Two is Better Than One, They Say

T-Minus 13 days to my BSN Night Run, followed by the Adidas King of the Road on the morning after. I've never done two separate races with just about 8 hours of gap in between, and to be honest, I'm not sure what was I thinking when I signed up for both of the runs. You can pretty much assume that this is what I'm feeling right now when I think about it:

I’ve temporarily benched myself for a few days in hopes of miraculously recovering with a few days rest since the injury I had before AND after the Standard Chartered KL Marathon last weekend.

The pre-SCKLM shin splint :(

I’ve been icing, massaging, KT taping, foam rolling, stretching and soaking like crazy! I’ve been drinking Coke Gatorades while silently stewing over my frustration of being, once again injured and sore so close to a race. No, make that TWO races. :/

For almost two weeks now I’ve been struggling with an injury that at first seemed like a small nagging pain, that’s gradually been getting worse and more painful and more debilitating as the days go on.

I’ve been in this position before and I know many, if not most, of you have been there too.  It’s a tough spot to be in and it’s beyond frustrating.  I’m not at the point yet where I need to withdraw from the race, however, I do know I’m going to have to keep my ultra-stubborn, bitch of an alter ego at bay and check in with myself throughout the race to ask myself when enough is enough. And speaking of enough, that’s about enough of my whining about being injured.

To those who are running the BSN Putrajaya Night Run on the 19th of Oct and the Adidas King of the Road on the 20th, all the best for your races. Stay hydrated and fuel well! Good luck and have fun!

An Ode to Injinji

Ok, well I *TRIED* writing an ode to my Injinji socks to illustrate just how much I love them while also keeping my post concise. It turns out that ode writing is really hard. I’d rather my poems just rhyme with each line. So, no ode.

Sorry about the title. Hehe.

Anyway, let me tell you about my love affair with Injinji.

Like most runners, I’m a total junkie when it comes to buying my running gear. I find it really hard to resist trying out the next best thing, and I'm fairly obsessive about what I put on my feet.

Ok, maybe that's just the feminine side of me, trying to justify my running gear purchases. :p

When I first started running a couple of years ago, I hadn’t a clue about what kind of kit I needed. When I ran my first race, I had a terrible time with my trainers and not so great socks. I came away with blisters and vowing to learn from the experience although it took me a while and a number of blisters and trying out of different socks to get it right.

Before I became an even more serious runner, I've never really given much thought when it comes to buying socks - being a woman, as usual, one of the first things I'd look at will be the colour. Other than that, who needs to give them much of a thought? They're just socks afterall.

Then I came to realize that when you step into your running shoes, comfort, padding, thickness and blister prevention are paramount... and ‘any old pair’ just will not do! Even if the colour is right, your feet deserve better. That's how I found out about technical running socks... or rather known as performance socks.

So when it comes to performance toe socks, one brand stands out above the rest: Injinji (pronounced in-gin-gee).

ike most runners, I’m a total junkie when it comes to running gear. I find it really hard to resist trying out the next best thing, and I'm fairly obsessive about what I put on my feet.  I’m therefore somewhat surprised that it took me so long to try out the Injinji toesocks. If you’re not familiar with the Injinji socks, they basically look like a normal pair of socks with one major exception – they provide individual pockets for each of your toes. Sure, I’d seen other runners report positively about their experiences with them, particularly about their ability to prevent toe blistering, but the strange looking socks always seemed like a gimmick to me. I couldn’t have been more wrong - these socks are awesome!

My initial reason for buying a pair of Injinji’s was so that I could
Read more at http://www.runblogger.com/2009/10/review-of-injinji-running-socks.html#f5fFBt7iVj5MFgZz.99

Obviously, Injinji are distinctive for their patented tetratsok design, which is a cool (if hard to spell) word they invented to describe the separate toe coverings; it’s the foot equivalent of putting your fingers into a glove instead of a mitten. This design has several intended benefits: it enables your entire foot to perform in a more biomechanically natural manner, and prevents the moisture - See more at: http://www.runningandrambling.com/2009/07/injinji-performance-socks-review.html#sthash.FLPoTSBM.dpuf, if you have blister-prone feet - you might want to give these guys a try. 

I’m somewhat surprised that it took me so long to try out the Injinji socks. If you’re not familiar with the Injinji socks, they basically look like a normal pair of socks with one major exception – they provide individual pockets for each of your toes. Sure, I’d seen other runners report positively about their experiences with them, particularly about their ability to prevent toe blistering, but the strange looking socks always seemed like a gimmick to me. I couldn’t have been more wrong - these socks are awesome!

Obviously, Injinji are distinctive for their patented tetratsok design, which is a cool (if hard to spell) word they invented to describe the separate toe coverings; it’s the foot equivalent of putting your fingers into a glove instead of a mitten. This design has several intended benefits: it enables your entire foot to perform in a more biomechanically natural manner, and prevents the moisture buildup and “toe on toe” friction that leads to blisters. - See more at: http://www.runningandrambling.com/2009/07/injinji-performance-socks-review.html#sthash.FLPoTSBM.dpuf

 At first, I admit, I thought they were the weirdest socks ever. Seriously. I mean, look at them. Weird.

And weirder still was putting them on. Poking each toe into the individual slots -- sleeves? toe thingies? -- well, whatever they are called, poking each toe into them was . . . odd.

But why would toe socks be more beneficial than regular socks? Well, there has been a shift in footwear, a shift to lighter weight shoes that give more ground feel. A more natural approach to running. Having toe socks allows for each toe to work independently. After all, toes must serve an important evolutionary role for them to have developed the way they have. They help with balance and while running, they splay with every footfall. With a normal sock, that outward movement is impeded because the sock will tend to hold the big toe and little toe closer together due to the design. Toe socks allow your toes to function much more naturally than a normal sock.

Now, this is all well and good, but let’s be honest; the shoes you wear have a much greater impact on the function of your foot than the socks you wear. So what if you don’t buy in to the minimalist movement? What if you’re a cyclist, can these possibly have any benefit for you? In short, yes. A lot of people suffer from friction blisters between their toes while running. One of the main causes of these friction blisters (besides tight toe boxes) is moisture. Normal socks do absolutely nothing for moisture between your toes. Injinji socks on the other hand are made of up 75% coolmax material (and 22% nylon and 3% lycra) which, as I’m sure you know is a very effective wicking material.

The individual toe things really keep my toes dry when I run, which is nice since I'm still feeling nervous about getting blisters after the Viper Challenge event.

The pair that I bought retails at RM59.90, not cheap for a pair of socks - but it is so worth it. If you're living in Kuala Lumpur - I have only found two shops that carry them: Running Lab in Tropicana City Mall and Athlete's Circle in Jaya One.

I love my Injinjis and they've become my go-to socks now. In fact, I wore them to almost all of my runs now. They are comfortable, thin, low-profile -- just right.

My new favourite socks!

Thank you, Injinji, for being so weird. And so great to run in. :D

Obviously, Injinji are distinctive for their patented tetratsok design, which is a cool (if hard to spell) word they invented to describe the separate toe coverings; it’s the foot equivalent of putting your fingers into a glove instead of a mitten. This design has several intended benefits: it enables your entire foot to perform in a more biomechanically natural manner, and prevents the moisture buildup and “toe on toe” friction that leads to blisters. - See more at: http://www.runningandrambling.com/2009/07/injinji-performance-socks-review.html#sthash.FLPoTSBM.dpuf