It's that time of year when the holiday catalogs are arriving by the dozens! I guess I really shouldn't complain about receiving so many catalogs when we have just mailed our RaceReady Catalog to the 18,000 customers in our data base. (Don't worry - if you are one of those 18,000 we will never trade or sell your information.)
I've noticed a trend with the offerings in this years Catalogs: Gadgets! Big theme is IPODS. I didn't realize there were such an abundance of IPOD types and carriers. I also get a kick out of expensive kitchen gadgets. Think your StarBucks coffee is costly? You too can make your own expresso at home for $1495. If that is over budget, how about your very own hot dog cooker for a mere $49? Ah, the joys of the modern kitchen!
One of the aspects of running, walking & hiking that has always appealed to me is that they are gadget free sports! The only necessary pieces of equipment are some shoes, some clothes and some ground. These days many marketing folks would like you to think otherwise. This weekend when we were training in the Park, we bumped into several folks with fancy-smancy walking sticks and fanny packs, fuel belts etc. Perhaps the logic is that if you plunk down beaucoup bucks for this "equipment" that you will enjoy the sport more. I don't know about you, but I would rather us go back to the good old days when if you needed a walking stick you picked one up from the ground and then put it down when you were finished with it. What a simple concept. As for water, I don't personally need to be weighed down with all that carrying paraphernalia either, when I am only out for a few hours. I've found that carrying my water bottle in my hand works just fine, thank you. As they say, "to each his own!"