My relationship with compression wear
I was asked by a friend who saw that I had layers of gears and clothings on after a run and so I thought I'll list down some of the stuff I wore, in this post. She must think that all these stuff I had on plus the hijab will give me some kind of heat wave while running, coz she did looked kinda worried when she ask.
After a certain distance, I am quite sure most runners would go butt naked if possible, what with the sweat and the heat.
Alhamdulillah, the heat has never got to me and constant fluid while running also helped.
COMPRESSION SOCKS
My first compression gear was a pair of shocking pink socks. It is knee length and cost me about a little less that RM200, which at that time, I felt was quite a sum to spend on a pair of socks! It was at the fair of the Borneo Marathon in 2011. Have heard about the boon of compression gears from again, my dearly departed friend TSB and later read a lot about them online. Let’s be honest, the main reason of buying that first pair was because of the colour…hehe..
I was told that I don’t need compression wear for anything below a half marathon distance, the same with not needing extra sustenance, but this is the way I roll. So yeah, I ran that Borneo 10km wearing the socks..Shoot me!
Getting the socks on was a challenge in itself coz it is freaking tight, but I have been using the socks since then for mostly long runs above 10km. And I have since bought a more sober looking white 2XU socks.
So what is the difference of running with one compared to not? Well, this is just my experience. Others may think otherwise. As mentioned in my earlier post, my feet are kinda skinny for my frame so am not surprise what with poor running form and lack of training, that they could be quite sore for days after a race.
Ever since wearing one while running, my muscle does not feel as sore as not wearing one. Any soreness felt recovers almost the next day. I usually take a day off after running a race just to rest and recover but find that I don’t need to do that anymore.
In short, it has helped improve muscles fatigue and aid recovery as well, which is what every runner looks for. Hubs went a bit extreme sometimes and wear his compression gear to sleep the night before a race. Well, to all its own!
COMPRESSION TOP
I have since graduated to compression top and sleeve and very recently a compression shorts. The compression top was to fulfill the need to cover my arms while running after I decided to don the hijab. I wasn’t really looking but saw one in an Adidas store while we were holiday. It was really a football top for men, but who cares. It serves my need and it was on sale. I have been looking around for non-compression long sleeved running tops but I guess because of our climate it’s almost impossible to find. It was only recently that I saw that Mizuno is carrying these beautiful pastel colour long sleeved running top. Gonna get myself one soon!
So what does a compression top do for me? For one, it keeps everything from jiggling..lol! And that minimize aching. The logic for me is that less jiggle, less pain. So I guess the compression top helps keep everything in place. I also hope that it gives me better form with every stride. At my age, I need all the help I can get to recover. So on top of the sports bra, goes the compression top and after that the running vest. It helps that the compression that I use are from Adidas Climalite material which is sweeps away the sweat from the skin.
COMPRESSION SLEEVES
Confession : I bought it more to cover my skin rather than its actual function. And yeah, it was cheaper at one of the running fairs. And this 2XU one that I have provides UPF 50+ sun protection for my arms as well. Nuff said..
On long runs, recently I found that my arms and hands swelled, much like water retention. It got quite bad till I find it difficult to flex my palms open and close. I asked Tristupe, a triathlete friend about this and he said it could be due to over hydration. He wrote about it this week on his blog. Have a read for a better understanding of this condition. Stupe writes loads of other interesting stuff as well.
I’m playing it by ear nowadays and monitoring my fluid intake…Could it also be that the arm sleeves is too tight? Will check during my next run.
Recently I also found a cheaper alternative for covering my arms, golf sleeves which comes in lots of nice colours.
COMPRESSION TIGHTS
At the Brooks Half Marathon fair a few weeks back, 2XU was having a clearance sale of an earlier version of its running tights. From about RM260 it was going for RM170 with a free NATHAN pouch. I have issues with my abductors since the right foot injury. Maybe the way I walked the last 6 months coping with pain has affected the muscles, so much so that when I started running again, it hurt especially in the first 5 km. I can’t recall now the point when I can’t do the lotus pose in yoga any longer :( . Hubs thinks the compression tights could possibly help. So I tried it during the Brooks Half and voila! It worked wonders! No more of the upper right leg pain during the run and recovery even after the tough, hilly route was swift. It works the same way as the compression top. It minimize “movement” of the muscles (if any..hehe) and other body parts, which also lessen muscle fatigue especially in long runs.
