I’m currently sitting in my hotel room at the Days Inn in Saint Catherines. I’m about 20 minutes away from Niagara Falls1, and waiting for my phone to charge before I take off again.
I arrived about 30 minutes ago with my friend Mel and her boyfriend Alex2. The purpose of our trip, as most of you know, is tomorrow’s 16.1 kilometre Chocolate Race. Personally, I can’t wait. The thought of running for chocolate seems too good to be true. And yet it is. W00t!
The best part about all of this, is that I’m currently wearing some pretty swanky compression socks. They aren’t exactly socks. That is, they are long socks minus the foot part. They are supposed to help blood flow and improve healing after long runs.
Why am I wearing these?
Well, you may recall that I mentioned in yesterday’s post that my silly calf was acting up by the end of my 20km run. And that was why I opted to not run the intended 30-36km. Thanks to the Twitter and to Andrew at the Running Works downtown Guelph (@therunningworks), I was informed about the magic of compression socks.
What is that magic exactly? I have no idea. It has something to do with the science or wizardry of blood flow and possibly midi-chlorians. Suffice it to say I went to the Running Works this morning and picked myself up a schwanky red pair (red being the only option). And being the manly man who I am, I also picked up the women’s size 3, because there were no men’s size 3, and, well, they fit perfectly. And truth-be-told, no one is going to know the difference.
Well, except for all of you dear readers. But you’ll keep my secret, right?
For those curious – I’ve been wearing the socks since I bought them this morning and my ankle/calf/legs feel great. In fact, the tightness that was once in my right calf is all but gone. Science? Magic? Witchcraft? Honestly, I don’t care. Whatever voodoo they do, I approve.
And with that, I’m out. I’m off to Niagara for my friend John’s bachelor party. I fully expect a crazy night, albeit one with no booze. I mean, I am running 16.1km tomorrow.
Apparently this is me being responsible. Go figure.
1 The relevance of which will be shortly revealed.
2 Who once again agreed to cart our sorry (but sexy) asses all over Ontario for a race. Thanks Alex. I’d
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Running for chocolates and wearing the magical compression socks! That sounds like a lot of fun! 🙂
Hells ya!
Smiles. Enjoy! 🙂
I just ran my first race ever a week ago and if these do in fact work some sort of magic, they might be worth a try. Thanks for the info.
Mike
I’ll keep you posted on the success or failure of the magic leggings.
Also – congrats on your first run. That’s awesome!
As long as they aren’t pink (like mine), I think you’re okay! Have an awesome run! I’m predicting <1:20 if you're taking it seriously. If it's just about chocolate, whatev!
Not taking it seriously at all. It’s going to be a very casual run. I’m guessing >1:30. LOL. But who knows. I may hear the gun and just go.
A fan of compression apparel myself. Also, I like the tattoo.
Thanks. I actually have 12 letters of the greek alphabet so far 🙂