So I’m a ‘n00b’ at running on a track. Actually, I was a total beginner yesterday, having set foot on a track for the first time. I never ran on a track at all in HS, when I played soccer we ran around the fields, and we surely didn’t run laps before ski team. @jasoncwarner dragged me to a local PHX HS track yesterday (Sandra Day O’Connor) in an attempt to PR for my final time at #tweet5k (http://tweet5k.org). My first (2) attempts had some environmental issues - the first run it was 102º, the second time I had some slippage on the grass soccer fields at toe-off. All things considered, a track workout was the way to go. I started the day in 3rd place for the Male 35-39 with 22:55.

The hardest part was actually getting to the track; it seems to not be open on weekends. As former hooligans it was a non-issue for us to hop the fence. The surface was great, but at 10:30ish, it was just starting to heat up (89º and rising).

Jase and I did a warm-up lap, and devised our plan of attack. I needed to hit 12.5 laps around the 400m track to hit the 5k mark. In order to keep proper count of those laps, I’d move from track 1 to 2 to 3 at each circuit… that sounded like a decent idea until I started running.

Mylan was to keep my pace at 7:00/miles and work towards negative splits. The last (3-5-er ALL) 5k’s I’ve done I’ve gone out waaaay too fast. My fastest mile ever was the first a sub-6 at the O’Hartford 5k in ‘07. I smoked myself in that first mile and only posted a 21:20. My first (2) tweet5k attempts I’d also gone out in a 6:20ish pace for the first mile and my results haven’t gotten much better.

Going out at a slower than normal pace was made a little more difficult by my Timex Ironman watch battery finally dying. I didn’t have a good feel for how my pace was, and Jason was running with the stopwatch at his own pace. I never got knew what my first mile was, so didn’t know whether to pick it up or not. As I hit the 4th lap, I noticed a considerable addition to the distance by going out a lane each time. We knew there’d be a little addition, but it seemed somewhere on the magnitude of 20-40 meters each revolution. Somewhere around 4.5 or 5.5 laps Jase shouted out
9:13″ and I tried to do the mental arithmatic to figure out my pace - but knew something was off with the distance. He also realized that my time was growing between laps, yet my stride looked the same. He tried to do some quick math, but as I hit the “3 mile” mark I knew it was too late - I wasn’t going to hit the PR and was actually a minute slower than I’d even feel good enough to post. Something had been awry in our math, and there was no use trying to figure it out. Next chance I get, I’m doing all 12.5 laps from lane #1 and nailing my PR.

If you haven’t checked out the tweet5k, by all means do so. It’s a brilliant idea to raise money for charity, and for $10 you get to run your own 5k anywhere in the world and post your time thru Twitter — not to mention raise money for multiple charities! Check it out: http://tweet5k.org

Update 5/21/09: I finally got the new size (41) of the Vibram Five Fingers and popped ‘em on. The first thought; these are too tight also. I read the instructions, adjusted them and have been walking around on the carpet and they are just plain uncomfortable. I really want to like these shoes; I really want to use them for training and improve my forefoot running… but it’s hard to when they hurt. Instead of a liberating feeling, my toes feel squished and suffocated. Frankly, I couldn’t wait to get them off my feet. My co-worker bought (3) different sizes of the Classic model, and none actually fit well - he sent ‘em all back for a refund.

My tips:

• Unless your toes are perfectly shaped and descend uniformly from big toe to small, these shoes just don’t fit well.
• If your second toe is more than 1/16″ longer than your big toe; forget it.
• They look way more comfortable in pictures than they actually are.

Final judgment on these shoes: They were a big waste of my time. For a shoe that is so difficult to fit, the chart and instructions online are woefully inadequate and their return policy isn’t customer-friendly. I highly suggest that if you can’t try several pair of these on in a store to hold onto your money. Even if they fit perfectly, the price ($80) is outrageous for a fitted slipper.

