Wiper 'Blades'

I wear glasses. I have worn them since grade 12. My vision isn't awful by any means and I can see perfectly well close up without them. It's distance that I have trouble with. Things start looking a little fuzzy about a metre away and they are pretty much unrecognizable in the distance.

As in 'is that a person walking with their dog?' 'where?' 'right up there on the left, by the corner' 'what corner?' 'by the big tree!'

'oh, you mean the no parking sign with the garbage can beside it?'

'um...yes.'

So I wear glasses all the time. Not because I need them all the time, mostly because I really really don't like not being able to see things clearly. Not being able to recognize people at a distance, not being able to read street signs and not knowing if it's a dog or a garbage can - there is something about not being able to see clearly that makes me very uncomfortable.

My eyes are also really sensitive to light and I'm constantly squinting and tearing up when I'm outside. This is a bit of a problem, particularly in the summer, with all the cycling and running I do. I need sunglasses and I always want prescription sunglasses so that I can see.

Problem is that those cool-looking glasses that a lot of runners/cyclists wear don't usually come with a prescription lens option. There are some where you can pay hundreds and hundreds for prescription lenses and there are some that let you put a prescription lens in behind the regular lens. But the prescription options are so expensive that they have never been an option. The last time I got new glasses, I bought the biggest pair I could find and I put transition lenses in them so that they would darken when I was outside. They do the trick (sort of) but they don't go high enough to stop the sun from sneaking in up over the top of the frames - especially when I'm cycling.  So I squint all the time and get headachy by the end.

Last week I decided that I wanted to try the sports glasses. I'm not even sure that they're called but they look like this.

When we are at the bike shop last week I tried on a few pair. I quickly discovered two things. They sit beautifully right against my eyebrows and effectively prevent any sunlight from coming in over the top. Perfect! The other thing I discovered, well not discovered but was reminded of, was that I have really really long eyelashes. 

Not quite this long but close!

I'm not complaining - it's nice to have long lashes but they do get in the way when buying glasses. I tried on a few pair of the sunglasses that actually pushed against my lashes enough to make my eyeballs hurt. Weird but true. After a few failed attempts I found one pair that fit well, looked ok AND didn't push my lashes into my brain. So I bought them to try. 

I gave them two test runs on the weekend. Saturday,  they went cycling. It was very weird at first to not be able to read street signs until I was a metre or so away from them but I chose a route that I knew so I wouldn't have to think too much about where I was going. I could see well enough to spot anything on the road I should avoid and was able to tell the difference between a car and a tree. As for blocking the sun, they worked really well, were quite comfortable and kept the blinding sun from sneaking in over, under or on the sides. Fabulous!

Sunday morning, they went running. A few of the garbage cans in the distance did look like dogs but I'm getting used to not being able to see 100%. The run went well but it was hot and very humid. Very very humid. Halfway through the run I stopped for water and a few edisks. I pulled off my glasses to wipe my face and noticed that the glasses were all fogged up. Weird, they hadn't seemed foggy when I was running with them. I held them up to my face and laughed out loud all by myself on a country road. 

My eyelashes had been fluttering against the lenses the entire time and had kept my field of vision completely clear of fog. 

I have my own built-in wipers!