Hump Day Giveaway: Compress Yourself

Not coming to a store near you soon: Baby Mop Clothing. But I do like the idea.

I love new gear as much as, well, all of you, but I rarely gush about it. Warning: I’m gonna gush now. I’m not even going to do an introduction about this week’s giveaway because I just want to gush.

I got a pair of these 110% capris–or knickers, as they’re called–to test-drive a few weeks ago. Before I even put them on, I loved the idea: compression fabric–really tightly woven material that encourages healing blood flow to your muscles–that has strategically placed, large pockets over the knees, back, quadriceps, hamstrings, and lower back.

Which leads to you ask: what are those pockets for?
To that I would answer: to hold the slim sheets of ice packets that come with the capris.

So you go for a run in these capris, you come home, you slip in the ice packets over any areas that might need it, and–this is the genius part–you can go on about your multitasking life, making school lunches, helping with homework, feeding a bottle, folding the laundry. In order to properly take care of your muscles and joints, you don’t have to park yourself on the couch for 20 helpless minutes and bark orders to your kids. (“Feed me grapes! Now!”)

For moms, these cargo running capris rank up there with the sippy cup, the minivan,  macaroni and cheese, and Pull-Ups: They simply make life easier.

Capris built for the Inspector Gadgets--or mother runners--of the world.

I’ve worn them three times so far, and love how supportive they felt during my runs. Like Spanx, they kept jiggling and extra movement to a minimum. Once, I was really unmotivated to get up and run (big surprise right?), and then I thought, “Oh, but my cargo capris are clean!” I immediately got up. After each run I stuffed all the pockets with ice and did the normal a.m. routine. I noticed my knees, usually achy in the afternoon after a morning run, weren’t hurting and the rest of my lower body wasn’t quite so angry, either.

The only complaint I have about them, other than I don’t have a pair for every run, are they’re (necessarily) thick—they have two layers of compression—so I probably won’t be donning them in the summer. Then again, maybe I’ll just run with the ice packs in them…

I’ll stop my infomercial now so you can have a chance to win  a a pair of your own. All you have to do is answer this question: What do you think is the best invention for either mothers or mother runners?

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P.S. The winner of the Dansko clogs is Heidi Shepard, who takes care of her feet this way:

Being the Northeastern ‘yankee’ (as in bargain huntress, not baseball fan, I am a Red Sox fan!) that I am, I’ve tried several, inexpensive knock-offs that have worn down, out and even hurt my feet. So Dansko’s are my clog of choice. And a far too infrequent pedicure on the end of my size 10 toes is a oh so worth-it expense and joy!

Heidi: your toes (and wallet) will surely appreciate the new clogs. E-mail us at runmother at gmail dot com and we’ll get you and your size 10’s set up!