Chafing, according to Google's definition is "to make sore by rubbing" against an article of clothing, for example. In my case the chafing occurred as a result of rubbing skin. That's right! I decided it would be a great idea to go for a run in the middle of the day when the temperatures where in the 80's. Why not? It was hotter in GTMO at 7:00 AM and I ran plenty there.
Difference? Being prepared. Nothing feels more uncomfortable than to feel your skin burning while you're running and knowing full well that you still need to go home. When the burning begins two miles into the run and you have at least one mile before you can feel relief, it hits you. This is going to SUCK!!
Sweat drips from all over the place and every drop feels like fire. It's like pouring salt or lemon juice on an open wound, over and over and over again. What the HECK was I thinking???
I finished a three mile run in 31 minutes. Probably the slowest run since I started seriously running three years ago. Shameful is what that was but at the time, the pace was not of concerned since I still had to get home and it didn't matter if I ran or walked, it was going to burn just the same. I ran for a bit pulling my pants down between my legs, surely that must have looked interesting to the motorists. Then I adopted this side to side hop/run thing to help keep my thighs from touching each other and causing further damage.
Oh it gets better... I finally made it home, almost in tears. First things first... a shower. Of course, right, that should be a huge relief...yup.... EXCEPT when you soap up immediately and realize that the soap feels like someone just poured lemon juice in your eyes! Did I mention this was a great run through a beautiful lake with awesome paved and unpaved trails? Really, it was.
Anyway, I finally got myself cleaned up and decided it would be best to wear long pants to protect my hurting skin. I little baby powder and it felt much better. So what happened? This is not my first run in any temperature, what went wrong?
#1 I did not even think about preparing for my run. Preparing means drinking lots of fluids (and by fluids I mean water) the night before, having clothes, shoes, socks, sports bra AND my anti-chafing stick ready.
#2 I spent the morning unpacking, sitting, standing and feeling defeated. The run came in when I felt like I was going to jump out of my first floor window. I realized I needed to go do something physically active that would help me think, refocus...so it was totally an impulse run, still.... the anti-chafing stick, hello?!?
Lessons Learned:
#1 Prepare, plan, stick the routine, keep your gear organized. That way there is never an excuse to not go running or worse yet, to end up running and with chafed inner thighs.
#2 Don't let your circumstances, stress, the recent move (that's me), or anything else (excluding emergencies and illness of course) keep you from doing something just for you---walk, run, yoga, meditation, sleep.
Running... well, I have a new goal. Can I just act like a teenager who just found out she's going to see the latest teen idol (whomever he is these days, I'm so out of it now that my teen is away at college).... OMG, OMG, OMG.... I'm going to be a princess in February!! Tee hee hee hee!! Woot! Woot! I gotta text my BFF!! OK there. WOW a lot of words and nothing concrete was ever said. What I'm trying to say is that I am going to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando next February. YUP! I signed up, I will make my travel plans shortly and I will be meeting some of my awesome and inspirational friends in Florida to run 13.1 miles just because we can and I am thrilled to have a goal, and this is a huge goal for me.
OK. There now. Go get excited about your goals. I don't care how small you think they are. Own them. They are YOUR goals.
My training will begin in a few weeks but in the mean time I will continue running a few days a week just to keep up the routine and trust me, I will never again run without using my anti-chafing stick. By the way, you can also use any deodorant that is not a gel or spray. It has to be the white deodorant most people avoid because of the clumping and stripes it leaves on your clothes. Trust me, it works, I rub that anywhere skin touches skin or sports bra touches skin.
I will keep you posted on my progress. If you're working on whatever... share it! Tell me about it!
Stay Well,
Terie
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