Abbreviated shorts

As part of my making it through my Learn to Run class successfully I decided buy a load of running gear. I bought a number of gels, some electrolyte tablets and a couple of socks. I also decided to pick up a new pair of shorts. Prior to this I was really only rotating between two pairs. Given that I run several times a week I had to run my shorts through the wash pretty frequently. So, I easily thought that introducing a third pair would be a great idea. Thing is, against my better judgment the shorts that I got are really short. I knew that when buying them, but it didn’t really hit just how short they were until I put them to use.

After using my old shorts for months, I’ve developed a pretty obvious tan line. About a few inches above my knee my skin goes from tanned to my usual winter colour. With these new shorts you can see just how two-toned I got. Under the store lights, it wasn’t too apparent, but once I got out there there was an big difference. It’s actually pretty obvious that this shorts are…two or three inches shorter than the other ones. Well, maybe with continued use my tan line will move further up. Second point is that I have to be careful when I sit down in these shorts. If I’m not conscious the damn thing kind of rides up to the point where it reveals my whole thigh. During the run, they also kind of ride up. Today I found myself having to pull my shorts back down to modest levels. Speaking of that, with my water belt on the shorts tended to arrange themselves such that, umm…how shall I put this…it tended to draw attention to the package. Lovely.

So, considering all of these issues, why in the world would I put up with all of that? It wasn’t until this morning that I figured it out. This morning was a cool day. The shorts have this mesh strip along the sides. I got a good breeze which really provided a bit of relief. Once I get into the longer runs with the half marathon group, that’ll help greatly. As well, despite having to adjust and re-adjust today, the shorts were really comfortable. Are those factors enough to outweigh the bad? Hmm…I’d say yes. All of the self-consciousness will fade over time. Who cares who stares? If I find tricks to wearing the shorts, there’ll be less of a problem. For example, today I learned that if I wear the water belt, I have to make sure the belt is up on the hip and the shorts ride lower–I can’t let the belt clamp the shorts down.

I always knew the importance of staying cool. I mean, I sweat more than the average person. I wonder why it just took me so long to buy shorts like this. I think next on my acquisition list is a CamelBak. Staying hydrated is a very good thing.

Possibly related posts:

1. Running shorts weather
2. Running log: 2008/11/16
3. Blazer equals interview