Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Ode to Drymax socks

It was the week before Cascade Crest 100 and I was in a taper induced frenzy. I had fallen in love with a pair of Drymax socks but they were just the wrong length. Getting your gear just right is paramount especially in a 100 miler. I'm the kind of runner who doesn't like to stop and the thought of changing my socks or shoes during a race is on par with stopping to shave. I had finally found the sweet spot with my shoes and a pair of Drymax socks which just happened to be road socks which came up to my ankle. When I ran my kit was perfect except for the pine needles and debris coming in through the space between my ankle bone and my achilles. Holy shit I spelled achilles right on the first try! Anyway, I needed longer Drymax socks. I went to Fleet Feet Seattle first of course. No Drymax? Then I went to REI and perused their foot tubes to no avail. Everyone said,"Go to Roadrunner Sports". I did, they had the same road socks I owned. I ended up going back to REI and buying gaters to cover my beloved socks and keep the trail kibbles out of my shoes. It worked! The gaters barely made it back to Easton but my feet were blister free after smoking the course to second place and a new Master's record. My faith in Drymax was cemented. I contacted Drymax asking for sponsorship for the 2012 race season and they took me on and sent me a plethora of Drymax socks in all shapes and sizes! I'm drunk with socks! I ran the hyper thin road socks through 26.2 miles of puddles in the Seattle Marathon two weeks ago and had happy feet. I wore the cold weather running socks last weekend in thigh high snow and peeled them off with a smile. I am so psyched on these socks I've written an entire blog entry on their merits. Breaking news: Drymax is also going to be sponsoring the Fleet Feet Seattle Team for 2012.