If you’re a woman who runs, there are three pieces of equipment which are absolutely essential to get right, because the consequences of getting them wrong are, at minimum, extreme discomfort. These three things are worth spending a little money on to get right. I’m going to talk about two of these things today: head phones and sports bras.
Head phones take a little trial and error. The biggest thing to look for when shopping for them is to look for a reasonable return policy – at least 30 days, and you want to be able to return items when the package has already been open. Unfortunately these terms can be hard to find on the Internet, so it’s worth checking your local stores. While doing some research beforehand can help narrow down the possible candidates, there’s nothing like trial and error for finding the right headphones.
Recently I bought a pair of Sennheiser PMX70 Sport Headphones. While I could have spent more for the newer PMX80s, the price difference was enough to make me opt for the earlier version. Also I preferred green to orange.
I had some qualms about the shape of the speakers, since one of my less successful experiments with listening devices has involved earbuds. I’ve been using noise-canceling covered-ear headphones for several years, but recently the buildup of sweat has become too gross to contemplate putting on my head. One thing I hate about earbuds is how they leak sound – anyone who has ever sat next to someone wearing them on in close quarters can hear everything they are listening to. Apart from the annoyance factor, earbuds are really bad for your hearing.
The Sennheiser PMX70s are leaky, although not quite as bad as earbuds. I was willing to try them because I wanted something that doesn’t cover my ears during hot summer runs, that would stand up to sweat, and that would allow me to hear my environment better. My noise canceling headphones were great for blocking out catcalls, but they did make me less safe by making it easier for me to tune out my environment. The PMX70s balance my competing objectives quite nicely.
Not only did I not have to crank up the volume on my iPod to hear the music, the sound was easily drowned out by the fanfare at the beginning of the race. I can hear the ring of bicycle bells when running along the West Side Highway, and they aren’t so tight that they pinch my ears as some have reported. My only complaints are that the cord only comes out the left side, and if you don’t have a handy pocket that arrangement can be awkward, and that the headband part is really, really big. As in Sasquatch big. It sticks out almost two inches from the back of my head. This is an aesthetic issue only, however, since it doesn’t move around while I run. And having tested this in the Brooklyn Half Marathon, I think it’ll work fine for the full distance in November.
The second thing that women need to get right is sports bras. I’m an unusual size, so I’ve been experimenting with sports bra solutions for years. My usual favorite brand is Moving Comfort, which makes bras in a broader range of sizes than most manufacturers, but I’m finding that over long distances the underwire is chafing me to the point of bleeding. It could be that my bras are simply old, so today I trudged up to Paragon Sports and spent a lot of time trying on bras with the generous help of their sales staff.
(Out-of-towners who will be in New York for the marathon: Paragon is a great resource for your last-minute running needs, but it is also constantly mobbed. Once you track someone down, the staff are helpful, but sometimes finding someone can be a trick.)
I came away with one bra, from Enell. I haven’t used it yet, so I’m cautiously optimistic that this will be a chafe-free solution to my underwire problem. The press is good – apparently Oprah is a fan, so if it keeps her girls from flinging about like a couple of kids in a bouncy castle, I’ll give it a try – but the real test will be my weekly long run. More soon!
I also plan to buy another Moving Comfort bra, either the Helena or the Calli. I haven’t decided yet, so if anyone has either bra and an opinion about it, I’d love to hear from you.
If you get the essentials right, you can more or less fudge on things like shorts, t-shirts, singlets, headgear and the like. As long as it doesn’t chafe, bounce, or cause blisters, and it does what it is supposed to do, there’s no reason to spend a ton of money on equipment for running. Unless you have and you want to, of course; the decision is up to you, based on your budget and needs.
Oh, that third thing? Shoes. Get some good running shoes. This should be really obvious, but I do see people running in Converse, which is just so seventies and so WRONG. Jack Rabbit Sports will record you running on a treadmill and make shoe recommendations based on your gait, so there’s no reason to run in bad or uncomfortable shoes.
