Tag: socks

The Sock Mine: Running and Cycling Socks

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I have real trouble finding decent running socks. My favourite are my Reebok ones but they’re so old and hard now, they can almost stand up by themselves and are only my favourite because they a) fit; b) don’t give me blisters; and c) don’t fall down at the back. I bought a few pairs of Puma which were supposedly in my size but are way too big; other running socks I have either give me blisters or are too short and fall down at the back into my trainers.

So, hurrah for The Sock Mine. The Sock Mine are a family-run UK-based manufacturer and have just launched a range of technical running and cycling socks. And guess what? Yep, they fit and they don’t fall down into my trainers and they don’t give me blisters and they’re comfy and they have that left and right thing going on which only serves to make me spend more time than necessary putting socks on as I try and remember my left from my right.

 

sock-mine-running-socks

 

I wore my running socks again today (I use the word ‘running’ loosely) and they still had that soft-and-clean-new-socks feeling (although anything has a soft-and-clean-new-socks feeling compared to my crusty old Reebok socks) despite having been through the washing machine.

If you’re into your technical blurb that accompanies a lot of socks, you’ll find plenty on the Sock Mine website. For example, these Cool Runner socks “provide soft cushioning in major contact areas, whilst the moisture management system from the COOLMAX yarn wicks away moisture from the skin leaving feet comfortable and dry”.

There’s even a little diagram for people like me who, when they see the technical blurb, actually see, ‘blahblahblahstuffnooneunderstands’.

technical-blurb

Ah, it all makes sense now.

A birthday blog

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Happy birthday to me
I am now forty-three
Happy birthday dear JogBlog
And yes, I’ve been for a jog

After opening my presents (an octopus sculpted by the mega-talented Rich (aka Ume Toys, aka Joggerblogger),

martin

a pair of cat socks, a pair of giraffe socks, a pair of pig socks, the Miranda book, a red polka dot dressing gown and a day off cat-litter-tray-cleaning-duty from iliketocount, and a notepad from Travelling Hopefully)

notepad

and eating Ferrero Rocher for breakfast, I said I’m going for a birthday run, do you want come with me? thus completely forgetting how much I hate running with other people. As far as I’m concerned, socialising should be kept for the pub.

But, anyway, he said yes and so we went out for a rainy run. It did mean I got to wear my new Howies running top. It’s made from merino wool so it’s nice and warm. When it arrived, I thought it was too nice to be worn for running and I quite fancied wearing it with jeans to the pub (although not tonight as birthdays are dresses days). After putting it on though, it’s a bit too see-through to wear as normal clothes – if you look closely, you can see my belly button (this also acts as a warning to not look too closely if you don’t want to see my belly button).

howies-running-topThe run was wet. My feet got soaked. iliketocount tried to loop off and catch me back up until I reminded him of the ‘with’ bit of ‘running with me’.

So, the presents have been opened, the run has been done, the dress is on – time for the pub!

dress-side

Adrenaline Junkie

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After seeing Audiofuel Sean mention on Facebook that Adrenaline Junkie 2 would be out soon, I thought to myself ‘I don’t remember trying out the old Adrenaline Junkie’ and so I looked in iTunes and lo! Adrenaline Junkie wasn’t there. I thought to myself ‘this must be rectified immediately’ and like someone who cares about her friend’s business and livelihood should, I bought it off the Audiofuel website emailed Sean and said ‘oi, I haven’t got the old Adrenaline Junkie, can you send me a link to it please?’ and Sean being the nice guy he is, said fuck off freeloader ‘of course you can, here you go’ and so, hurrah, I had some new old Audiofuel to try out.

As if turned out, I did have most of the tracks on Adrenaline Junkie in my collection but having all the tracks run on to each other with coaching from Howie telling you how long each track will last for and at what intensity was great. (Except for the two tracks where he said I’ll be running at 190bpm when I promptly told Howie in my head to fuck right off.)

It’s just as well I don’t see many people out and about round here, as today’s sartorial decisions in all things running made me look like I’d got dressed in the dark. I had on a blue sports bra, orange and black capris, a pink top and my new blue Run Breeze socks which apparently are anti-blister and ergonomically designed and left and right-footed and breathable and moisture managed and have mid foot grip for anti-slipping.

run_breeze_socks

Whatever.

They look nice and were very comfy and didn’t give me blisters and that’s all you need to know really.

