The South Beach Run.

Map view of run from Mobor Beach to Benaulim Bach.

It seems ironic that my first blog post in Goa is on my fitness blog instead of my photography blog. I had promised myself that I would focus mostly on photography during my vacation and give my running legs a rest but I guess even if you take the running legs away from the treadmill, you cannot take the running from the legs of a dedicated runner.

My plan was basically run on the beach as far as I could and then figure out how to return back home. I was hoping that I could run as far as the Colva beach (I estimated this to be about 12 kilometers from where I live, which is the Mobor beach). The last time I tried running here was back in May, when I has come down for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. At that time, I could do only about 8 km. But since my running has improved a lot since then, I thought 12 km should be achievable.

The Technical Shirt

Reebok PlayDry Shirt

In one of my previous articles "Dressed to Run", I highlighted the importance of wearing the right clothes (especially the shirt) while running.

These shirts are also known as "Technical Shirts". Basically, they are made from a special micro-fiber that pulls the sweat away from your skin and dries it quickly - keeping your warm and comfortable.

I have some good running shirts, but none of them are the real deal. At the end of the run, my shirt would be soaking in sweat and I would be desperate to hit the shower. The reason that I avoided buying technical shirts is that I just couldn't justify paying around KD 20/- for a T-shirt that is used primarily for running.

Yesterday, I was passing through a shopping mall in Kuwait City (Al-Muthana Complex) and noticed that one of the sports shop had a sale going on. I thought I'll check out to see if there is anything interesting. I hit the mother-load when I saw the Reebok technical shirts on sale for KD 8/-. I quickly picked up 2.

The "PlayDry Compression Shirts" are designed to move moisture from your skin. It accelerates evaporation, increases ventilation and reduces chaffing. And it doesn’t trap the heat inside. PlayDry. Because dryer is cooler. - Source.

As can be seen from the photo, these shirts are like body gloves and cling to your body. You don't even feel that you are wearing anything. Obviously, you need to be in pretty good shape to carry it off. If you happen to have a pot belly or love handles, you will look awkward wearing something like this.

I tried my first run with the shirt. I now regret not having invested in a technical shirt before. The difference is amazing. The sweating is still there. However, because the shirt is clinging to your body, it is the equivalent of running without clothes. This running without clothes is emphasized by the fact that the shirt almost turns "see-through". As I said before, if you are not fit, you will be VERY uncomfortable wearing this shirt while running thinking that everyone is looking and laughing at you.

However, once you start running in a technical shirt, there's no going back to normal shirts. I need to go back to that shop and pick up a few more before the sale runs out!!!.