Vibram Five Finger Sprint - My grade: C-

From Earlier Post:
“Ouch.” My little toe on both feet are absolutely crushed. One thing that can be said about shoes that hug each toe; when they are too tight there’s no wiggle room. A few steps later I had to take them off; as I stepped on the ball of my foot my toes couldn’t even spread without crushing the tips. I cut my toenails last night in preparation, so those couldn’t be any shorter — it seemed I just bought the wrong size. Frustrated, I go back and measure my size exactly like it says on the site.

Maybe I needed to really squish my toes down to get the right length. initially, I measured them at 10″. If I squish ‘em flat, I can get my longest toe just under 10 1/4″. So if my longest toe is 10″, that’s a size 40. At 10 1/4″ I’ve got to swap mine out for a size 41.

UPDATE 5/13: OK, this is on hold for a little bit — as in when I have a full day open and it’s not 100+ degrees here in AZ. I’ve got some neat plans and hope to be embarking on this little jaunt soon.

Next weekend my plan is to run 50 miles… but I’m not sure where I’ll do it. Optimally, it’ll be a point-to-point run and actually “get somewhere”. Of course, I’ll need a ride back - that’s where the planning comes in.

I’ve been tossing around the idea of a 42-mile run in honor of Pat Tillman (#42 when he played for the Sun Devils) from ASU in Tempe to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale (where the Cardinals now play). The route would have to be extended to hit 42, I’d like to take it north to Scottsdale and then maybe West via Carefree Highway… but that’ll wait for another day.

My plan for next weekend should be from Happy Valley Road to Camelback Mountain, 1 time up & down Echo Canyon, then back home = 50 miles!

Map

For suport; I’m planning to bring a debit card, iPhone and a belted bottle holder. My plan is to run with Jason & Laura for as long as they want (IF they want) and see how quickly I can do 50 miles. Sound crazy?

I’ve been looking forward to getting my toes into a pair of these socks for almost 2 years. When training for the ‘07 OBX Marathon, a buddy of mine sent me an article on these socks and we both vowed to get a pair. Seems it was something we never got around to ordering, but the name stuck with me. Since then a few other conversations I’ve had with runners have covered the topic of socks and someone will say “Have you ever seen those socks with the individual toes?” I try and sound like I know what I’m talking about and say “Yeah, those are injinjis, and they are supposedly great for a more natural running feel… yadda yadda”. Until today, I’d never worn them - but after a stop at REI I’m the proud owner of 3 pair.

Getting ‘em on: This is a total non-issue. It took about 2 seconds longer than usual to guide each toe into position. The socks are very pliable (CoolMax / Nylon & Lycra) and stretch to fit.

Comfort: First impression; “There’s something stuck between my toes!” They wrap each toe, and it might take me a little bit to get used to having fabric between my toes. I’m wearing them right now (5 min so far) and it’s still a little strange.

Fit on foot: I will never be a foot model, that much is sure. I don’t just have ugly feet, I have misshapen, ugly toes. My second toe is considerably longer than my first, and my little toe is the runt of the litter. Because of the varying lengths of my toes, the socks are snug on some toe tips and baggy on others. I’m a size 9.5 and these Medium socks are for 8-10.5. I fall pretty squarely in the middle range of these socks. UPDATE: 15 minutes later, totally used to the fabric between toes, actually love being able to stretch out each toe!

Fit in shoes: Cool! My toes get to move independently, and the toebox in my UnderArmor Running shoes feels huge! I’ve been walking around the house for 15 minutes with shoes on and these socks are pretty comfortable. The do feel a little bit thin, and my toes feel like they are slipping around in my toebox - but the feeling is so much better than each toe being crunched together.

Running w/shoes: Absolutely better than regular socks s far as fit, feel & comfort. I took a quick 2 miler in my worn-out Asics that I ran the San Diego Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in last year and the toe freedom actually made a difference. My toes feel like they stretch out each time I land on my forefoot, giving me a more stable base to push off from. Of course the toes are still confined by the somewhat pointy toebox of these shoes, I am looking forward to a longer run this afternoon in my Newton Running Motis Trainers. The Newtons have a slightly larger and rounder toebox, so there should be even more room for my toes to stretch out.