Now, I’m thinking of getting the full length tights. Now that will help with my runner’s knees…
So there you go, I will not start of sports bra, knee guards, ankle guards and those special sports pendant that I have also tried off and on.
I'm no expert. If you feel you need all this gears for your sports activities do your research and you may need to try a few. The websites above will help!
After a certain distance, I am quite sure most runners would go butt naked if possible, what with the sweat and the heat.
Alhamdulillah, the heat has never got to me and constant fluid while running also helped.
COMPRESSION SOCKS
 |
| Mine is the pink one - pic taken from www.cepcompression.com |
My first compression gear was a pair of shocking pink socks. It is knee length and cost me about a little less that RM200, which at that time, I felt was quite a sum to spend on a pair of socks! It was at the fair of the Borneo Marathon in 2011. Have heard about the boon of compression gears from again, my dearly departed friend TSB and later read a lot about them online. Let’s be honest, the main reason of buying that first pair was because of the colour…hehe..
I was told that I don’t need compression wear for anything below a half marathon distance, the same with not needing extra sustenance, but this is the way I roll. So yeah, I ran that Borneo 10km wearing the socks..Shoot me!
Getting the socks on was a challenge in itself coz it is freaking tight, but I have been using the socks since then for mostly long runs above 10km. And I have since bought a more sober looking white 2XU socks.
So what is the difference of running with one compared to not? Well, this is just my experience. Others may think otherwise. As mentioned in my earlier post, my feet are kinda skinny for my frame so am not surprise what with poor running form and lack of training, that they could be quite sore for days after a race.
Ever since wearing one while running, my muscle does not feel as sore as not wearing one. Any soreness felt recovers almost the next day. I usually take a day off after running a race just to rest and recover but find that I don’t need to do that anymore.
In short, it has helped improve muscles fatigue and aid recovery as well, which is what every runner looks for. Hubs went a bit extreme sometimes and wear his compression gear to sleep the night before a race. Well, to all its own!
COMPRESSION TOP
I have since graduated to compression top and sleeve and very recently a compression shorts. The compression top was to fulfill the need to cover my arms while running after I decided to don the hijab. I wasn’t really looking but saw one in an Adidas store while we were holiday. It was really a football top for men, but who cares. It serves my need and it was on sale. I have been looking around for non-compression long sleeved running tops but I guess because of our climate it’s almost impossible to find. It was only recently that I saw that Mizuno is carrying these beautiful pastel colour long sleeved running top. Gonna get myself one soon!
So what does a compression top do for me? For one, it keeps everything from jiggling..lol! And that minimize aching. The logic for me is that less jiggle, less pain. So I guess the compression top helps keep everything in place. I also hope that it gives me better form with every stride. At my age, I need all the help I can get to recover. So on top of the sports bra, goes the compression top and after that the running vest. It helps that the compression that I use are from Adidas Climalite material which is sweeps away the sweat from the skin.
COMPRESSION SLEEVES
 |
| 2XU Compression Sleeves - pic taken from www.2xu.com |
Confession : I bought it more to cover my skin rather than its actual function. And yeah, it was cheaper at one of the running fairs. And this 2XU one that I have provides UPF 50+ sun protection for my arms as well. Nuff said..
On long runs, recently I found that my arms and hands swelled, much like water retention. It got quite bad till I find it difficult to flex my palms open and close. I asked Tristupe, a triathlete friend about this and he said it could be due to over hydration. He wrote about it this week on his blog. Have a read for a better understanding of this condition. Stupe writes loads of other interesting stuff as well.
I’m playing it by ear nowadays and monitoring my fluid intake…Could it also be that the arm sleeves is too tight? Will check during my next run.
Recently I also found a cheaper alternative for covering my arms, golf sleeves which comes in lots of nice colours.
COMPRESSION TIGHTS
 |
| This is the compression tights that I bought - pic take from www.2xu.com |
Now, I’m thinking of getting the full length tights. Now that will help with my runner’s knees…
So there you go, I will not start of sports bra, knee guards, ankle guards and those special sports pendant that I have also tried off and on.
I'm no expert. If you feel you need all this gears for your sports activities do your research and you may need to try a few. The websites above will help!
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