As I have gotten more and more serious about my running over the past four months or so, I have made incremental improvements to the gear I use or wear. For example, I started out running in simple training shoes, which were no good. So I upgraded to Addidas and then later to my current shoes, the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7. I have only had a few blisters here and there as a result of this investment. I also used to drink just water on my runs. Now I make my own Gatorade most nights, giving my body the salts it needs while saving the expense of buying the stuff each night. And I recently started using gel shots on my long runs to better fuel myself.
This has also been the case with my running shorts. I started out with simple mesh shorts but quickly found they would be tough to run in for long distances. I bought a nice pair of running shorts at Target back in July that have been awesome. In fact, they are the shorts I normally run in now. I recently went back to Target to try to find a couple more pairs of these awesome shorts, only to find that they weren’t being made any longer for the season. I bought two pairs of another style of running short instead. These have a lining in them similar to underwear, which I was skeptical about at first but am fine with now. I hadn’t worn them yet until last night. That’s when I discovered that they are the worst running shorts ever made. Ever.
For one thing, they have no pockets. Are you just supposed to carry everything in your hands? I’m not sure what would make someone design shorts without pockets. What possible logic could they be using? Secondly, the drawstring on the shorts is connected. In other words, rather than one string around your wait, it’s actually a looped string. As a result, it’s almost impossible to tie the shorts tight enough to prevent them from gradually slipping down as you run. This is a very bad thing, particularly when one is at the gym. I had to stop not once, not twice, but three times to retie the shorts during my run to make them tight enough. Again, what is the point of that? Why not just make the drawstring have two ends so you can tie them like the other 90% drawstrings in the world?
So, I will be taking the shorts back to Target this weekend hopefully. Falls Road Running Store is having a post marathon sale on Saturday so I may go out there and get real running shorts made by people who use their frontal lobes on a regular basis.
This was in addition to the burning and cramping that plagued my right leg through the first 2 miles of the run. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper through the first half of the run. However, after reaching a point where I was relatively sure that my shorts wouldn’t fall down mid-stride and had gotten some Gatorade in me, my leg loosened up a little and the rest of the run was just fine. Still, I hate having those crappy runs where your legs feel like they weigh 300 pounds and everything is either hurting or feels tired.
Tonight I am doing a tempo run (of sorts), and those always feel good. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I’m running faster and feel stronger, or that they’re shorter than my usual runs so I know I’ll be done sooner. Regardless, I think tonight will feel better. I forgot to post my theoretical schedule for this week on Monday, so here it is:
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: Easy, 4.50 miles
Wednesday: Tempo, 3 miles
Thursday: Easy 4.50 miles
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Easy 4.50 miles
Sunday: ZOO ZOOM 2007, 5 miles
Total: 21.50 miles
I also said in yesterday’s post that I would be doing 9 miles for my long run this weekend. Obviously, with the race on Sunday, I won’t be doing a long run this week. I’ll hit 9 miles next weekend. As a result, my weekly mileage for this week will be lower than usual.
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