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August 11, 2011

Running Apparel

I'm taking a break from Monkey Boy workouts today, in part because he left me behind to go to a different gym with My BFF. In part because I've been pushing it pretty hard for someone with a race this weekend. I might play with my kettle bell for a while. I might just make it a rest day.

Monkey Boy took off without me because I disappeared on him before he woke up. I got news yesterday that my financial aid installment will be deposited into my account this week, so I decided to do some shopping. Running gear shopping. I have enough wicking shirts from races, but my favorite running shorts are coming apart at the seams.

You've seen my profile picture. You know I'm not skinny. This means I have a few criteria when shopping for running shorts. They have to be size large, and they have to be long enough to cover my thunder thighs. Not capris, which are too much material for summer running. A 7" inseam works rather well. The shorts also have to be spandex/compression, as any loose material is going to ride up in a very uncomfortable way. Oh, and I prefer black. It's slimming and goes with everything.

I had to stop at the Home Depot for some edging for my garden, and there is a Dick's next door, so that's where I went. What I found first was racks and racks of these:
And these:
I did finally manage to find a few pairs of these:
Buried on a bottom rack, in size small and extra small. I even asked a sales person for help, but Dick's apparently does not carry clothing for "larger women." Really!?! All I wanted was a size large.

(In a side note, is there a reason to purchase a $75 swimsuit? Will it last longer? I need a new one but balked at that price. We won't even go into how you measure for a 36, as opposed to size 12).

I moved on to our local running store, figuring I should be able to find running clothes there. They certainly had clothes, but again all I found were shorty short shorts. They also had running skirts. I've been curious, so I tried a few on. They all had 4" compression shorts built in. I've found I can't wear a 4" short, as my thighs bulge out underneath the hem and rub as I run. I know a lot of women love these running skirts. To me they just seem like excess fabric, which would get hot.

(Another side note, are there any "larger" women out there who have experience with running skirts? I wondered about rubbing with a brief instead of the short. We won't even go into how the hem would make me nuts bumping against the back of my legs.)

Coming out of the running store parking lot, my car started making that dreaded "thumpthumpthump" noise I associate with a flat tire. I pulled over and found this:
This is not a flat tire!
They had recently resealed the parking lot, and apparently I ran over a coagulated blob of the stuff, mixed with pebbles and grit. I didn't have anything to scrape it off with, so thumped and bumped my way through the rest of the morning. Things got interesting on the freeway, and now it's spread over half my tire. I'm hoping it wears off, but I think the tire is ruined.

With no joy at the running store, I went up the road a bit and tried Wal-Mart, figuring they have a sportswear section and I had nothing to lose. Turns out Wal-Mart carries Danskin workout clothing, which is all well and good. They had some cute tops, except I wasn't looking for tops and I don't like the whole "built in bra" thing. That little bit of elastic fabric is not going to hold me together while I run, which means I'd have to wear my sports bra underneath. I certainly don't want yet another layer of cloth on my already overheating body. See running skirts, above. The only shorts I found at Wal-Mart that came close to what I was looking for were cotton "bike shorts," of the 4-5" variety.

I went around the corner and tried Target. Now Target carries Champion gear. Last time I had money I bought a few Champion tanks, and they are currently my favorites. Target did not, however, have anything I could use as a running short. I tried on a few of their shorty short shorts, thinking maybe the rub wouldn't be an issue if there was no fabric getting in the way. It's an issue. I left Target empty handed.

Now I'm home and the first thing I did was ... well the first thing I did was edge my garden.

Then I hopped on line, and within about 30 seconds found these:

I have 3 pair on order. Shipping is free for new customers at underarmour.com.

Should have just done that in the first place.

Heading out with Monkey Boy to get his and hers haircuts. I'm so enjoying his visit!

1 comment:

Tricia said...

:) Theyre fixing the promo code issue. They set it at 100,and we reached that number. But theyre resetting,should be back up soon. I'll pop by later and let you know when its back up.

(thanks for giving me a heads up)