Chaffing, Cracks And Other Fun

Apr 16

Yep, I am still training for my marathon. Some lessons that I have been learning:

• You are very likely under the impression that cotton is a glorious and soft fabric. But let me tell you that 15 miles can dictate otherwise. Chaffing is real, people. And it’s dangerous. It is just crazy how such a small discomfort can completely occupy your mind. It is a nice reminder to get yourself set up completely before setting out. So beware for certain parts of your body. Personally it happens with my crotch and nipples. Is that too much information? Haha TOO BAD! :D

• Seriously? Cracks in the sidewalk? In fact yes. I thought it ludicrous to even consider them. How hard is it to just watch where you’re running? If there’s a crack, don’t trip on it. It’s obvious, it’s simple. And I failed. Yes, that is correct. I was running a while ago, and I was paying attention to the jacket that I was holding in my hand. Next thing I knew, I was stumbling and nearly on my face. Thanks to the amazing reflexes that God placed in me, I was able to remain upright. Really, I couldn’t believe that I didn’t eat some cement right there. A passing truck saw and slowed down, but continued on their way once they saw that I had not even fallen down. I counted my lucky stars and was thankful (once again) for reflexes that are faster than I can say, “Oh no!”

• Running along major streets leads to some interesting scenarios. People driving by can be placed into a few categories:

  1. Haters - They will try their very hardest to scare me with honks and shouts. Usually they’re in high school, and they have so little in their life to be excited about that the best thing to happen to them would be to see others suffer. Pretty much they’re retarded.

  2. Encouragers - When passing they either honk in a more friendly way or yell out encouragement. I appreciate that, and I think that’s right kind of them.

  3. Leerers - This probably happens much more to girls, but there are definitely those that will make comments that are somewhat lascivious. As a guy, I actually think that it’s awesome to get that. Haha don’t judge me. A girl yelled, “Sexy!” when I was running without a shirt a little while back. Why didn’t I have a shirt on? Because I can! Well that’s only partly true. It was also pretty hot and… see the point about chaffing.

If you so desire, you can see my LA Marathon 2009 training log for yourself.