Update: I was seriously taken aback by my first conversation with their customer service rep who wasn’t very helpful (at all). Today, I got a call from Darryl (x212) and he was really great. He’s working with me to get my new size shipped out as soon as possible.

Vibram Five Fingers "Sprint"

In my quest to eliminate my knee pain and improve my running form, I decided to buy & try a pair of Vibram Five Finger “shoes”. Any quick look will tell you that these aren’t your traditional running shoes, but after reading their site I felt compelled to give them a try: (from vibramfivefingers.com)

“The benefits of running barefoot have long been supported by scientific research, coaches, and athletes who’ve offered ample evidence that training without shoes allows you to run faster and further with fewer injuries.

No footwear comes closer to recreating the experience and natural sensation of running barefoot than Vibram® FiveFingers. It delivers all the health and performance benefits of barefoot running—with less the risk of injury.”

So; I plunked down my $80 to give them a try (actually, I input my credit card into their site, but “plunked down” sounds more impressive) and waited anxiously 7 days for them to arrive. I wasn’t the only one excited to get ‘em, my running partner (@jasoncwarner) ordered a pair as well so we can both train in them. He was bummed that they didn’t get to AZ before he left on a trip to Denver. Yes, he went to Newton Running HQ, and no, I don’t want to talk about it.

I was excited to see the box on my porch today, and practically had the box open and my shoes off before I made it into the house.
First thought: “Wow, these look cool”… quickly followed by “wow, these are a lot redder than they looked online; they seemed a little more orange.”
My wife’s first words: “Ooh, I like the color, these look comfy. They don’t look nearly as goofy in person. Can I try one on?”

These weren’t the first pair of shoes I’ve purchased that have instructions, and the first fitting was really pretty easy. I was already looking forward to wearing these to work tomorrow and then sprinting the soccer fields at lunch for training. I snugged them up to each toe and got the fit all set and took a few steps on the carpet.
“Ouch.” My little toe on both feet are absolutely crushed. One thing that can be said about shoes that hug each toe; when they are too tight there’s no wiggle room. A few steps later I had to take them off; as I stepped on the ball of my foot my toes couldn’t even spread without crushing the tips. I cut my toenails last night in preparation, so those couldn’t be any shorter — it seemed I just bought the wrong size. Frustrated, I go back and measure my size exactly like it says on the site.

Maybe I needed to really squish my toes down to get the right length. initially, I measured them at 10″. If I squish ‘em flat, I can get my longest toe just under 10 1/4″. So if my longest toe is 10″, that’s a size 40. At 10 1/4″ I’ve got to swap mine out for a size 41.

Argh; I was really looking forward to using these ASAP.

So, here’s the test: How good is their return department? I’ve had some great experiences with other shoe companies (Newton cross-shipped a new pair of shoes twice! At one point, there were (3) pair to try on and get the best fit before (2) got sent back). So, the ball’s in Vibram’s court. I’ll keep you posted!

All my Twitter “tweeps” (@TRIPHX) know I’m a big fan of Newton Running shoes, I tweet about them all the time. I’ve also converted a handful of friends (including @jasoncwarner) as well as at least one awesome runner I “met” on Twitter, Steve Speirs (@britishbulldog). Steve’s blog is Runbulldogrun.com, and aside from being faster than I can ever hope to be, he’s also the author of the book “7 Weeks to 100 Push Ups”.

I also have a Newton Running Shoe Review on this blog; when I started with these shoes they were (in my opinion) a little-known niche shoe company that made a great - albeit unique - running shoe. I figured I’d give my review of the first few runs and maybe a race or two and that’d be the end of it. Little did I know that they would be instrumental in changing my running life, and I’d still be wearing, tweeting and blogging about Newton Running Shoes!

Currently I’m on my third pair of Newton Running shoes, and I bought a pair of Motis Trainers (on sale!). They are “stability” shoes, and a bit stiffer than the Gravitas and Distancia models that I’ve bought in the past. So far, Gravitas are my overall favorite.

