The Socks Are On

Last week I somehow managed to irritate some muscles, ligaments, bones or something in the calf area of my leg.  This pain was a little more pronounced than the usual soreness I have experienced running.  By mid week I knew this issue was not going away.  I had a race scheduled on Saturday and knew I needed to do something before then.   I looked on the Internet for suggestions and the common theme was compression socks.

I started seeing runners wearing these about a year ago.  I get the basic concept of how they worked.  The socks help get blood flowing back to the heart to be oxygenated and then back to that area of the leg. This helps with muscle and tissue repair.   I still thought they looked funny.  But for me right now these were desperate times.  

I made the decision to head down to The Trak Shak (Trakshak Link) to get some more information on these.  One of the guys at The Trak Shak was very helpful.  He measured my calf.  Yes compression socks are by size.  I found out that my calf is a little on the large side so there were not a lot of different colors to choose from.  I chose black.  I was a little shocked at the price but again these were desperate times.  I went with a brand made by a local company.  The company' name is Dynamic Sports Products.  Click here for their website (XMR Website).  Here is a link to their Facebook Page
(Dynamic Sports Facebook Page).

At home I tried them on.  There are specific instructions on how they should be put on and taken off.  I have to say they felt pretty good and I did feel immediate relief with my calf.  I decided if I was going to have a respectable showing in the race I would have to wear these.   

The Saturday morning of the race I put my socks on.  I have to say I did look funny but more like I was dressed to play soccer than run a race.  I did have a respectable showing in the race but my time was slower than last year. I don't think my injury or the socks had anything to do with that.  That's a topic for a different post.   I do know that I would not have been able to run the race without wearing the socks and I more than likely would have done more damage to my calf.  I will more than likely need to wear the socks for a few weeks when I run until whatever is going on goes away.  Hopefully, it goes away!