Ten Miles Indoors

NSP Community Center indoor track 10 mi in 1:25:29, pace 8:33. Exactly the pace for a 3:45 marathon. That’s what I want to run in May at the Avenue of the Giants. What a splendid marathon venue that will be!

No pains today. As it’s an odd-numbered day we ran clockwise, for which I have a slightly preference because of arthritis in the left foot. I didn’t feel too energetic, especially toward the end, but that problem always self-corrects with enough sleep, good food, and a little beer.

Splits: 8:43, 8:30, 8:28, 8:21, 8:40, 8:30, 8:44, 8:32, 8:51, 8:10. Water after 4, 6, & 8. My sweeties were there too, sometimes running a lap with me at my pace, otherwise running their own pace.

Running, Marathons, Chafing, and Vaseline

While running my first marathon I saw volunteers dispensing vaseline at about mile 20, and I couldn't imagine what it could be used for. Honestly. After the marathon, though, I found out. A soapy shower was a painful ordeal for the next few days.

I've never discussed this issue with a woman runner other than my sweetheart, so I have no idea whether it applies. Maybe a woman shouldn't even read this. For that matter I haven't discussed it with men either. When I raised the subject once in an all-guys group run I was quickly shouted down! I had crossed a boundary into uncomfortable conversation.

What can happen to me is that certain uniquely-male parts will rub against the inside of my thighs, causing chafing on the thighs. After all, we land on each leg perhaps 20,000 times in a marathon, and stuff does bounce around. I'm certain that the chafing could even result in bleeding, eventually, though that's never happened to me. The damage is limited to the thighs; the other parts are apparently tougher. Go figger.

I have never used vaseline in any of 22 marathons, or in runs of any shorter distance, and never seriously wished that I had used it. When I prepare properly, the chafing isn't bad enough to bother. I do apply hand lotion to the inner thighs before the race.

The real answer, though, is in the shorts. Running shorts have an inner liner which fully contains a gentleman's uniquely-male parts, and which forms a barrier between those parts and his thighs. Looking at my four pairs of shorts, two problems are evident:

• The liner is made of a mesh-like material with a rather low thread count. A little like cyclone fencing versus window screen. Even though the cloth feels soft to the touch, it is rough against skin sliding past it. I believe that it acts a little like drywall sandpaper over 20,000 bounces.
• The liner is too loose and stretchy. At least for me it is (have I given away any information here?). Because it's loose, the male parts bounce around too much, giving the sandpaper plenty of work to do.

I like shorts with lots of pockets (cell phone, gels, extra gloves, ibuprofen, whatever), especially for marathons, and that limits my choices. I use Road Runner Sports "Stamina Plus" shorts. I love these shorts, except for the liner. Lots of pockets. And inside the shorts I use another pair of shorts: Brooks "Runderwear" Briefs. This means that the RRS liner is still in contact with the thighs. However, the Brooks shorts are considerably stronger and less elastic, thereby cutting the chafing by reducing the bounce while running. At least I think that's true; a guy could break his neck trying to check on that bounce.

Until my last marathon (here and here) I normally finished a marathon with a tolerable amount of chafing. But for this last one, the liner in my RRS running shorts had worn so badly that I just scissored it out of the shorts and depended entirely on the Brooks undershorts.

A runner really shouldn't try something new for the first time during an important race. But I got lucky; the result was zero chafing. None. I suppose that the Brooks briefs prevented most of the bounce, as always. And in addition, because the briefs are very smooth with a high thread count, there was apparently no sandpaper effect at all on the thighs. I'm tempted to remove the liner from all my running shorts.

No doubt there are many makers of good running shorts and of good briefs. When I found these, I stopped looking. If you know of running shorts that combine it all, lots of pockets and an inner liner that does what it should do, please leave a comment.

Tired Legs

NSP Community Center 4 mi in 33:35, average pace 8:24. After more snow clearing this morning, my sweeties and I went to the club to run. My legs did not want to do it. I had to insist. They grudgingly complied.

Surprising to me, though, the pace ended up quick enough and I felt better and better as the laps clicked by. Nevertheless, I do feel more tired than usual afterward. Yesterday’s five hours of snow removal apparently took quite a toll. The best news: No pains of any kind! Splits: 8:41, 8:25, 8:19, 8:11. Good trend.

Pair of Fives

St Croix Valley Runners 5 mi in exactly 50:00,10 min/mi. Slogging through an inch of pebbly snow, 26 degrees with 20 mph winds and a little sleet in the face whenever we headed east. Actually a surprisingly energizing run. A great morning to be alive. The pace sounds slow but the snow was like sand, making the run effectively longer than it actually was. With Roy and Dave.

NSP Community Center indoor track 5 mi in 43:22, pace 8:40. I seldom do two runs in a day, but tomorrow looks like it might be a REALLY good day to stay in, with as much as a foot of additional snow in the forecast. Maybe a fire in the fireplace and a cup of hot cocoa instead? So today I ran, ate breakfast, and then ran again. No problems. Splits: 9:01, 8:51, 8:52, 8:50, 7:48. Felt strong during that last mile. Excellent day.

X-Ray Bone Survey

Now that I have the actual doctor's report in hand, it's pretty much as my primary doc described over the phone. Equivocal. Uncertain.

If you are interested, here is the actual radiologist report.

Feel-good Run

Running:

NSP Commuity Center 4 mi in 33:12, pace 8:18. Today was supposed to be another recovery run, at whatever pace felt good. For some reason, it felt good to run a little faster than marathon pace. Walk, jog, run 4 mi (timed), walk, stretch. Breathing six footfalls per full breath at the start, then five, and four at the end. Slight pain in the left-hip bursa, nothing to worry about. Otherwise, I feel almost recovered from Sunday’s marathon. Whoopee! Splits: 8:41, 8:22, 8:14, 7:56.

Myeloma:

Cancer labs today. I peed in a bottle all day yesterday and last night (24-hour urine collection) and gave several little tubes of blood at the clinic today before the run. On March 1, the doctor will advise us of the results. I hope to see that the thalidomide has driven the major cancer markers down a bit. Whether that has happened or not, the doctor will probably prescribe thalidomide for at least another month. Meanwhile, today is a masterpiece!

Recovery Run

NSP Community Center 3 mi in 26:52, pace 8:57. If ever there was a recovery run, this was it. Stretch, walk, run, walk, stretch again. I barely lumbered along in the first few running laps, but it got better and better as the laps went by. The bursitis in the left hip hurt a little and didn’t get better while I ran, but there is less pain there now after the run than before it. Muscles feel much better now than before the run; stiffness is gone, soreness is much less. Three days after a marathon, truly a recovery run. Feels wonderful. Splits: 9:22, 8:50, 8:40. When is the next marathon?