About a week ago, something interesting happened during a lunchtime run; intense knee pain that forced me to stop running. I’ve had some knee pain here and there, but never like this. It felt like a burning under my knee cap and the concussion from every footfall sent a spike of pain up from my right knee. I stretched and tried to run some more, but 3-4 strides later I was out of action. I was a little scared because I really don’t want to take time off from running. I’ve got a few tris and marathons coming up and have big plans for this summer (more to come soon). So, I actually did something “smart” and stopped running… Wait, no I didn’t. I took my shoes off and ran barefoot on the grass and what do you know; the knee pain didn’t get any worse. I’d been reading articles about barefoot/forefoot running and didn’t realize that I was “cheating” my form in my Newtons!

Newton Running Shoes are made to promote a proper forefoot strike — and reward you when you land properly on your forefoot (look at the red lugs on the bottom of the shoe above). Those lugs help absorb and return energy — and they really work. Unfortunately, there’s just enough foam cushioning in the heel of the Newton Trainers that you can let your form slide and start heel striking and “get away with it”. It finally caught up to me in my Runner’s Knee; and that’s no bueno.

I used the knee pain as a wake-up call; I need to work on my optimal running form and get back on my forefoot. I’m doing this (2) ways: Running barefoot in the grass for my lunchtime runs on odd days and alternating my speedwork and longer runs on even days on the roads in my Newtons. I’m actually getting used to my Newtons all over again and my calves are getting a heck of a workout. The good news is I’m getting faster on my forefoot and my calves are strengthening. I think it’ll take about a month of retraininig my muscle memory before I’m back to 20-milers.

I’ve been into the whole fitness & healthy lifestyle thing for about 8 years now. During that time; I’ve worked with trainers (some good, and some great), physical therapists, a couple nutritionists, and a whole bunch of great training partners. I’ve read a few thousand articles about training, nutrition, weight loss, weight gain, lean muscle gain, and a whole bunch (sometimes bs) about supplements. If you’ve read my Supplement Review, then you’ve seen my unbiased opinions on products that I’ve actually tried. At no time have I ever worked directly with an professional to evaluate my nutrition and balance my daily calorie & protein intake to reach my goals.

Unless this is your first time stopping by, you probably know that I’m an endurance athlete (or at least “enthusiast”). In order to keep up with all the crazy stuff I do, I need to make sure my body is fueled… but how the heck do I know what I’m doing? I have no real method of measuring what I take in aside from my own trial and error. I think I know what I “should” eat each day, and I’ve read a whole bunch of articles… but I’ve never had someone take the time to put together a plan based on my body composition (body fat, height, weight, etc) and my level of physical activity — and give me some sound advice on what foods & supplements I should be taking daily.

Today, Kristen & I stopped into Max Muscle on Carefree Highway in Phoenix and I got a little more than I anticipated. We were stopping by to see the owners were interested in being a sponsor for our races; The Fireside at Norterra Adventure Run Series and I totally had a preconceived notion of what the place was all about. Honestly, the first time I saw their logo it was next to a Gold’s Gym, and the Brian Bosworth-looking caricature led me to believe it was a place for steroid gym freaks. (IMHO, I’m not a fan of the logo as it really looks like a 80’s stereotype - a dude wearing striped Crayzee pants and a tank top.) My other impression of this place was a “musclehead’s GNC”. I’ve been into plenty of GNC’s on the East Coast, and I’ve never left impressed with the employee’s knowledge of any product. When “I heard this stuff worked for a friend of my brother” is the best you can muster, I’m not dropping $80 on a product.

I was pleasantly surprised when I met the owners of Max Muscle. They know their products inside & out — and how/why they work. I’m not saying every store is like this, but when you the shop owners put the time in to learn about why you should choose one product over the other next to it (and not because it’s more expensive) then you know you’ve found the right place. Here’s the cool thing; Pat and Chris didn’t treat me like an idiot, and answered my questions about each supplement I was interested in. If they didn’t have a complete answer, they grabbed the data sheet and we learned together. Good stuff.

