CEP Compression Socks Review + GIVEAWAY

Michael at CEP Compression Sportswear contacted me to review a pair of CEP Compression Socks.  I received a pair of hot pink with black in the mail and wore them for the 10 mile Ocean Drive race a couple of weekends ago.  Just to remind you, I am not RACING right now, I am just getting by and finishing races, so I can't give you the full performance rating on these socks, only what I found running as a pregnant old bag.


The Company: (from the website)
CEP is owned by medi - one of the world's leading innovators compression therapy. They make Run/Recover compression socks that are medical grade. This is the first brand that I've seen that you can use to run in in addition to the recovery.  Every brand claims to have "graduated" compression, however anything below medical grade, 20mmHg, is considered over the counter and not regulated. 

In order to penetrate your deep veins and target the arteries you need a specific amount of compression. One sign to look for is when a product goes by shoe size.  Shoe size doesn't tell the circumference of one's leg which will determine the size range to get targeted compression. When I ordered my pair, I had to measure the circumference of my calf.  The socks are also right and left specific with silver ions to prevent blisters and bacteria formation.  The socks are great for any distance or recovery run. CEP also produces sleeves which are made for runs up to 18 miles - your feet can swell for runs much longer in the sleeves! 

**A published medical study found that runners had 5% better performance running in CEP socks and used 6% less energy.  Check out the website for best compression practices.

My Experience
I ran in the hot pink compression socks for a 10 mile race, 3 mile recovery run, 5k race and various training runs. For me right now, they keep me warm on the cooler mornings, and seem to help my calf and shin cramps to ease up more quickly.  The socks are definitely much more difficult to get on and off that the pair of Recovery Socks that I have by Recovery Sock which I believe attests to the medical grade compression. They feel comfortable on - I wear them all around the house after a run and wore them all day after the 10 miler.  I can definitely tell you they are a better fit than the Recovery socks which makes me think they are doing a better job.

I am somewhat biased to the look of knee socks because I love wearing them around and I think they make my legs look thinner.   I cannot speak to the performance aspect since obviously I get slower every day, but I plan to try these out in the fall for sure.  I like how you can wear these not only for recovery, but for running itself! These go for $50 to $60 at most of the online dealers.  Check out amazon - I always think they have one the best prices. The sleeves go for around $40.  This is more than other brands you might see at the expos, but I feel that these are legit medical grade whereas most of the others are not. I am up for a black pair next - they go with everything. I could wear them out with a black skirt - wahoo!

COMING UP --->Check out the CEP booth at the Boston Marathon next week as well as Rock and Roll Nashville!





















GIVEAWAY
Michael has generously agreed to give one lucky reader a pair of compression socks. I would love to give one lucky reader a chance to try these out and let me know what you think!  Also, I am going to wear these for traveling and report back. I think that they are great for pregnancy and keeping the blood flowing!

TO ENTER:

Visit the website and let me know what product you would most like to try.


For extra entries (leave a comment for each one),
* Become a follower of my blog (or let me know if you already are)

* Link back from your blog (in a post) and send me the link


I will randomly select & announce a winner on April 23rd - winner will have 48 hours to contact me (then a new winner will be selected).  Please leave your email if you would like me to email you with the news!

Review/Giveaway Disclaimer: I was not compensated by CEP to write this review.  I received a free pair of socks to try and review on my blog.