Stinky!

I'm going to lay it all out there for you, Internet: My running clothes stink. Really stink. Stink as in people probably don't want to be around me when I have my running clothes on, even when the clothes are freshly laundered and I haven't yet begun to sweat. And when I do begin to sweat, well, that just releases all the trapped-in stinky stink and I feel a little like those people in the Southwest "Wanna get away?" commercials. Let's not even talk about what it is like after a run.

So I was excited when Runners' Lounge offered up samples of Penguin Sport-Wash for some bloggers to review. I waited for my sample. And I waited. With every day that passed, I grew increasingly convinced that my mail-lady had co-opted my sample because, I don't know, maybe her uniform was stinky? Lucky for me she hadn't. My sample arrived last week and I was practically giddy.

On Saturday, I put the detergent to the test with a week's worth of running and other workout clothes. My husband even brought his running clothes home (he runs during the day at work, lucky dude) so I tossed those in as well.

My initial observations: The Sport-Wash doesn't really smell. It has more of a non-scent smell to it. It's not detergenty, at least not in the Tide, All, or Arm & Hammer sort of way. Since it doesn't have a scent, it doesn't leave a scent on the clothes. I gave my clothes a good whiff after the wash and dry and they smelled like nothing. Most importantly, they didn't stink.

The real test would be how they smelled while out on a run. This test was a little trickier because I decided to do it while running in the cold on Sunday. About a mile into the run, I looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear, so to speak, and then I sniffed my top. Keep in mind my nose was cold and who knows how well my senses were working at that chilly point but, honestly, my top still smelled OK. Not like roses, but not like a stinky ol' gym towel either. The shirt smelled like nothing. And that's probably the goal.

All in all, I give the stuff a thumbs up. It's available at various retailers, and Amazon sells two bottles for $20.

Back to running: My legs felt a little tired yesterday. I stretched and used the foam roller (after I thoroughly enjoyed my enchilada, more guacamole than one person really should eat in a sitting, and a big honking margarita) so my legs feel fine today. I'll hit the treadmill for an easy run this evening and then speedwork tomorrow. Again on the 'mill. We're supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow tomorrow. Bummer.