The best part was I left without buying anything (I actually didn’t have my wallet in my running shorts) and they were cool with it - Pat even emailed me the full work-up he spent a half hour putting together. I left there a lot wiser on where my fitness is, where I want it to be and what I should be doing to get there. Ya know what, when I do decide what I want to take I sure as heck am going back there to get it.

[UPDATE] Pat from Max Muscle sent me an email over the weekend and really stepped up to the plate:

[Pat] “I could offer the plan free for two weeks, which includes the plan, the Body fat testing, and nutritonal evaluation. I can show your readers the sophitication behind the plan itself, and the body fat testing apparatus, and the neccessity for determining the proper daily intake of supplements including protein to perserve lean muscle tissue, improve and aid recovery thereby leading to greater results.”

Email me (Brett) at triphx@me.com for more details & to set up an appointment

Grab 5 (or 11) friends and do one of these races. Amazingly good times.

If you plan on sleeping or being comfortable over the span of 30-something hours, this isn’t the event for you. If you want to find parts of a state  — and yourself — that you’ve never seen then you’re in the right place.

There’s a lot more I want to add to this post; I’ve told these stories to all my friends & family already and have yet to put it in print…

• MikeyD STOMPING the 3rd & 4th super-hilly (& hot) legs in Prescott
• Jason triumphing over the 1/2 marathon he had to tackle in Scottsdale
• Laura absolutely destroying the final leg - in the dark… on a trail…

Here’s my big takeaway: I personally watched a transformation in my teammates. A couple brought their game to a new level - Mike & Jason had never run  a marathon before, and they tackled 34+ miles with amazing results. Mike took no prisoners and ran every leg as hard as he could; Jason paced himself early, and then let it all hang out during his hottest, hardest, longest run! Laura kicked my butt in PF Chang’s Rock ‘N Roll Marathon, and kept it going with 3 awesome runs. All (3) of her runs were performed under adverse conditions… the first one was on a trail in the dark, the second leg was a freezing cold morning with an incredibly harsh headwind at Lake Pleasant. Laura’s final run (to the finish) was back into the dark… and on another trail! Steve fought through knee pain & swelling that almost kept him from finishing, but he fought through to complete (3) legs.

Personally, I had 3 of the best runs of my life during the Ragnar Relay. Leg #1 was a 9.9 miler that I started out a little slow. I got a wake-up call when a woman passed me around mile 2. I kept up with her until mile 3 when I got my legs rolling and passed her and a few others on my way to a solid finish. My second leg was a 16.8 miler starting at 3am. Running in the middle of the night with no streetlights was amazing - I’ve never seen such a huge, starry sky in my life, it’s truly a humbling experience. Leg #3 was my “let it all hang out” run, another 9.9 miles… mostly uphill with a scorching 90 degree midday sun. This was my favorite run, I felt like I went out there with a chip on my shoulder and picked off every runner in front of me. Finishing in full-sprint in the middle of Fountain Hills was an awesome way to end my portion of the race.

NON-RUNNERS, this is for you:

When you see someone with a marathon shirt, ask them about their accomplishment - we runners appreciate this. We put a lot of work into getting to that start line, and are very proud of ourselves for finishing — no matter how well we did.

Here’s how the conversation should go:
(looking at T-shirt) “Oh, you did the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon? How did you like it?” (listen for answer)
“That’s great, I’ve always dreamed of doing one… maybe someday.”
At that point, the runner will tell the non-runner that if they put your mind to it, they can do it. A positive conversation for both people; you each walk away with some validation. Good job!

Here is how the conversation should NOT go:
(looking at T-shirt) “Oh, you did the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon? How did you like it?” (listen for answer)
“How much did you walk?”
(Silence, wondering why this passive-aggressive idiot wants to try and knock you down a peg because they feel miserable that they don’t have the will to plan, train and complete a marathon themselves.)
Through clenched teeth, the runner musters mock pity in their voice and asks:
“Oh, you’ve never done a marathon, have you?” and then turns their back and walks away. (NOTE: if it is a loved one, your boss or your parole officer you are required to explain to them exactly how condescending/demeaning their “question” was)
This is a lose-lose situation; the runner leaves mad because someone just questioned their accomplishment — what right do they have to question your performance? The non-runner is looking for you to share some misery on how you failed in your accomplishment so they an feel a tiny bit better about themselves. In the worst-case scenario, the non-runner has a marathon T-Shirt shoved down their throat.

