CW-X compression socks: a review and an attempt to explain compression clothing.

I recently purchased some CW-X compression socks. I like them. You should buy them. they work well, they feel nice, they have not ripped yet.

After that terrible review (seriously, great socks, work as told), I'm going to dive into compression clothing as a training modality.
Looking at a study by Kemmler, compression stockings (think socks), actually affect running anaerobic, aerobic, lactate threshold, BUT not VO2 max. Essentially, the let you suffer for a little bit longer on the run. They don't really help you raise your horse power, but they give you a little more gas. With a sprinting test on moderately in shape runners, athletes were able to pump for an extra 1.41 seconds. Doesn't sound like a lot, but that really adds up in the long term.

Where's the Respect

This last Sunday, many classy trail runners took off on the 2nd running of the Bobcat Trail Marathon. They tackled surprisingly ugly hills in south-east Ohio, ran in mud, maybe some snow, and fairly cold temps. They did it all with smiles and happiness... mostly... we all know how much "fun" marathons can be.

Heartbreakingly (real word??? meh...), many of the runners found out that some weiners decided it'd be hilarious to tamper with the marathon signage. Dirty, dirty, dirty.

I feel for these runners. It's gut wrenching hard enough to do a marathon of this caliber, and to find out that you were shorted by 2 miles has to rock you in the family jewels. So be courteous out there. Don't tamper with signage.... then again if you're reading this blog post you probably wouldn't do this crap anyways.

Keep it classy, people.

Black Diamond Windweight Gloves Review

I"ll air my grievances first. The seams inside the gloves are a little annoying and I don't like how the fleece attracts hair. Now that we have the dirty business ironed out, I can extol the good graces of the Black Diamond Windweight Gloves.