What Not Not To Wear

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted."  

I have this quotation posted above my desk at school.  I'm not sure who said it, but it keeps me going some days, especially this week.  I did learn a lot about myself, my running, and the ideal running apparel for the rainy Northwest.

I probably haven't told you yet that I did end up wearing the perfect marathon outfit (for low 50s and misty rain).  Maybe it was the BodyGlide that made everything work, but I'll tell you a little bit about the apparel.  By the way, I never run without BodyGlide.  

Patagonia Wool 1 t-shirt: This shirt is brand new at the Patagucc and it is fabulous.  It is a wool-poly blend.  The polyester helps it be lightweight and softer than if it were all wool.  

Nike Spandex shorts: I've had these for years.  How come I can never find more at the Nike store that are respectable?  There are like 3 shorts at the store while there are about 10 million online.  I hate ordering online.  I'm always torn about Nike...do I really like them as a company?  I'm not sure.  The Eugene Nike store was bogus.  They have moved since 2002, and they sell way too many street clothes and stuff that seems to be from the 80's.  I want Nike to be a store with the best running gear ever.  It's not that.

Smartwool Running Socks: Not too hot, not too cold.  Juuuust right.  I love wool anything because the fabric is good for temperature regulation and odor-resistant.  I can wear a wool shirt or socks a few times before they need a wash.  

And finally...

The Moeben Arm Sleeves!  I was watching the weather all last week and when it became clear that Eugene was going to get rain, I needed to nail my outfit.  I have some wool arm warmers (of course), but they are just too warm once it gets above 40 or so, but I was sure that arm warmers were the way to go.  Why?  Because Kara Goucher says so.  And, temperature regulation is key.  So, I did a lot of research.  It's basically impossible to get the Nike arm sleeves that Kara wears (although when I met Dathan Ritzenhein, I told him to tell Nike to get them out to the stores asap).  You can get some Nike LiveStrong sleeves, but through the mail, which is not the instant gratification I needed last week.  Zensah also makes arm sleeves that are popular with runners, but I read some reviews that claimed they were warmer than the Moebens.  

So, off I went to the ZombieRunner store.  I love this place.  It existed as an online store for years before opening a store in Palo Alto last year.  It's mostly geared towards trail runners, but they have everything to make long distance running easier.  I was bummed that they didn't have the zebra print in the nylon sleeves in my size (I'm a small), but I knew black would look pretty cool.  

Where the logo is, there are small pockets on each sleeve.  It fits an iPod nano perfectly, but I've never run with my iPod in the pocket.  Because I didn't have pockets in my shorts, I put my Clif Bloks packets right in the sleeve itself.  It worked like a charm.  Having the packets in the sleeves was comfortable and I had easy access to fuel.  

The sleeves kept me warm in the misty rain and when it got a bit warmer, I was still comfortable.  While I was walking (for the second half of the race), it started to get sunny, so I dumped water on the sleeves to keep cool.  My body temperature was perfectly regulated throughout the race.  The sleeves stayed up the whole time...did not move a muscle.  And, they are UV-protecting.  Bonus!

My only complaint (and I didn't notice this during the marathon but during a test run) is that the position of the pocket is close to the bend in my arm (some call that their elbow) and the excess fabric folded up there was uncomfortable.

I am walking at about 80 or 90% of normal today.  It's great!  I have been walking every day and today I ran the last 0.1 miles to my house.  Slow but steady.  Now, if I could just keep my big toenail from falling off...it's threatening!