Maybe I should read my own blog!

My recent 15 mile run while on vacation in California was one of those do as I say, not as I do runs.  It had been a while since I had run that distance outside, and it had also been a while since I had run in a humid environment.

Back on June 17th, I wrote a Weekly Training Tip titled "Save the nips!".   I explained that my trick to preventing nip-chafage was to simply put a band-aid over each nip.  Well, in packing for my trip I disregarded my nip (ha!).  I knew very well that I was going to be running 15 miles, but I failed to consider packing the protection required for that long run.

It wasn't until about mile 10 that I started to notice I was having some extra sensitivity in the nipple region, particularly on the right side.  I started to run through a list of possible causes, knowing deep down inside that it was just a common case of nip tip rub rub.  In other words, my sweaty shirt had been rubbing on my nip for 10 miles, and was starting to cause some irritation.

I tried possible solutions while running, including holding my shirt out and off of my nips, running with my thumbs pressing back into my nips (preventing my shirt from rubbing), and trying to stay very rigid from the waist up to prevent any side-to-side movement.  All attempts were unsuccessful.

When I finally returned back to my starting point, my nips had a nice raw tip.  This rawness was exaggerated when I took a shower...OUCH!  And the next day, scabs began to form.  Fortunately for me I wasn't really bleeding, so there was no photo op of the blood-streaked shirt.  I attempted to take a pic of the raw nips, but then thought that would probably be a weird/inappropriate picture to post on here.  So, you'll just have to refer back to my previous post on saving the nips if you want to see some other pics.

I'm happy to report that everything is back to normal, and I always keep two band-aids inside my running shoes as a reminder to always use protection!