AKA the saga of my running shorts
I've recently taken up running. And by 'recently' I mean, I've tried to 'be a runner' on and off for the past two years. When I started the first time, I bought a purple ArmPocket and it's fantastic - when the weather is under 30ºC. I live in Australia, which basically rules out all of summer for wearing my armband - it's just too hot to have anything in contact with your skin that you don't have to.
Anyway, my most recent running effort started this January, and so far I've done pretty well, only skipping a few of my RunKeeper Beginner-to-5K training sessions.
Since the training schedule expects a running session once every second day and my household is more of a do-laundry-once-a-week-if-you're-running-low-on-underwear kind of household, I found myself running out of pants in which to run. And honestly, the idea of going out and buying new shorts did not appeal. First of all, the expense - the cost of exercise gear is just ridiculous. Second, I have two pairs of shorts that, if you combined them, would be the holy grail of running shorts for my body type.
One pair is just your standard Nike tennis/running shorts, with pockets at the front for my phone. The only downside is that the designers have assumed more of an hourglass figure than mine - there's not much difference in my hip and waist measurements and I found the waist elastic would dig in and leave unsightly dents around my tummy after a long run, not to mention the embarrassing muffin-top it would cause.
The other pair lacks pockets and are a little shorter than I'm comfortable with, but is made of a heavyweight stretch fabric and has a foldover waistband, like you've find in yoga pants but firmer.
I wanted to combine the pockets, cut and fabric of the Nike shorts with the firm knit foldover waistband of the yoga/track shorts, and couldn't imagine a RTW clothing line making such a thing, or me being willing to pay for it, should it actually exist, so I was prepared to head to the fabric stores and make my own - after the obligatory Sunday morning shopping/lunch visit with my mother.
Thank goodness I waited! We went to the local outlet mall and just as we were nearing the end of our loop, we went into Cotton On Body and what did I find, but my holy grail of running shorts: the Surf Running Shorts. Better yet, they were on sale, 2 for $30. So obviously I bought two pairs.
They don't appear to be available on the website anymore, so I can't link them, but they're quite similar to the normal running shorts except with a zip pocket on the right bumcheek and a foldover lycra-like waistband with a drawstring running through it.
Later that afternoon, I'm all geared up in my new shorts, ready to tackle my treadmill. Phone fits in pocket, check. Doesn't seem to bounce around and pull my shorts down, check. Okay, let's do this run... after I remove my phone, plug it into the speakers and leave it on the desk.
The shorts were really comfy for running in, rode up a little in the crotch, but I expect that will happen with any shorts until my thighs slim down a little.
So, the next day, I wore the second pair out on my lunchtime run. Popped the phone in the pocket, ran the headphone cable up my shirt so it didn't flop around everywhere (other people do that too, right?) and set off.
Once again, the phone was fine for my brisk warm-up walk, but halfway around the lake, I realised that it had dragged my shorts down so far that you could almost see my underwear - even below the unfolded foldover waistband!
I spent the rest of my run trying to discreetly hike my shorts up, and needless to say, it was not comfortable. Rather than concentrate on how much my calves were burning (I mentioned that I was bad at this, right?), I planned how to add phone-sized patch pockets with zips to all my running tops. I tell you what, thinking about fabric choices, colour combinations, removable vs. permanent options - it can really make the time fly! Before I knew it, I was back at work and had to get on with the rest of my day.
Anyway, that was last Monday. Today, I was procrastinating, as one does on a Sunday, when I stumbled on The Sewing Rabbit's post by Erin on a Running Belt DIY! As much as I still like the idea of patch pockets for my running tops, this is a much neater solution, and far more portable. While I do have some bright/fluoro yellow lycra left over from the Fallout-themed hoodie I made last year, I think I might go out and buy something a bit less hideous to make my running belt from.
Do you have any running-pocket fixes? Post your solutions and links in the comments below!