I was caught off-guard
by a few running-related maladies when I first started running longer mileages
last year. I’d like to discuss a particular one of the many medical maladies
related to running…
And so we begin-
It was inevitable, of course,
that I would eventually get caught running long mileage in the
rain. I suspect that it was even predictable that I would, at some
point, get caught running long mileage in cold weather. However, the
part that I hadn't counted on, was the fact that these worlds would collide and
that I would ultimately get caught running long mileage during a rain storm in
cold weather. It was, in fact, during last autumn's first cold
weather rain storm when I discovered my first running related
malady. I speak, of course, of the dreaded Hemo-papillum, or bloody
nipples (by the way, I made up that scientific name). Ironically, I
think “bloody nipple” sounds more like a late-night shot of liquor than a
painful running injury, but alas, no. While out on this aforementioned
run, I knew that something was wrong but just figured that I was getting
chaffed. Little did I know that, upon removal of my outer layer, I
would see a blood striped shirt underneath. The shock was startling,
but the shower, Holy Cow! Now, I am a man, and I can only imagine
the pain of childbirth, but I must believe that the pain I felt when the shower
water hit my chest is similar to that of childbirth (in an effort to avoid
hundreds of mothers yelling at me, I’ll admit that this comment may be an
exaggeration). I’m not afraid to admit that I screamed like a little
child! Well, as the expression goes, this too shall
pass. I didn't give much thought to this problem again until about
two weeks ago. I was out for a weekend long-run in cold, windy
weather, and… well, you can probably guess the rest.
I was going to insert
a bloody nipple pic here,
But figured you would
prefer seeing my backyard.
I happened to find a
suggestion on the internet for a possible solution to this problem. It turns out that my old blister control
friend for hiking-Moleskin, when cut into nipple sized circular sections, can
prevent the problem. Well, I gave this possible cure a try on last
week’s 18 mile run… It solved the
problem, but I discovered two side-effects of this technique. First, as I was
heading out the door of my school with the moleskin applied, my colleagues told
me that the patches (or pasties, in their words) were very much visible through
my tech shirt (Wonder if VCM knew this when they designed the “VCM in-training”
shirt?). Secondly, as you may know, moleskin adheres very well… perhaps
too well! As a result, I needed to wear the patches for the next
several days while I waited for the adhesive to eventually wear out. The good news is that, yes, it worked! But I don’t think that I’ll employ this
technique on short runs, or even most runs, but long, cold, wet runs…
absolutely!
On a more VCM training
related note. I participated in the
first wave of the Unplugged half marathon on Saturday. The temperature was a bit on the cold side, and
it was pretty windy, but I had a great run (and my pasties worked well too!).
I really enjoyed the race, but felt more
enjoyment about having a cut-back week in my mileage. My legs had been feeling constantly tired and
they really needed a break. Now I feel
as though I’m more prepared to step into my longest three weeks of
training. I have the first of two 20
mile runs planned this coming weekend.
I’m sure that I’ll have a lot to report to you about that experience!
Until next week,
Greg
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