Shoes are an issue for all runners: which ones to choose? Also: will I like the new model of the ones I’ve used so far? Have they changed something that will make me hate them, turning my life into a vale of tears? And also: will I be dressed enough to run today, since it’s raining? Or will I die because it is ridiculously hot?
Those are problems guys, all right.
But there is a far more serious one, oh yes.
Where do I put my cell phone? What about the keys?
Assuming that you are not Rockefeller and that your butler is always at home to open the door for you, if you go out without keys (to go running in your private 38-acre park, of course), you have the same problem as us mere mortals: when you go out for a run, you have to put your keys and cell phone somewhere. Not to mention the water bottle if you go out for a long run.
But let’s neglect the water supply for a moment and just focus on the rest. Why do pants have pockets so small that the mailbox key barely fits? Where should we put them?
Not to mention the cell phone, which then in recent years has become bigger and bigger: to put it in your pocket is out of the question, to hold it in your hand neither. All that remains is to go out without it or find another solution. However, everyone now tracks themselves using some app that is on their phone. That you therefore cannot leave at home. And that it’s big anyway, bigger and bigger (don’t make those things any bigger, please. Who asked you for a mini iPad for a cell phone? Even your denim pockets are melting by now).
Futuristic fabrics, ultrananomolecular breathability, and no pockets
I understand that sportswear is designed to promote performance and be comfortable, but unfortunately we have to close the front door and possibly carry a cell phone. We could remedy this with a smartwatch with connectivity but what if you don’t care? Maybe you really don’t want to buy it. You just need the good old cell phone. And the house keys, of course.
No way, it is really very rare to find clothing that has vaguely capacious pockets.
The solution
I found a solution, not even futuristic then. In fact, a friend suggested it. I have a fanny pack consisting of two zippered pockets made of elastic material. If you don’t put anything in it, it has the thickness and bulk of a belt, and if you put anything in it, it swells up like a python’s belly. But it has one big advantage, actually two: it stays adhered to the body-thereby avoiding striking parts of the body with a pounding of small metal objects or a single brick-shaped object known by the name “cell phone”-and it’s very cheap. I’ve had it for many, many years, it has a now broken zipper, and it was only 5 euros on Amazon. Best five euros spent in my life. I never part with it. Really: I can’t go out running if I don’t have it. Also because I would not know where to put my keys and cell phone. In the pocket you say? But what pockets!
And have you come up with any other ingenious solutions? Share!
(Photo by Frank Flores on Unsplash)