In addition to not wearing glasses I'm not really a sunglasses guy when I run. I'm a pretty heavy sweater and I almost always get drips of sweat on the lenses when I try to wear sunglasses when I run, and there's not much more annoying than that and it's completely avoidable, so I avoid it. There was one pair of shades I would wear that were fantastic for running, the Oakley Half Jacket, but I left my car unlocked one day and someone stole them. They were in production for something like 20 years but it looks like Oakley finally stopped making the original Half Jacket model. They're still available, but a little too expensive for me to re-purchase.
My lost love.
Anyway, with my latest eye exam I tried contact lenses again. This is the first time I've worn contacts for any extended time since I started running in 2007. They're working out pretty well, but if I'm trying to run or workout or something after work it's a hassle to take them out and put them in and all that so I've been running and working out with them on my eyes. Results have been mixed. If something gets in my eye or I get a little sweaty and I rub my eye it'll hit me like I woke up from a nightmare that I shouldn't do that. Or sometimes my eyes will just dry out and I have no desire to carry eye drops out on a run with me so I'll have to blink and disrupt my juju to get my eyes back in whack.
So, to the visually imperfect: how do you manage not running blind? Do you wear glasses? Are contacts ok for you? Have you figured out any way to make seeing while you're running easier? What are your tricks? I want to know, because I kind of like to see where I'm running.
I've been wearing glasses/contacts since I was 13 - I'm horribly nearsighted and running without some type of correction would be downright dangerous. I wear contacts for running because, as you said, glasses are far too annoying to deal with while sweating, and if they don't fit properly they'll be bouncing up and down on your nose. Plus I just prefer having complete peripheral vision - makes me feel safer (I run downtown, mostly along Charles St so there's lots of traffic to watch out for). How long have you been wearing the new contacts? If it's only been a week or two I'd wait it out and see if you adjust. I remember thinking they were really uncomfortable when I first got them, but after about 2 weeks I was fine. But if it's been, say, over a month it could be that it's a matter of them not fitting your eyes properly. I started having a lot of problems with the contacts I had been wearing for years (eyes were constantly bloodshot and dry) and the doctor said my eyes might have just gotten tired of tolerating them, so he switched me to daily disposables. They are so much more comfortable! More expensive than regular contacts but worth it. Plus, I can save a little money on them by only wearing them on days I run (no way could I run every day - I'd require a knee replacement in a matter of weeks if I attempted that) and my glasses the rest of the time.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that's a very long-winded way of saying, if you've been wearing the contacts for at least a month and they're still not comfy, I'd recommend switching to a new brand, a new type of contact solution or daily disposables and see if that helps. I'd try to avoid glasses at all costs...to me they're far more annoying than my contacts getting a little dry during my run. Hope this helps a little. :)
Wow, I trolled for comments and you came through like a champ! My contacts are fine. I guess I should have clarified and said they really only have a tendency to bug me when I'm running. But I did three miles in them this afternoon and they seemed to work out ok. I guess there will be some good running in contact lenses days and some bad running in contact lenses days...
DeleteI have worn glasses since 1971, the same year I started running in high school - back in the Dark Ages I know. I have 20/350 and 20/400 vision, so I don't see so great when I don't have my vision corrected. I gave up on contacts, like you I sweat a lot and I found that when the sweat runs down into my eyes, about once a week I would drag my contact off my eyeball and have to stop and try to replace it or run blind.
ReplyDeleteAbout the only thing that I find that helps is wearing a hat of some kind. That way I don't need sunglasses or clips as often. The part of sweat or rain getting on the lenses is just something that I just deal with and not worry about.
Running blind happens on those days when it is raining or snowing hard and I am not going far. The hardest thing for me is when it is really cold - down in the single digits and I am wearing my face mask, it fogs up the glasses and I can't see anything, then I either have to go blind or wear my old contacts and hope that my eye lashes don't freeze together, which can be an inconvenience when you have contacts in.
Wearing glasses is just a part of my life and I guess I just don't really even think about having to wear them anymore.
I just had a bout with pink eye (kids are generous with infections) and had to run a week blind. I was more fearful of stepping on roadkill than tripping and falling. I also had complaints from people who said I didn't wave when they drove past me. Overall, it wasn't bad. It made the run go quicker because I was more focused on my immediate surroundings than the long haul.
ReplyDeleteI just found this blog. Best bio ever. If you're bored, here's mine http://sheisoutrunning.blogspot.com/ I'm fairly new at this, so it's pretty "sparse".
I just found this blog too.
ReplyDeleteI have very dry eyes, so contacts won't do it for me.
I wear my glasses and geriatric cover-up sunglasses.
You may be a moron, but I have no sense of style. :)