Its time to perform a head-to-toe gear check. Having an arsenal of gear that keeps you comfortable while training for and running a marathon is critical. Heres the bottom line: You know youve picked the right gear when you dont even have to think about it. It might take trying different brands, fabrics and features, but once you find your favorites, it makes getting out of bed to run that much more exciting. The only thing on your mind should be the next stride, the next 100 yards, the next mile, not if your clothes are riding up or chaffing you.In this weeks blog, Ill give you my tips and tricks for picking the right gear for you.ShoesMany people think this is the only piece of gear you need. Its definitely not the only thing, but it may be the most important. And finding the right running shoe is vital. Running companies make their shoes differently, from varying types of support (think, high or low arches, more or less cushion, etc.) to assorted colors.Now, Im not an expert and cant tell you exactly what type of shoe will work best for you. But my best advice is to find one or two pairs that you like, regardless of the brand, and rotate using them.Rotation, I believe, is important because it allows your shoes to last longer. For the first couple of months of my training, I use two different pairs of shoes. Then, in the last two months of training, I buy the pair I will race in and put them in the rotation to break them in. Most running stores and experts recommend replacing your running shoes every 300 to 500 miles. For me, that distance falls about every four months, but I can stretch that time by rotating and not wearing the same shoe every day.ClothesMake sure the rest of your body, aside from your feet, is comfortable. And the key to clothing is testing out what feels the best.While training, I like to try out plenty of different outfits, including the underwear and sports bra, that I could potentially wear on race day. This helps me figure out what shorts or leggings wont ride up so I can feel confident going into the race. I like to test sleeveless, short-sleeve and long-sleeve shirts, as well as short spandex, shorts and leggings. I never like to race in anything I havent previously worn.I recommend testing completely new gear during easy runs. You should also try out potential race clothes during runs of substance, such as long, tempo and strength runs, because those simulate race conditions.Its important to remember that its not about how you look, its about how you feel. Still ...I like to wear a lot of color. For example, my compression socks, which help keep my shin splints at bay, are pink. But its not all aesthetic! Bright clothes -- especially those with reflective features -- help cars see me as I run against traffic. Better to be bright and be seen, than unseen and potentially in a dangerous situation.OtherGear is more than the clothing you put on your body. It can also include how you track your run, fuel your body and recover.I use a Garmin Forerunner 235 GPS tracking watch. I really like how easy it is to read its face while I run. It also has a heart rate monitor I can use to judge my pacing.Hydrating during a run is often overlooked, but its critical for me during these summer months (and year-round, for that matter). After using a hydration belt for the first part of the year, I invested in a hydration backpack -- and it has been my saving grace. I used to fumble with a bottle and worry about the belt, but without that struggle, my long runs have been much better. Again, everyone is different and its all about testing different methods and products to find what fits you.And the best piece of recovery equipment I own is a foam roller. Using it is certainly painful in the moment, but afterwards, you feel like youve given yourself a personal massage.And finally, Im unfortunately training for the New York marathon during the hot, humid and sticky summer -- personally my least favorite season in which to run. In fact, this is what I like to call high chaffing season. As a person who doesnt have a thigh gap -- but who would like to stay cool during my runs -- a product called Body Glide is my best friend. Body Glide goes on like a deodorant and helps prevent rubbing from your skin or clothes.So remember: Test things out, make sure they work for you, then -- forget about them! Happy gear hunting!!Training Notebook:Longest run: 13.1 miles (Bristol Half Marathon on Aug. 14) Hardest run: Bristol Half Marathon -- miles 7.5 to 10.5 are straight uphill Highest weekly mileage: 41 miles Biggest accomplishment: Bristol Half Marathon -- this is the second year I ran this race and I placed third in my age groupMegan Flood is a seven-time marathoner and half marathoner. She is on a quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon and hopes New York 2016 is her ticket to Boston. You can follow her progress every other week here on espnW.com and on Twitter @meganflood11. Cheap Onitsuka Tiger Shoes Online . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Cheap Womens Onitsuka Tiger Shoes . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. http://www.learninium.com/ . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Onitsuka Tiger Shoes Sale Australia . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Onitsuka Tiger Australia Cheap . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. NEW YORK -- Echoes. Long after the USTA demolishes Louis Armstrong Stadium, work that will begin immediately after the conclusion of this US Open, the echoes will remain. They will resound even after a state-of-the-art roofed stadium is built and inaugurated on the venerable Armstrong footprint in 2018.Younger tennis fans might not even know that Armstrong, originally built for the 1964 Worlds Fair and called the Singer Bowl after the sewing machine manufacturer, was the main stadium of the US Open until 1996. When Arthur Ashe Stadium was completed and put to service in 1997, Armstrong became the subordinate. It continued to produce thrilling matches, many of which lasted well into the morning hours.The very first match on Armstrong was between Bjorn Borg and Bob Hewitt. The final one was a quarterfinal mens doubles clash Tuesday between the Hall of Fame American team of Bob and Mike Bryan and Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez (they arent related) to close out an era.Everyone probably has a list of favorite Armstrong matches. Here is our top 10 countdown:No. 10: 1993 second round, Mats Wilander d. Mikael Pernfors 7-6 (3), 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4This match didnt even start until 10:26 p.m. Pernfors, a Swede who had played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia and won the hearts of many fans with his appealing clay-court game, was in the midst of a comeback. Wilander, a fellow Swede who had lost his drive after becoming No. 1 in 1988, was also trying to reinvent himself. Mounting a furious comeback, Wilander finally won the match before a sparse but enthralled and enthusiastic clutch of fans at 2:26 