Chafing sucks

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

First things first. The Metroparks staff is obviously reading my blog. They noticed my concerns regarding dumping in the dark and got right on that light issue and the bulb has been replaced. Good thing because I needed it again today.

Ever had one of those days when almost nothing seems to go right? I’m not whining, but it’s not uncommon in my work to have more no-shows than I actually have people come for their appointments. This can mean a lot of time waiting – something I do poorly. Frustration builds throughout the day – the walk I took had helped - but by the time I left the office, I was in bad need of a running fix.

I decided to do some unusual trails that I hadn’t been on in some time as a change of pace. I figured a general course with the intent of going longer than I had since the beginning of this trek. That meant 70+ minutes. I changed in the now lit bathroom and immediately slipped into the brush behind the ranger station in search of a trail I knew was back there somewhere.

I didn’t find the trail right away, but I did find a new swamp. At first, I attempted to move from it without getting my shoes submersed, but gave that useless effort up in short order. I sloshed through the mud and into the trees beyond until I finally found the hiking trail I was seeking. No one used it. Maybe because it was under 6 inches of water. I continued splashing for the next 10 minutes until I made it to a more civilized hiking trail. My shoes weighed about 5 pounds apiece now, and would add to the workout load for the duration of the run. Oh joy.

Somewhere around the 40-minute mark, I began to notice discomfort in the region where I normally get chafing from my shorts. I had not applied Vaseline at the start – that would have made too much sense – and the rubbing was getting bad. I did some adjusting, including pulling the shorts down lower on the hips, but nothing was working. I had Vaseline in the car and thought about swinging past it for an application, but worried that I might just bag the rest of the run if I took that approach. I kept going down the trails.

Okay…now I’m whining. Out loud on the trails (checked first to see that no one was around – John Locke can’t be seen whining). I kept checking the watch and when I passed 70 minutes, I wanted to stop. I was a short distance from the car though, and plodded the final distance – legs spread awkwardly to minimize rubbing and maximize weirdness.

I walked straight into the bathroom at the Ranger Station and immediately stripped down and bathed the inflamed area with hot water. It helped…but not much. This was going to be a fun evening at home…for Holly. She just loves to hear me complain…or…maybe not. I jumped in the car and hurried home for a warm shower and lots of soapy lather.

It didn’t help much either and I was walking like a bowlegged cowboy who’d spent the last three days riding the dusty trails on my horse, Crotch Hurts A lot. I put some A & D ointment on it and that helped, but I was thinking about tomorrow’s run and what I’d be doing to correct this little misfortune. Vaseline before I started, for sure.

Run duration: 72 minutes. Walk duration: 45 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140 running. 70 walking.

Calories burned during workout:  1,225 running.  225 walking.