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During my years of Ironman training, I put in the hours. I was regularly training more than 15 hours a week, and 20 hour weeks weren’t uncommon. But that time was split between cycling, running, swimming and strength training. I would often ride the bike two days in a row, but I almost never ran on back-to-back days. My muscles almost always had at least 48 hours to recover after a training session before being taxed in the same way again. Recovery was important, but some recovery was naturally built into my training program.

Ultramarathon training is different. My usual weeks will have less time training than my usual Ironman weeks, but nearly all of it is spent running. For example, last week was a huge one for me, I trained a total 14 hours, about 12 of which was spent running. I ran every day except Friday but I ran twice on Thursday. And back-to-back long runs are an integral part of nearly every ultramarathon training program. As a result, the legs just don’t have very much time to recover.

Because of this, I’m doing everything I can to help my legs recover as quickly as possible: hydration + electrolytes, stretching, trigger point work, a generally healthy diet, ice baths, etc. I’ve been doing all that for years, but I recently bought a pair of compression tights to wear after my long runs and races. There are a few brands out there, so I did a little research and ended up buying the Zoot CompressRx Recovery Tight from Triathlon Lab in Santa Monica. It was a tough call and I mostly chose Zoot because I like their triathlon products and read good things about the tights. I haven’t tried any other brands, so I can’t make a comparison. Yet.

In summary, I love these tights. I have worn them after nearly every long run and race I’ve done since mid-March and when I wear them I wake up the next day with relatively fresh legs ready to get back on the trails or roads. For about two weeks in April, I didn’t have the tights and I did not feel as recovered the day after my long runs. They aren’t cheap ($150 before any discounts), but if you are doing heavy training and can spare the money, I’d recommend splurging.

The tights are a bit of a bitch to put on, especially getting my feet through the foot holes. They also take some adjusting around the hips and waist to get them to sit right. But once they’re on, I sense that they’re working. They are super tight, that’s for sure. They’re not so tight that they’re uncomfortable to walk around in. I’ve worn them out to dinner a few times.

I don’t pretend to understand the science behind compression, but honestly, I don’t care too much as long as I feel like I’m benefitting from wearing them. I own a couple pairs of compression socks as well and while I feel like the socks help my legs feel better after long runs, there’s no comparison to what I feel like I get from the tights. I know I’ll be spending a lot more time in the tights in the coming months.

Now that you’ve read what I like, there are only two things I don’t love about the tights:

• As I mentioned above, it is a crazy struggle to get my foot through the opening. I’m not sure why they couldn’t make the stirrup a little more stretchy. I’m guessing that this has to do with getting the most compression benefit out of the tights, but I’d probably sacrifice 0.5% compression in my foot for 0.5% more stretch to help get them on.

• It might be related to the above, but the seam around the very end at the foot should be a little softer. It’s so tight and a little rough so, after a while, it actually digs into each foot, which limits the amount of time I can wear them. It’s worst when I’m lying down in the tights and not so noticeable when I’m walking around in them. When I sleep in them, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I usually have to take the tights off because of the pressure around my foot.

Neither of those affect the benefits I get from the tights and I would definitely buy the tights again despite those issues.

In case you’re curious, I bought the size 1. I’m about 5’11” and weigh 162 or so. According to their sizing chart, I am between size 1 and size 2. I decided to size down because I wanted them tighter. Maybe if I’d gone with the 2, my issues with the feet would be resolved. I feel like the benefit I get from the “tighter” tights outweighs those points.

As a final point, the second or third time I put on the tights, the seams near the foot and heel started coming undone. I mentioned it to the Zoot rep at the Oceanside 70.3 expo and he told me it probably wasn’t a big deal but if anything happened, it would be covered by warranty. Well, a couple weeks later, the hole near the right side heel tore apart when I was getting my foot through the stirrup part. I was a pretty bummed. But I brought them back to Triathlon Lab who sent them to Zoot. In less than two weeks, I had a brand new pair for free. No questions asked. Good for you, Zoot!