Today’s schedule called for four miles and as I got to 3.95 miles, it looked like I was going to make it in under 11 minute miles and so I ran and ran until I got to the titchy terraced house two doors away whose owners had decided to hire a digger to dig their front garden which is all of about two square feet big which meant that only the spadey bit of the digger was in their garden and the rest of the digger was taking up the whole of the pavement and so I had to stop and walk in the road around it and that is my excuse for doing over 11 minute miles.

Stats
Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 44:24
Pace: 11:04
Calories: 422
Adrenaline Junkies I didn’t have: 1
Adrenaline Junkies nice Sean gave me: 1
Number of colours worn at once: about 8
New pairs of running socks: 1
Diggers on postage stamp sized gardens: 1
Under 11 minute average miles: 0

p.s. You can get Adrenaline Junkie at half price on the Audiofuel website by using the discount code Juneathon

p.p.s. Talking of Juneathon, don’t forget to sign up for it. Slacking is not an option

p.p.s.s. There’s still time to enter my limerick competition to win a copy of Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Everything looks like a cow

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For some strange reason, although I was up early yesterday, spent the day out and about or inside packing, and completely knackered by the evening and falling asleep reading my book in bed, then I couldn’t sleep and kept waking up and was even woken up by the cat being sick and the bread machine doing it’s thing and so at 6:30am I get up before my fake sunrise comes on and before the bread machine has finished doing its thing and as I’m not aching after yesterday’s pitifully slow three miler, I decide to do another run.  Woo, get me, Miss Finely Tuned Athlete.

I clean up the cat sick and go into the bedroom to get changed into my running gear and I realise that yesterday when I carefully picked out enough clothes, including running gear (on the assumption that I’d do two more runs this week) to last me until Saturday as I packed away all my other clothes (two bin bags full for the bin, four bin bags full coming with me), I didn’t keep out any running socks and so I’ve got to wear normal socks to run in and then I’ve got to decide whether to wear the ones with monkeys, sheep, cats or cows on and I decide on the ones with sheep on and my Garmin gets a signal in record time and I leave the house at 7:30am hoping the postman doesn’t come in the next half an hour as I’m expecting three more parcels of stuff I bought via eBay and I hope I don’t have to wait all day for the postman as I need to get to the sorting office before 1:00 when it shuts to see if they’ve had my parcel from Saturday returned there yet and I don’t want my tenant getting all my parcels and parading around in my new sunglasses, whilst drinking out of my new cow mug and making jewellery with my new beads.

Ladybird Book of Farm AnimalsI go to the marshes via the boring way first this time and as I go towards the bridge another runner’s coming towards me and I think, aah, another hardcore runner, running early in the morning, I bet he says hello to me, the hardcore runners are usually the friendliest and he does indeed say hello to me and I say hello back, so he knows I’m also a hardcore runner and not just a red-faced shuffling thing and I get through the bridge and I think I see cows and then I think no, they’re not cows because a) the cows aren’t due back until July; and b) they’re horses and I think I’d better get the Ladybird Book of Farm Animals before I move so I don’t go up to horses and say moo and look stupid in front of the Country People.

And then I’m back to thinking about what to pack next, as I’ve still got a desk to sort out and the entire contents of my kitchen to pack and I think I could pack all my dishes and stuff and just use one plate and knife and fork and wash them up every day and then I think HUSH!  WHAT AM I THINKING? DO MY OWN WASHING UP? I don’t think so and then my thoughts turn to Juneathon and I wonder if Joggerblogger/[rich] will mind if I take over if he can’t do it this year and Hauling My Carcass has asked what the Rules of Juneathon are and so here’s a quick rundown and I will be reminding everyone later in the month and cracking the whip then.

Juneathon rules
Run or exercise every day
Blog about it

Easy, huh?

And then I get home and my hair’s all over the place and I think maybe I should get a hairband like the new doctor in Eastenders wears when he’s out for a run (which seems to be most of the time) and I think no, he looks like a dork.

Stats:
Distance: 3.03 miles
Time: 34:20
Pace: 11:20 m/m
Calories: 255
Cat sick: 1
Fresh loaves of bread: 1
Pairs of sheep socks: 1
Hardcore runners recognising me as a fellow hardcore runner and not a red-faced shuffling thing: 1
Horses: lots
Cows: 0
Plates I’m going to wash up myself: 0
Rules of Juneathon: 2
New dorky looking doctors in Eastenders who do nothing but run all day: 1
Music:
Foo Fighters
Duran Duran
Electric Soft Parade
B52’s
Cardiacs & Affectionate Friends