Why didn’t I buy them sooner?

I’ve been interested in arm warmers for awhile, but just never took the plunge to actually purchase a pair.  Luckily for me I was given a pair for my birthday and recently had a chance to wear them for the first time.



Shoot..if Kara Goucher can wear them, so
can I. It doesn't matter that she's
superwoman and I'm just your average
run of the mill runner.

 If you aren’t a runner, and maybe even if you are, you might be asking yourself “Why would you/I want arm warmers?  Couldn’t you/I just wear long sleeves?”  The answer is yes….and no.    Sure when it gets cold enough everyone has to switch to long sleeves when running outside.  However sometimes it’s a toss-up.  Will I be too warm in long sleeves? But will I freeze in short sleeves?  What if I’m doing a long run and I’m going to be out there for an hour or longer and the temps start out in the low 50’s but reach close to 60 before I’m expected to be done?   As you can see, once you start running outside there’s a lot of thought put into what to wear (at least for me there is).

Arm warmers are great because if the temperature is a bit cool but you feel you might be too warm in long sleeves, just put on a short sleeve shirt or a tank top and slap on the arm warmers.  The arm warmers cover the majority of your arm.  They are light-weight, moisture-wicking, and warm.   If the temperature warms up and/or you are running in direct sunlight and feel a bit warm, just roll them down.  Easy!   If you wore long sleeves and got warm it’s a pain to have to roll the sleeves up and get them to stay up.  If you are even able to roll them up. I have some long sleeved tech shirts that are form fighting and I can’t roll those suckers up.   Plus, if you do roll up your sleeves you risk stretching them out. Nobody wants that.

So yes, after one use of my arm warmers I’m a convert.  I love them!  I work them with short sleeves and it was perfect.  Running in direct sunlight I could tell I was getting a bit warm but not overly so.  However soon I was back in the woods and surrounded my trees and the temperature dropped and I was comfortable again.

I personally have a pair of Nike Dri-Fit arm warmers, at $20 they aren’t that expensive.  I must also say that I was worried they wouldn’t stay up.  I have very skinny arms.  Yes, I do strength train and while my upper arm muscles are somewhat impressive (for me) they are still a bit pathetic and small.  I’m happy to report that I had no problems with the arm warmers staying up for the entire run, which was almost 9 miles and took about 1 hr and 23 min. I would say that’s a pretty good test if they work or not.   Oh..and for me.  These were perfect for when the temperate was in the low 50’s.  I wore capri’s, the arm warmers, and a short sleeved shirt and was comfortable (once I started running and until I stopped..at which point I froze).