walking), then 5 minutes cool-down walk for a total of 37 minutes. Trainees with previous experience walking at least 3 miles a session could make up the remaining distance by walking.
 
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, will be celebrated in the USA from October 31-November 2 in 2017.  Festivals are held in some locations in the US and may include 5K races.  The weekends of October 27-29 and November 3-5 flank the official midweek ‘Dead’ holiday that festivals might be scheduled then. As in the case of Halloween, some Turkey Trot trainees may be able to participate with their scheduled workout.
 
On November 4, the workout session includes a 5-minute warm-up walk, then 33-minute run/walk (3 rounds of 10 minutes running followed by 1 minute walking), then 5 minutes cool-down walk for a total of 43 minutes.
 
Best to think ahead if you need a bit of extra time to train for a 5k on Thanksgiving.
 
RUN HAPPY!
 
http://www.runningusa.org/thanksgiving
 
http://www.runningusa.org/halloween
 
http://www.active.com/chicago-il/running/distance-running-races/uno-carrera-de-los-muertos-race-of-the-dead-5k-2017
 
http://losmuertos5k.com
​

​INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU GIVE UP ON RUNNING A GREAT FALL RACE
If you decided on a whim to run a fall race and fear that registration has closed, an article by Kristan Dietz for Competitor.com might be encouraging, “10 Fall Races That You Can Still Register For.” Surely there are other races that will accommodate late registration as well, so don’t give up without trying.
 
Investigate all possibilities.​
 
If race LOCATION means more to you than race distance, remember to check out the entire list of weekend events offered by the hosting organization. Especially if the feature race is sold out. A marathon may hold an additional 10-mile race that will satisfy a distance junkie who is too late to gain a spot on the longer course. A half marathon may schedule an additional 5k.
 
DOUBLE-UP. Run both a 5k plus 10K if race scheduling allows such a CHALLENGE.  Running festivals are ca