How I Got My Unique Tan

As witnessed by Lindsay in my ice bath post, I have a rather...unique...tan.  Now, I am a person that has to be out in the sun for days before I actually get tan.  So the fact that I am tan at all is nearly a miracle, but it does not bother me a whole lot. 

Back in June, I was riding my bike a lot (for me).  I completed a metric century ride and then a duathlon and trained a fair amount.  On my metric century I got a lovely bike tan that is yet to disappear.  Now, you would assume that all of my legs would be tan since I have done all of my running outside this summer.  Although I have a sock line that is somewhat noticeable, my legs are not that tan left leg is not tan, but my right leg is.  The reason?

I run with a compression sleeve on my left leg.  Recently, some people have asked me why I wear them, and specifically, why on only one leg. 

Back in February I had Achilles tendinitis.  It was not a bad case, and when I iced my left leg after running it felt so much better.  I don't know if it ever went 100% away or not, but when I was training for my half marathons this spring I started to cramp up on my runs.  There was never a set pattern to my cramping.  The distances, speed, terrain (outside vs. treadmill) varied when the cramping occurred.

During that time, a friend told me he wore compression socks when he ran because it helped him cramp less.  At that point in my training cycle, I wanted the cramping to stop.  It had caused me to cut short some of my longer runs.  I went to a local running store and opted to buy compression sleeves because, well, the socks are not fashionable and rather ugly for wearing out in public not my style.  I thought if the sleeve could do the same thing as the sock, I'd opt for the sleeve.  Ever since wearing the compression sleeve, I've only had 1 cramp. 

Has my cramping problem healed, and I no longer need to wear the sleeve while running?  I don't know.  Some part of me is nervous to run without it on.  However, another part of me wants to try it.  Right now I'm doing all that I can to stay healthy for Chicago.  If that means wearing a sleeve, I'll wear a sleeve. 

In addition to my compression sleeve tan line, I also have the infamous runner watch line.

It doesn't look that noticeable in the picture, but it is!

Do you have any unique tan lines?