Why is a runner mad when someone asks whether they walked or not? Is it just bravado that runners don’t really admit to walking? Maybe the word of “walking” in a marathon needs to be redefined, or a scale of 1-5 of the amount of non-running. (I’m against the latter, but bears mention).

Below is my first pass at a new definition of walk(ing) as it applies to marathon, here is part of the actual definition:
walk [wawk] (–noun) an act or instance of walking or going on foot.

When I was in elementary school, I can vividly remember my English teacher explaining to us that you should never use a word to describe itself; so let’s clear up the above definition:

walk [wawk] (–noun) an act or instance of going on foot.

So then, what is different about a walk than a run (yes, I understand that one foot is on the ground) but really they are both about locomotion and the only real difference is speed.

Here are some modifying parameters of what running during a marathon entails:

• bathroom (#1, #2 & vomiting)
• stretching
• water station
• “getting your feet back under you”*
• catching your breath
• locomotion up a steep hill
• helping others**

I firmly believe that every one of the above reasons for walking is not only valid, and they don’t count as “walking” at all.

One of my goals for 2009 is to come up with a adequate term for the “non-running” time of a marathon. With your help, I know we can do it.

*For Ragnar Del Sol ‘09, we raced as an Ultra team (each member of the 6-person team doing over 30 miles) and during a couple hard stretches one runner had to “get his legs under him”. While another member had to walk through some sections. Were they both “walking”? I don’t think 1 word adequately describes both situations.

**During an olympic triathlon, a training partner and very good friend cramped up coming from the bike to the run. She’d never dealt with pain like that and when I passed her on the 2-loop run she was in distress. I stopped to walk with her, and she stretched and got her feet back under her. She not only was able to finish, but in the last 5k was able to put up her usual 8:00 miles!
I bring this up because I had a teammate that had some rivalry issues who was exasperated after the race: “You beat me by 40 seconds!” she exclaimed. To this day I never told her that I stopped to help someone I cared about for a couple of minutes, that was much more important to me than my time at the race.

Runner’s World, Triathlete Magazine & USAT’s Triathlon Life have all written articles in their most recent publication about compression socks. (Note: Sleeves, tights also get lumped in) From what I gather in the articles and based on my own experience, they are talking more about graduated compression and not just compression. The “graduated” in the name doesn’t mean they have a degree from a university (but that might help!) it means that the tightness varies throughout the garment in an effort to help blood flow back to your heart. I know I am way oversimplifying the “science” of compression garments with that last sentence, but the last time I checked there were no PHD’s after my name.

First off; here’s my personal take on plain ol’ compression (not graduated) garments: Love ‘em. I love the feeling of a garment encasing my muscles like a second skin, holding my muscles in place and maybe keeping a little of my fat from jiggling so much when I run. Whether it’s psychosomatic or not - feel stronger & faster with compression garments on my legs/hips (tights or compression shorts) and stronger in my chest and arms with a compression top. One caveat to the top is that I don’t like running with anything too tight on my ribs, I always unzip/remove my top in tris after the bike leg or during the run. Whenever I do anything that requires running (sports, workouts, etc.) I’ll have a pair of compression shorts on. I like to think that the shorts are massaging my quads and ITB while I’m running — it seems to work for me!

The good thing about plain ‘ol compression garments is that they are relatively cheap. Now that Wal*Mart (Athleteic Works) and Target (Champion C9) have inexpensive versions of the big brands (UnderArmor, Nike, etc.) you can pick up a some garments for $10-15 and be satisfied with the performance.

