When I went running on Monday evening, it was in the low 80's. I wasn't too hot, but I couldn't help but think how nice it would be to feel the wind on my legs. Even more so this summer when the Midwest gets all hot and humid. Maybe it was time to look into getting some shorts.
I've previously avoided shorts for running because a.) my legs were flabby, and b.) all the shorts I had rode up and I spent the whole time yanking them back down. But, times have changed. My thighs are far less jiggly (dare I say there's even some muscle tone). However, no matter how much smaller my legs have gotten, my upper thighs are still dangerously close together, and I was worried that shorts would still sneak up. There's also the issue of their ghostly whiteness, but that's another blog...
I'd already done some research on the subject of good running shorts, read all sorts of reviews in running magazines, websites, etc. The pair with the best reviews consistently was Nike Tempo Shorts:
After work, I stopped at Sports Authority to pick up a pair. I tried on both size medium and large. One of the articles I'd read said to make sure there was about half an inch of room in the crotch but no more. This was pretty accurate for the size medium, but there didn't seem to be much room in the legs. They just felt too small. I remembered reading in a customer review that these ran small, so I tried on the large. With these, there was definitely more than half an inch room, but the legs felt much more comfortable. I jogged in place in the dressing room, and it seemed like a win. No bunching. They were also on sale for $24, so I brought them home.
I was planning a 7 mile run and decided to try them out. In the future, I will try out shorts on much shorter runs. Much much shorter runs...
My first impression was, "OMG, what is that jiggling??" Apparently, compression tights, well, compress the wobble. So much so that I was convinced it no longer existed. But, I'm here to tell you, it's alive and well. Maybe all that shaking will work it right off like...sounds like a product from an infomercial. Anyway, I was less than a mile from the house when the bunching began. "
Nooooooo!!!!" I thought. Maybe I just needed to adjust the placement of the waist band. I tend to wear things low on my hips, and maybe these needed to be up a little higher. No luck. I spent the better part of 7 miles intermittently tugging them down. Before I'd left the house, I'd also thought to swipe some Body Glide on my inner thighs, just in case. Thank goodness I did. The glide wore off before I got home, and I'm missing a thin layer of skin in that vicinity, but it could have been far worse.
And, so the quest for the holy grail of running shorts that stay put continues...next up spandex:
Anyone have insights on great running shorts for those of us with, uh "muscular" thighs?
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