Ken Combs Running Store

Today I made some excellent purchases at Ken Combs Running Store, which is conveniently located two minutes from the house. I have a pair of CWX running shorts which I LOVE, so I wanted to get a pair of their tights (they cover the entire leg). The CWX brand manufactures compression products that provide a lot of support to the muscles as you move...they are made of Coolmax and Lyrca fibers. Putting on a pair of the shorts or tights takes some energy, but every time I have worn the shorts I've had a really good run. I also bought some Accelerade, an energy supplement (powder) good for before or after a workout. The container is in the kitchen and I am too lazy to go get it and list its ingredients, but the product helps with recovery. I figure that if I'm going to be pushing my body a lot, I need my muscles in the best shape possible, and I also need to be properly hydrated! The last purchase was some ear bud "helpers" which prevent the ear buds from falling out of my ears. My right ear canal must be deformed or something, because the iPod ear bud always falls out of that ear.

Am I happy with all of my purchases? Absolutely. I had 3/4 glass of water + the Accelerade (which tastes like a liquid creamsicle - delicious) before my workout, and ran the required four miles wearing my new tights and using the new ear bud helpers. I felt really strong during my run, and did a nice cooldown and stretch afterward.

Cooldowns...I gotta remember to touch on that at another time.

One thing I would like to mention is that is it SO helpful to talk to the experienced runners and athletes for advice! I talked to one employee at Ken Combs for a good 10 minutes - first because I recognized him from the yoga studio, and secondly I wanted to ask him about how he schedules his workouts. In an earlier post I expressed my frustration with wanting to do lots of different exercises, but not having enough days in the week. The man I talked to suggested alternating weeks....focusing on running on week, then Bikram the next. He threw out an example of running 3-4 days a week then doing Bikram for two, and then reversing it for the next week. He also said that on the weeks where I do more Bikram, I can just do longer runs on the run days. He mentioned a "5 mile clip." Note to self to find out what "clip" means.

The white board/calendar purchased from Target this morning is on the kitchen table. I need to get on the mini marathon website and check out their training calendar so I can sync it with my own calendar. Tomorrow I will do Bikram. That's about it for today, good night!