Girl In Motion

Last February, my winter gear consisted of 2 longsleeve tops, a cheap wind jacket and a pair of wind pants that, on especially cold days, I wore layered over pantyhose. Yeah, I was hawt. Because at that point, I couldn’t yet justify buying running garb if I wasn’t sure I’d be sticking with it. So I rinsed my running clothes after I got home and wore them again the next time.

Then Spring came, and with it more mileage, more days running and stinkier sweat. Rinsing would no longer cut it - I would have to start buying actual running wear.

Now, Real Life shopping is not a happy time for me; I hate the hunt, the parking, the not finding, the trying on taking off trying on taking off, just all of it, so when I discovered all the great online running apparel stores, well let me just say…pig in shit. I started buying shorts, socks, sportbras, tops, more shoes, running skirts, visor and hat (because after I bought the visor, everyone on the forum said they loved their hats), and more socks.

To Nick, my manly man boyfriend, this was all very amusing until he realized that my new stuff was now living in the porno drawer, the drawer previously reserved for skanky-girl nasty sex wear. Those flimsy pieces of string and fluff were now smashed by my Hinds, my Adidas, my Nikes, my Asics. Unfortunately, I still have not found a good resolution for this, because it’s still the porno/running clothes drawer, but I digress…

Winter is now upon us and I have declared that no longer will I swish loudly in wind pant/pantyhose loveliness this year. Instead, I’ve been shopping, because gosh dern it, I deserve it!

I started out with my tried and true online shops, but soon discovered that running tights and pants are not as easy to fit as shorts, in fact, they’re an elusive pain in the ass if you’re 5’4” and female. From incorrect inseam sizes, to crotch seams that could sand a piece of plywood, to ankle elastic that borders on tourniquet, you really have to try on tights in person.

And try on, I did. I ended up going to my local running store, Philadelphia Runner, bought 2 regular weight pairs there, then walked a block to City Sports and tried on about 15 more pair (no exaggeration), settling on a single cold-weather pair of toasty tights - a fine replacement for the wind pant/pantyhose combo.

I also tried on an Asics jacket, the Storm Shelter, because a jacket that can handle shitty weather better than my cheap wind thing would be a good idea. For $100 I was unsure, then I got home and found it at Paragon Sports online for $80 w/ free shipping, so I ordered it.

And these meager items, ladies and gentlemen, along with 1 other pair of tights, some flare-leg running pants, 3 capris, 6 new longsleeve shirts, another dri-fit hat to replace the one I lost at the Philly Half, plus a fleece headband and gloves - all of which I neglected to mention because now I seem downright greedy - is just about enough winter wardrobe to keep any girl in motion.

Tags: running wardrobe

This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 8:39 am and is filed under Running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.