Holiday Gift Giving For Your Favorite Athlete

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannakkah and Holiday Greetings!  It's that time of year again, time to shop for those you love.   In the spirit of giving and receiving, here are some of my favorite items that I (or any triathlete) cannot live without.  And while I'm at it,  I'll toss in a few items I'd love to have under the Christmas tree waiting for me!

1.  Runner's World Magazine

There is nothing better than opening up my mailbox to find the latest issue of Runner's World magazine all slick and glossy and ready for me to dive into it's pages.  Besides being a great motivator for runners to get out and hit the pavement (especially in the freezing cold winter months), it's super informative and always provides the latest information on training, workouts, stretching and nutrition for the serious or not-so-serious runner in the family.

While there is an option to order a subscription for your iPad or Kindle, I still enjoy flipping through the real live magazine.  Definitely a favorite read for me for at least the past twenty years.






2.  Stance Socks 

A new soft, thick sock is a luxury unlike anything else.  Now add style to that mix and you're obviously talking about Stance Socks.  The reason these socks works for athletes is they are multi-function.  Slip on a pair of knee highs for your mountain bike ride or ski run.  Then grab another pair to wear out to dinner. Just to shake up the matchy-matchy rule, most Stance socks are sold in coordinating yet un-matched pairs.  Many are sold in sets of three.  Bring out the funny, unexpected side of your style.  Get a pair of Stance Socks.  You'll love 'em.  I promise.

3.  The Blendtec

I know, I know, this puppy is expensive.  You'll spend almost $400 on basically, a blender.  But let me tell you, this is money well spent.  I was skeptical when my daughter told me I HAD to have one of these.  I thought my old blender was adequate.  So while visiting her one weekend, I tried it out.

Let me tell you, this bad boy makes smoothies so smooth you can grind up tree bark in one and never even know its in the cup.  When I used to make my nutritious smoothie concoctions, chunks of kale and/or spinach in the mix kept my kiddos at bay.  Day One with the Blendtec and everything was different.  It chops, it blends, it mixes, it smoothes -- all to a consistency only found at high end restaurants.

If your athlete drinks protein shakes, this is a must.  (Athletes need their protein)  My butternut squash soup is to die for when I use the Blendtec.  Everything is better with this little appliance.  Definitely worth the hefty price tag.

4.  Garmin 910xt

I saved the best for last, because I am absolutely in love with this new Garmin 910xt.  It is THE ULTIMATE tool for a triathlete.  It does so many things I can't even begin to list them, but the top two for me:  it counts your laps in a pool, and it accurately measures the distance of your open water swims.  This Garmin revolutionizes triathlon training.  It is so easy to use and keeps a serious triathlete on track with heart rate functions and GPS tracking for routes and distances.

The perfect paring for this watch is a Premium membership at Strava.com.  Your athlete should know what I'm talking about when I say Strava: the fun tool to track your runs, rides and swims and see how you stack up to other athletes around your neighborhood or around the country.  You can track runs with your iPhone, if you want to drain your battery as fast as possible.  The better alternative is the Garmin 910xt.  It's the best training tool you'll find out there today.