I love a bit of new gear now and again. Who doesn't! It involved both clothes shopping and running shopping! As long as I don't go over board though haha.
It can be a bit of a gamble buying new clothing though, as I've found over the years. Sometimes, you find a great tee-shirt or shorts, which fit perfectly and feel great in the shop - but halfway into a long run you find it chaffing! Or too loose, or too tight - just not as perfect as you thought. And now you can't take it back, as it's been worn, so that's money lost. A few of my items have been relegated to the back of the wardrobe for this reason, and only get worn on the short/easy runs when comfort for many hours isn't necessary.
Most of the problems have been with shorts. I prefer tight ones, but they tend to bunch up after a few miles. I got a really cute running skirt with shorts underneath, and after a few miles they just irritated me as the undershorts just weren't comfortable.
Ironically, a lot of my best summer clothing was dirt cheap, or free. For long runs in hot weather, I've got 4 pairs of basic school PE shorts from Asda - 2 for £6!! There's nothing special about them (no pocket, or drawstring on the waist) but they do the job. And my best crop tops were both under £10 each from TK Maxx and the London Marathon Expo (yet you can shell out £40 for a ShockAbsorber!). For anything over 15 miles, I usually wear one of 2 charity vests i was given for raising money for some races last year.
Winter running is different though - my favourite gear is what I have paid for most for. There's a huge difference between my £30 basic Nike tights and the higher end £50 Nike nights - and tights can make or break a long run. I think you get what you pay for with tee-shirts and long sleeved tops as well, I've only bought cheap or mid range tops (haven't brought myself to pay £45 or more for anything by Gore yet) and I prefer all my mid-range to the cheaper tops.
Finally my running backpack. I have a love/hate relationship with this. It's brilliant for carrying my drink and other essentials, leaves my hands free and spreads the weight evenly. But the webbing material isn't soft enough, and rubs the back of my shoulders badly. I have to put on loads of plastics and tape to try and stop this happening, but after a few hours of running and getting a sweat up, the tape peels off. I'm sort of used to it, but it does look like I am always burning the back of my shoulders! It would be good if I could find a high necked top to wear under it, but I only have one which is not that suited to running. The backpack also wears away at the clothing worn underneath it, so a few of my tops are getting very bobbly.
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