Since the temperature has started to drop there’s been a buzz about winter running gear circulating the office. Although it’s still warm enough to get away with a vest and shorts, the mornings are starting to cool, and the concept of running outside in the freezing cold is only a matter of weeks away. It’s time to start thinking about changing the seasonal wardrobe. Having covered compression garments in the latest issue of
Women’s Running magazine, the idea of squeezing into snug Lycra suddenly sounds appealing!
Panic
With only a matter of days before I’m due to run my first half marathon I’m also having a pre-race panic, which means I’m pretty keen to give almost anything a go to improve my running. So I got in touch with the good folks at Skins, who kitted me out in some top quality compression gear, and I set off for my first ever fully compressed jaunt in the great outdoors. Compression clothing claims to do everything from boosting circulation to reducing muscle soreness (for further details check out issue 9
here!) so conveniently forgetting that I live in central London, I decided to give it a try.
Extra support
I confess I only very recently started to run in proper running gear, having previously always favoured baggy comfort wear (that doubles up as pyjamas!) But since starting to take my running a bit more seriously, I’ve invested in some tighter, stretchier stuff. However nothing could have prepared me for the shock I got trying to squeeze myself into my Skins’ gear. I now have a newfound respect for women of the Victorian era. The level of support compression gear provides feels a little bit like a modern day corset. The only difference being, corsets are supposed to give you a skinny waist, whereas my fancy Skins’ kit made me look a bit like a freshly wrapped sausage masquerading as a ninja.
Fully encased in my Lycra suit, I bravely leapt into the great outdoors and ran home. This involved hot-footing it across the centre of London, past Hyde Park, Sloane Square, and slap bang into the middle of the West End, before heading East to bandit country. I can only imagine what the bored tourists must have thought upon seeing a sausage shaped ninja streaking through the night…
Asphalt assassin
If you’re not used to it, being fully encompassed in tight fitting black Lycra is a unique sensation. With no flapping fabric to affect my run I certainly felt lighter footed, if a tad self-conscious about the size of my arse. I definitely ran faster, but that might have had something to do with the braying crowds. I liked the curious ‘contained’ sensation of compression gear, and I certainly maintained a nice even temperature, but next time I might wait until it’s a bit darker before testing it out! And hopefully after a few more runs I’ll start to be more ‘streamlined’ than ‘sausage’.
If you’re looking to update your running wardrobe or need extra support, check out
www.skins.net. Until next time folks, if you see a ninja racing through the park after dark, don’t be scared, it’s only little old me.
