Most of us reach a certain age when we stop caring about how others perceive us. For me, it happened when I turned 30. Within days of the birthday, I started training for long distance endurance races, running in fancy compression underwear and training with an ElliptiGo. (Okay, not yet, but I’m thinking about it.) When I stopped giving a damn about how I looked, I ended up having a lot more fun. You too can embrace your inner gear geek with these five items:
Rollerblades
Growing up skating and surfing in Southern California, I鈥檝e tossed my fair of snark at rollerbladers. But as an older, more reasonable man, I鈥檇 like to make a case for the blighted sport. It鈥檚 efficient, low-impact exercise that strengthens your glutes and makes you a much stronger, faster runner. Plus, it鈥檚 fun. There, I said it.
Sun Hat
You鈥檙e going to look silly in a big brimmed sun hat or a cap with flaps on the back. Period. But in addition to protecting you from skin cancer, a good sunhat will leave you with more energy after spending the day outside in the heat.
Yaktrax
Goofy? Yes. Practical? Absolutely. I watched an octogenarian strut confidently around like the queen of Ashland, Oregon, after an ice storm left myself and other pedestrians slipping around our town鈥檚 sidewalks like newborn deer learning to walk. Her secret? . I don鈥檛 care if they look weird on a pair of hiking boots: that old woman looked a lot cooler than I did as she walked confidently to the market.
Compression Sleeves
Regardless of color and design, compression sleeves and tights look ridiculous. But they can prevent you from聽crawling home聽at the end of a race. Granted, the research still hasn鈥檛 convinced me that compression sleeves help recovery, but they won鈥檛 hurt anything except maybe your ego. Maybe it鈥檚 all psychological, but they seem to relieve my searing leg pain after a 50 miler. So, yes, I’ll be dressing up like a compression-sleeve mummy from now on.
Recumbent Bike
During a heated debate with a cyclist after I called his machine 鈥渄amned goofy,鈥 I learned that while recumbent bikes climb like overweight gorillas, they are amazing descenders. I had to concede that the longer and more balanced weight distribution and the prone, than a traditional bike鈥攁nd easier on the rider鈥檚 body.