a.m.No. 9: 1995 final, Steffi Graf d. Monica Seles 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-3This match was tantalizing because it featured one of the most remarkable, and bizarre, backstories in tennis history. Seles had been successfully challenging Grafs supremacy until a deranged Graf fan stabbed Seles during a match two years earlier. The US Open was just Seles second tournament, and first Grand Slam, back on tour. When Seles blanked Graf in the second set and it appeared that she might be picking up right where she left off, Graf roared back to win her 18th career Grand Slam singles title.No. 8: 1984 semifinals, Ivan Lendl d. Pat Cash 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4)This match was one of four epic battles on what still might be the greatest and certainly most competitive day in Open tennis history. This Super Saturday began at 11:07 a.m. with Stan Smith defeating John Newcombe in the senior mens semifinals 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Later, Martina Navratilova captured her second straight US Open singles title, defeating Chris Evert 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors ended the days play at 11:14 p.m. with McEnroe eliminating the two-time defending champion in a five-set barnburner. But the first semifinal featuring Lendl and Cash was the most thrilling match of them all, with Lendl surviving a match point to win it. Lendl played eight US Open finals in a row starting in 1982, winning three.No. 7: 1980 final, John McEnroe d. Bjorn Borg 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 6-4This was McEnroes second straight US Open title, but the path to it was agonizing. He dismantled rival Ivan Lendl in four sets in a quarterfinal, eliminated Jimmy Connors in one of their epic five-setters in the semifinals, and finally whipped Borg in final. McEnroe avenged his loss to Borg in the Wimbledon final of a few months earlier. Borg would not be the same player again after this final.No. 6 1981 final, Tracy Austin d. Martina Navratilova 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1)This was the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Championship. Fittingly, Americans would claim both singles titles as well as the mens and womens doubles titles. One day before McEnroe defeated Borg in the mens final for the second year running and drove Borg from the game, 18-year old Austin also toppled an icon. The blonde youngster from Rolling Hills, California, had barged right into the developing rivalry between Chris Evert and Navratilova, rattling both veterans. Navratilova was just coming to the peak of her powers at the time of this match and pplaying in her first US Open final.dddddddddddd She attacked relentlessly, but Austins accuracy, consistency and nerve were too much. Navratilova, who had upset Evert in the semifinals, double-faulted on match point.No. 5: 1999 third round, Serena Williams d. Kim Clijsters 4-6, 6-2, 7-5This was the year 17-year-old Williams went on to win her first US Open title, and she remembers this three-setter on Armstrong well. No one knew who Kim Clijsters was at the time, Williams said. She became such a wonderful, great player. I was just on the come-up myself. That propelled me to win my first Open. Thats something Ill never forget.No. 4: 1992 semifinals, Stefan Edberg d. Michael Chang 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-4This match was the centerpiece of one of the greatest ironman runs in Open tennis history. Edberg had rebounded from fifth-set deficits against Richard Krajicek in the round of 16 and Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he faced the same hopeless situation against one of the toughest, most consistent players on tour. Chang had a reputation as indefatigable, but Edberg found stamina even he didnt know he possessed to outlast Chang in the longest match in US Open history, five hours and 26 minutes. Edberg went on to defeat 1990 US Open champ Pete Sampras in the final.No. 3: 1996 quarterfinals, Pete Sampras d. Alex Corretja 7-6 (5), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7)This was the last year Armstrong was the main stadium at the US Open. Sampras was an established talent by this point, and Corretja a young Spanish clay-court artisan. Some critics still felt that it all came too easily for Sampras, that he was not prepared to dig deep and leave it all out on the court in order to win. But in this match, Sampras demonstrated that his heart was as big as his serve. He overcame a spirited opponent, dehydration and cramps. At one point he retreated to the back of the court and vomited. Woozy and struggling to focus, he still managed to win in a fifth-set tiebreaker. It showed the tennis world that I have heart, Sampras later said of that remarkable performance.No. 2: 1991 fourth round, Jimmy Connors d. Aaron Krickstein 3-6, 7-6 (8), 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)This match might not have had the superb shot-making or big-picture resonance of some on this list, but who hasnt seen it repeated during a US Open rain delay (in the pre-roof era) or cited in any number of documentaries? Connors was 39 years old, and it was his birthday. He roared back from a 5-2 deficit in the fifth set as the crowd sang Happy Birthday. This match was the apex of Connors remarkable run at that US Open. Its resolution was as improbable as a feel-good sports movie, even if it left Krickstein feeling lousy, like he had been reduced to a prop in the narrative created by a man whom he considered a friend and mentor.No. 1: 1988 final, Mats Wilander d. Ivan Lendl 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4This match was played on a Monday, which unfairly diminished its impact. Its the least acknowledged of all the greatest tennis matches. But it is right up there on the short list of the most compelling tennis matches of this or any other era. At four hours and 55 minutes, its still the longest singles final in US Open history. Lendl was well-nigh invincible at the US Open by then, having won the three previous finals. But Wilander was in the midst of his career year. A win in the final would earn him the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career and make him one of the few men in tennis history to win three majors in the same year (Wilander never did win Wimbledon).The match was a brilliant struggle in which each player freely changed tactics each time his opponent seemed to gain some comfort. Games were fought over as bitterly as sets. Unforced errors were scarce. That Wilander seemed a David against Lendls Goliath only enhanced the occasion. Winning the match took so much out of Wilander that he soon went into a motivation and rankings swoon from which he never really recovered. Nike NFL Jerseys China China NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL T-shirts Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Hoodies NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Stitched Jerseys Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys ' ' '