Now graduated compression comes into the picture… Here’s how it happened from my point of view:
A little less than a year ago, I read an article with someone poking fun at a couple Ironman athletes wearing compression socks. (It may heave been in Triathlete Magazine, but I’m not sure). The article went on to essentially say that there didn’t seem to be any medical value to them, and that they looked strange anyway. Well, I decided to give ‘em a shot and went on a journey to find some “Graduated Compression Socks”. According to my Google search, the only ones that were available were medical grade socks for folks with poor circulation in their legs. Every article I read was about diabetes or elderly care and the graduated compression that would help. I also saw a few mentions of the socks being good for preventing deep vein thrombisis in frequent travelers. Most of the socks were made of cotton or wool, there was nothing about any “wicking” materials or even lycra/spandex content. So, I didn’t purchase any online and abandoned my search.

In one fine Saturday June, I found myself at the San Diego Rock ‘N Roll Marathon expo after driving almost 6 hours from Phoenix. Thinking about my lack of training and recent bout with cramping at a 70.3 in New Jersey, I decided to look into some compression socks — I figured I’d find a bunch at such a huge a race expo! I checked every vendor that had socks and got a lot of blank faces, or “Um… no, never heard of those”. When I checked at the Gizmo Wear booth they said “We’re looking into those”. I continud my search with no luck until I asked at literally the last booth in the farthest row from the entrance. “We’ve got these from 2XU” and the guy reached under  a table and pulled out a pair of stirrup compression sleeves. On the package it specifcally states that the stirruped variety are for “sports requiring a shin guard or stirrups” and gave examples of soccer, baseball and football. I was a little hesitant to put a stirrup in my shoes and run 26.2 the next day, but he didn’t have any others available. Actually, these were the only ones he had as they were shipped by 2XU by accident with a shipment of tights. I also balked at the price: $49 for these? I handed ‘em back to the guy and canvassed the expo floor again. I figured if he had those under a table, then someone else may have a non-stirrup pair… No dice.

$50 later, I had my new “secret weapon” to wear at R’nR San Diego. A guy next to me at the potty line asked me about them, as he was wearing something similar (and ower tech) for his shin splints. His looked like old braces strapped to his legs, and mine were these tight black spandex thingies with a bic “X” across the shin. I was wondering why they said “2XU” on the inside, then realized they were on the wrong legs. (OK, I realized AFTER the race) It’s a rule - NEVER wear something for the first time on race day… so of course I did. The first 8 miles were fine, then I felt a little bit of irritation on the instep of my left foot and it seemed to be right where the stirrup was. At mile 10 I pulled the stirrup out of my shoe and let it hang out the back (there was no danger of it getting caught, it just looked stupid). I realized it wasn’t the stirrup, it was my insoles riding too high on my arch… that was the source of a nice blister! almost (3) 10k’s later I was all done, and was really - REALLY - pleased with the way my calves felt. Here’s the important part: I wore them all the way home on my 6+ hour drive back to Phoenix that afternoon. I remembered the whole “deep vein thrombosis” article and how compression sleeves helped, and I figured I was going to be stuck in one position for 6 hours (I would’ve been home sooner if it wasn’t for the 90MPH speeding ticked on the CA/AZ/Mexico border!). The sleeves performed marvelously, and I didn’t have much at all in calf pain during the following days.

Since then, I’ve worn the calf sleeves (with the stirrups, they don’t bother my feet at all) at (3) triathlons (70.3, International & Olympic distances) and several times in training. (NOTE: I did NOT wear them for R’nR AZ this year because I wore tights and I really wish I had worn the sleeves too!) These things are great, and worth $50.

My final thought: After talking with James @ Live Your Passion, we wondered why the cost was so high on these garments. Even the high-tech Nike Marathon socks are only $9/pair - why are graduated compression so expensive? Shouldn’t they be $25 or so instead of $50? I’ve read a few articles about guys cutting off the legs of womens nylons and wearing those under running pants… maybe that $2.99 solution is worth looking into?

P.S.: This year at The PF Chang’s Rock ‘N Roll Marathon there were several booths DEDICATED to compression garments; a big change from none last year!