This summer, working out has been even more important than usual for my mental and physical health. The combination of living a suburban life where I’m not walking as much as I do in the city, plus the increase in stress each day has made it feel essential.

I personally think there is no better way to keep my mind clear than a run, plus I love being able to goal set and make a plan, so I have been trying to increase my pace and distance over the last few months. I wanted to share the gear and technology that has been helping me (a relatively novice runner) manage the heat and the lack of spin classes and other indoor cross-training that I usually have.

Gear

• Since I’m only running outdoors (and often walking on off days), I started to experience a weird issue that I never had before - an ankle tan thanks to my cropped leggings. To combat this I finally gave into the biker short trend, buying the 8” length in my favorite compression fit from Old Navy. If you haven’t tried Old Navy Active wear, I can’t recommend it enough in terms of cost and function. The High Waist Elevate Compression style holds you in just the right amount, and a lot of the leggings even have convenient side mesh pockets to stash a mask in! While I am not going to start wearing biker shorts outside of my workouts, they are a great option for hot summer runs (especially if your thighs touch!).

• My other struggle has been the appearance of a sports bra tan (even with SPF 50 all over), which sparked a quest for non-racerback tops and sports bras. This one from Gaiam gives me enough support to run, but with slightly thinner and better placed straps than my other heavy-duty sports bras, so that you don’t end up with thick lines.

• Since I am on a more focused running plan with a long run and 2-3 short runs each week, I needed another pair of lighter sneakers. I found the New Balance 890 V7 and while I was worried about how much support they would give, I can say they have exceeded my expectations. They feel so light on my feet, get great air flow and keep my feed cool, and the color scheme looks so bright and summery (don’t pretend you don’t want to look cute working out!). The only negative is that the backs are a little high, so it did take me some time to break them in, but i was able to do so with only minor blisters.

Apps and Tech

• Tracking: For running, I have really come to rely on the Nike+ Running App. I started using this almost 10 years ago when I was training for my first half marathon and it involved putting a little pedometer chip into my shoelaces. The app has become significantly more sophisticated since then and I love the guided runs, using the timer setting to run intervals and how it tracks my progress over the years at this point. I’m very competitive with myself about mileage month to month!

• Tone It Up: Cross training is something I struggle with if I can’t make it to a gym or class and the only thing that has consistently motivated me is the Tone It Up App. Yes, it’s very “go girl” and pastel, but I love the camaraderie between the trainers, how they each have a niche within the group and the volume of content. Tone It Up regularly does 3-8 week programs that you can join and do with the larger community, or in your own time. They also have an easy-to-search database of all of their workouts, making it so simple to find the type of workout you want to do with the equipment you have at home and the length of time you want.

• One other tool I have been using definitely falls into the “things I do because a very fit celebrity told me to” - it’s Jessica Alba’s treadmill workout, but I do it outside on my sprint days. It’s a fun way to change things up and push myself to get faster, although my sprints are NOT as fast as hers.

• Finally, nothing is more important to me than music while I run, but I am hopeless at losing track of expensive technology, so small, easy to misplace AirPods are not for me. I am however deeply devoted to the Bose Soundsport Wireless Earbuds, which are supposed to be sweatproof and always feel so secure in my ears. I am on my second pair of them, but the first pair probably lasted me 3-4 years of heavy use.