Kit

Now I’m a firm believer that you need the right tools for the job and if you buy cheap you buy twice. Years of working in a sports retail shop in my youth has given strength to that argument as a lot of the time you do genuinely get what you pay for. Cheaper trainers have less features in terms of cushioning and support, cheaper bikes are heavier and the components not as efficient or (to a certain degree) durable, cheaper goggles let in more water than the titanic, etc. That being said you do reach a point at which you end up paying for a brand or a gimmick rather than the actual product and it’s easy to get lost in all the jargon. These companies pay their marketing departments a hefty sum to come up with fancy names and phrases that draw us in and convince us that it’s worth parting with that hard earned cash for when at the end of the day that running top is basically the same as the free one you got from your last 10k, that new cushioning system on those trainers is just a slightly different name for the foam used on the other brand and the big name international bike brand uses the same carbon fibre and group set as the local start up firm but charges a lot more.

So what do I use and why?

Now let me start by saying that I’m by no means an expert and kit is a very subjective thing.

Trainers

After years of trying different brands I decided to go and get my running gait and pronation type checked at a local running shop. I highly recommend that you do this as just like you’d get your tyres checked for balance and alignment if your car was wobbling about, the same is true for your feet. For the sake of a few minutes on a treadmill with someone who knows what they’re talking about, a whole world of comfort and progression can be unlocked for you.

It turns out that I over pronate (my feet roll inwards) when I run so I needed something that supported me. In the end I went with the ASICS Gel Kayano and these have served me very well over the years.

A few years ago I went against my own advice and better judgement, I bought some trainers that were cheaper than my usual ASICS but sounded amazing and had some of the latest technology, etc. I was excited to try out my new Adidas and had worn them a few times for shorter runs but then came my first 10k event in them. I was flying round to start with but then something didn’t feel right, I thought I was just over thinking things but as soon as I crossed the finish line and slowed down my feet literally ached as if I had cramp through my arches and I had to limp all the way back to the car. I couldn’t run for about two weeks and even when I tried to in them, the pain just came straight back. I decided to go back to my old kayanos and surprise surprise no pain. Now I’m not saying that there was anything wrong with the Adidas, they just weren’t the right shoes for my feet and I paid the price. I put fashion and advertising before function and science and it resulted in injury and having to spend more money by buying another pair of trainers to replace the Adidas.

Cycling

If you’re already into cycling you’ll know that it’s one of the fastest ways to spend money in the world but if you’re just getting into it then do your research and visit your local bike shop. Sure you could go to your local big bike shop and get a good deal on a bike and all will be well with the world but please consider the local ones as well. Often they have been set up by people who started off in the big chains but wanted to deliver a better product and service and so risked it all to go it alone against the more established names. The staff there are usually very knowledgeable, passionate and can often strike a great deal as they are their own boss.

In my youth i used to cycle all over the place on my mountain bike to go and see my friends and then i got my driving licence and it’s as if i left the humble bike in my past as it wasn’t until one day at work many years later when i saw the advert for the ‘cycle to work’ scheme. By that point I’d moved house to what was a relatively acceptable commuting distance on a bike (about 13 miles each way) and when i saw that the deal let you pay monthly and save on the tax, etc then i decided now was the time to get back on a bike. I still remember picking up my hybrid and riding it the 10 miles home. I had a massive grin on my face and felt like a kid on Christmas Day all over again, I’d rediscovered the joys of cycling. A change of role at work brought me even closer to home by a few miles and so (often in the company of a friend who i worked with) i cycled to and from work at all hours of the day and night (due to shift work) and in all weathers. If anything it was better cycling in winter when everyone else was jammed in their cars in traffic queueing to get home and I’d just whizz by in my winter bibs and beat them home.

Then came the step up from hybrid to full on road bike (or racer as they were known in my youth). I spent literally months and months scouring the net looking for one with the right spec for me, I’d budgeted myself about £1000 and had got a new 0% credit card to whack it on. I finally narrowed it down and convinced myself that i wanted a Ribble R872, i was all set to place an order when one day at work i walked by this vision of loveliness all dripping in carbon and sleek lines. What the hell is that!? I thought before having a closer look and noting the ‘Planet X’ logo. Well that changed everything and my research began again. It appeared that Planet X was basically Yorkshire’s version of Ribble and so being the proud Yorkshireman that i am I couldn’t very well go and buy something from a Lancashire firm when i could save myself a drive and pop down t’road and buy local.

I ended up with a Planet X Pro Carbon SRAM Rival 22 which i still have and use to this day. I’ve upgraded the wheels with some Mavic Cosmic Carbons and keep tweaking with the saddle as I apparently have the most sensitive arse known to man but the bike still does me proud.

I went with SRAM over Shimano as it was apparently lighter and you soon find that in the world of cycling the term ‘marginal gains’ is bounded around all over the place. This was my attempt at trying to start off on the right foot as I knew that otherwise I’d just buy a cheaper bike that would last me a year and then I’d want to upgrade the whole thing so it would cost me more in the long run.

Swimming

Now this is still a weird and mysterious world to me in that I’m so naive I couldn’t really say what is good and what isn’t. All I know is that when it comes to swimming, my ‘style’ is essentially based on me fighting with the water to prevent my death until I reach the other side or complete the lap. It’s by far and away my worst discipline but it’s the reason I signed up to an Ironman so that I would have to force myself to become a better swimmer. I don’t naturally float unlike the majority of the population and so I’ve come to love my pull buoy in the pool and my wetsuit in the open water for affording me that extra bit of buoyancy which in turn allows me to focus on improving my breathing or my stroke, etc. Wetsuits are a minefield of marketing speech like everything else but I was fortunate enough to be given one as a birthday present a couple of years ago and it’s been great for me. A lot of people buy them second hand to start with and equally you can grab some bargains from many of the usual websites. Essentially the thicker the neoprene the more buoyant the suit is in that part as most will have differing thicknesses throughout the suit so read the text that’s with it along with the questions about it and the reviews before you commit.

Those are the major pieces of kit but there are many smaller ones that I will discuss as I complete further posts.

Until then, happy shopping.