Tech Run – Sparkle Skirts & Nice Pipes

I’m going to run in the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K on April 1st this year (no joke! haha) and in keeping with my personality, I’ve been planning ahead since November.  Researching what to run in, what shoes to wear, what the weather’s going to be (I checked the almanac) and what to carry with me while I’m out.  So I’ve made multiple purchases, and tested the products on short jaunts in an attempt to get my stamina up.  For this post, I’ll go over what I’ve decided to wear to run.

Sparkle Skirts

When clothes are amazing, they develop a cult following.  Rabid running women rave and rant and cheer about these Sparkle Skirts.  For fairly good reason.  I learned about them from my Hogwarts Running Club house and common room Facebook groups.  These are super cute running skirts with shorts (skorts – I hate that term, tbh) built in.  They can be worn front ways or back ways, depending on if you’d rather the waistband zipper in the front or behind you.  The running shorts have thigh pockets that keep everything secure.  I’ve only run with my phone in a pocket, but I seriously suggest you watch this video of a woman wearing a Sparkle Skirt and carries about 20 different things with her while she runs.  It’s almost 8 minutes long, but she’s actually whom I got a few ideas for things to carry with me while I run, which I’ll cover in another post.

I bought two Sparkle Skirts, one the “regular” length and one a longer hiker style.  I’ve been out in both, and don’t really notice a difference.  If anything, the pockets on the hiker style might be a little loose on me.  So women with larger thighs might find more room for them in a hiker style.  The shorts don’t move when I run, and aside from the waistband dropping down under my belly pooch when gravity has its wicked way with me when I jog, I’m super happy with how well these skirts work.

If not for the pretty high price-point ($65 at the low end), I would buy more.  As it is, I will have to become a much more avid runner to justify buying any more.

Nice Pipes

My other running-clothes investment is a cute little start-up I caught on Shark Tank.  The company’s called Nice Pipes, and she developed leg and arm warmers made out of a compression-style fabric that’s pretty much like yoga pants material.  I bought the thigh-high style, with the idea that yes, the First of April will likely be a bit chilly in the morning, and I will likely warm up midway through and want to remove any extra garments that I could to keep from overheating.

I regret I may have chosen poorly, as the portion of the Pipes above my knee slide down as I’m going on my merry way.  They did do the job, honestly, and kept my calves warm.  They also didn’t slide down much more than just bunching around the knee, so they stayed up enough that I didn’t feel I needed to tug on them constantly.  Removing them mid-10K would be tricky, I’d have to essentially take off my shoes to get them off.  I will have to make another attempt in them soon, because I now realize that according to the website photos I may have put them on upside down.

Again, the product’s a little pricey ($42 for knee-high, $46 for thigh-high) so I will likely never buy any more unless I become an avid runner.

Next time I write, it’ll be about the stuff I’ll be carrying with me on my 10K.