Get out there and shop! It’s the perfect time to take advantage of all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and find those perfect holiday gifts for the triathlete in your life!
Here are some perfect stocking stuffers and other gift ideas that we love:
- Insulated water bottles – There is nothing worse than training and reaching down for a sip of cold water only to find that it’s no longer cold. And insulated water bottle is a fabulous gift that will keep water colder longer while out on longer riders or runs.
- Smartphone handlebar bag/mount – I’m not saying that it’s safe to use a cell phone while biking (be sure they don’t get distracted while it’s mounted there), but it can be handy to have it nearby for GPS purposes. A handy bag can also hold keys, IDs and money, while it displays the phone’s screen. The bag can be useful on the trainer too where they can stream music or videos while they ride.
- The Garmin Forerunner 910XT is the best Garmin GPS watch to help train the triathlete in your life. It’s the only GPS devise that provides detailed swim metrics and also monitors distance, elevation, pace and heart rate for running and cycling. It is expensive however, but if collecting and analyzing training data is important to them, than this Garmin is a must have.
- Lap counter – If your triathlete isn’t quite ready for a fancy Garmin, than an affordable lap counter is a great gift to help them keep track of how many laps they do in the pool while training. It helps ease their tension while swimming so they don’t have to keep track so they can focus on what they’re there to do.
- Fitness/Running Headphones – These are headphones that are sweat-proof and actually stay in their ears while they run. To suit the needs of your triathlete’s active lifestyle check out Yurbuds or Snuggbuds
- Road ID – Everyone should take their personal safety seriously while running or cycling outside or alone. Road ID produces individual wristband, ankleband, or shoe tag ID tags that contain emergency contact information. They also have other safety products such as a flashing light for safety when running in the dark.
- Transition Mat – At a triathlon, the athlete needs some kind of mat to lay out all their gear, right under the bike wheel at the rack. They can use an old towel, but it’s pretty nice to have a mat specifically made for the triathlon. It won’t rumple up and get kicked around as much as a towel, and they can find their spot a lot easier if they are running into transition out of the swim looking for a their bright colored mat.
- A running belt – A running belt can carry their phone, gels, keys, and other necessities while running. SPIBelt is a great brand or the Ultimate Direction Meow is a bit bigger – which is great for woman who like to carry a bit more.
- Socks – whether it’s a few good pair of running socks or compression socks. Good socks are something all triathletes need, but hate to buy for themselves. Compression socks help the muscles recover after training for triathlons.
- Pull buoy – A pull buoy is an affordable swim tool to help swimmers adjust body positioning and gain upper body strength in the water. The foam pull buoy keep swimmers’ legs and hips at the surface of the water, allowing them to stop kicking and concentrate solely on pulling and body rotation technique.
We think with these ideas the triathletes in your life will be ready to start the New Year with some great new training regimens! If they need help with their triathlete training, have them contact me today!
