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Thursday, October 7, 2010

CEP socks - review


I don't really have a lot of cool running gear. I have a $7 stopwatch that doesn't tell time and occasionally turns itself off, an ipod, and sunglasses from the dollar store. I own 3 pairs of shoes, but they were all sales I couldn't pass up. My T's are free from races, some of my shorts are from high school, and I bought my first tube of body glide a week ago (you may feel free to say duh to that one).
So trying out CEP compression socks is certainly new to me! I recently learned about them and the idea makes sense: the compression stimulates blood flow to increase circulation, just as compression hose that varicose vein sufferers/preventers wear. You can wear them as you run, or to improve recovery afterward. Or both.
I tried them two ways:
First, I wore them on a 12-miler to test them out while running. They felt a bit weird on - tight and quite warm - but I got used to them.
Pros: Look like a rugby player, prevent injury, muscles felt fresh even though I had been on my feet all day.
Cons: Very warm, my feet felt squished. But I have wide feet. Also my foot slid around a little in my shoe because they're synthetic and therefore kind of slippery.
Next, I brought them with me to the marathon and checked them in my bag; I put them on right after I finished (honestly it was a bid to keep warm!).
Pros: Very comfy after a long race! It's a bit like having a rub down or light massage.
Cons: None really; unfortunately I can't really assess if they prevented some soreness or not because I have no comparison (I never ran hills before ever - so I don't know if I am less sore than I would have been without them!). I was still sore on the fronts of my calves from braking down a bunch of hills, but not bad at all.
Conclusion: I''ll wear these after races when I have other races coming up soon (I'm doing one alomost every weekend this month!) and I will try them again on a run in the winter when I'll need the warmth.
Is anyone running a Rock and Roll event soon? On Oct 10th you can save $20 on registration by using the code SAVEON10. Only valid on Oct 10th and only for races that are open for registration.

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