Longest Run

This weekend I had my longest run of the season (so far). It was an 18-miler and besides the fact that it rained, it was pretty uneventful.

I was actually really glad for the rain. It was a nice break from the crazy heat/humidity I've been dealing with on my long runs, and it made the park a lot less crowded. I was really aiming to keep my pace around 10 minutes for the first few miles and then drop down to around a 9:30. Instead, I pretty much kept a 9:30 the entire time. I felt really good and like I could actually do a few more miles afterwards, so I think it's pretty key for me to feel like I'm "holding back" in those first few miles.

The one thing that was horrible is that when I got home and got in the shower I had to scream. I didn't even realized that I had chafed so badly. It HURT. I just assumed that I hadn't chafed because I had used Body Glide EVERYWHERE. So now I have matching scars on both clavicles, a really really horrible one under my chest on the left side, a circular one around my navel and one on my inner thigh on the right side. I am using Neosporin like crazy so that the scars don't become permanent fixtures (like some of my other chafing marks.

Oh yeah. And I am also hungry ALL THE TIME now. I just can't get enough to eat. It must be all those calories I'm burning :)

Evil Shorts

This Saturday I realized why I like running in a skirt so much. We had an 11-miler, and since I've been so spotty at doing the laundry lately, I had to settle for some running shorts instead of my usual running skirt. BIG MISTAKE.

I knew I was in trouble when I felt the swish swish swish of my shorts between my thighs in the first three miles. By mile 5 I was really hurting. I stopped for water somewhere around mile 7 and checked out the damage. At that point I had all of these little like, holes on both of my inner thighs. They were really burning. I was like 'well I just have to suck it up and forget about it'. Which was fine. I mean, it actually worked (mind over matter)...for awhile. Then, because it was so hot, I decided to run through a sprinkler that someone had trickling over the sidewalk. Whoops. Total mistake. I kind of forgot that putting water on chafing marks will only make them burn more.

The ironic thing was that I made sure that I wore a lot of Body Glide since I have had the same problem with my navel ring on my past two long runs. I guess I didn't think about wearing it on my thighs because the skirt has never given me that problem.

I also hate the shorts because unlike all of my other running pants and skirts they were low rise. So when my shirt rode up, (like it always does) it revealed my concave waist going into my convex belly. Yes, in other words a little pot belly. Gross.

Other than that the run was good. Now I just have to deal with the (now) red gashes on my inner thighs. I should buy stock in Neosporin during the running season.

Not to Harp on This...

Does anyone know the best way to heal scabs from chafing? I am soooooo itchy and in pain!!! Some websites say to keep them moist to heal while others say keep it dry, some say keep it open, some say keep it covered. I am going to ask at running practice tonight, but was thinking of perusing the aisles of Walgreens for help. All I have now is a triple antibiotic with hydrocortisone cream for the itching. It is bugging me so much I am having a hard time concentrating on work. HELP!

Three Stupid Things Emily Does to Mess Up Her Runs

I must say, I did a LOT of stupid things on my Saturday run. The first being further experimentation with what can stay in my system before a run without coming up. We were out of my usual Toaster Strudels so I thought two cookies would be a good substitute. Not so much. Luckily, Coach Joe had Shot Bloks available for $1.50 before the run. Shot Bloks are this "replacement fuel" for long runs. Each one is about 100 calories, so our coach recommended 2 somewhere before the 8th mile. Gu is also an option. I have one of these sitting in a drawer at home. It says "vanilla". I don't know. I'm not that desparate yet. I have not had luck with Shot Bloks in the past. I think they are incredibly disgusting with a horrible taste and the texture somewhere between tofu and gummy bears. Apparantly the lemon-lime was what was bugging me. The Cran-Razz was actually not too bad. It did come up a little with a strange taste when it combined with Gatorade. On the website they also have margarita flavored. Is that really something you want to be tasting/remembering on your run???

The second stupid thing I did? I decided to put my shuffle on my collar instead of my wasteband. No BodyGlide to help with the chafing. The result? My friend, Maren says it looks like I have cigarette burns on my chest.

The third stupid thing? Well, if you are burning 1471 calories on a run, it might be a good idea to replenish afterwards. I had my typical (not so healthy) breakfast at McDonalds afterwards, but then only a small burger with a baked potato for dinner...AFTER a marathon shopping trip. No wonder I was soooooo sleepy this weekend.

So my new friends are: five to six meals a day, Neosporin and BodyGlide

Chafing...EWWWW

So I just remembered this while I was reading one of the CinWeekly marathon blogs...its kind of funny.
I know a lot of marathoners have chafing issues, especially guys (I witnessed a particularly gruesome outcome of this one snowy day at running group. It is so gross I have a hard time even thinking about it). I have never really had too much of a problem with this. One day my shuffle was rubbing against my midsection (I clip it to my waistband) and it was raining and I ended up with two little scabs that looked like a vampire attacked me at my hip. But thats really it. Until last week. This time my ipod was not the culprit. When I got home from my run I noticed a little scab on my belly button. Apparantly my running tights squeeze my belly button together and my navel ring chafed me. Maybe it is not all that funny. But it makes me lol. I mean, in all of the articles and such I have read about chafing no one has ever mentioned body jewelry.