This Saturday I went out for an early morning run. Temperatures were in the lower 50’s, it was sunny, and there was no wind. In my earlier postings about working out at a local 24 Hour Fitness with a personal trainer I wanted to get a feel for where I am with my training efforts. Last week Saturday I was out running and did a 7 Mile run in roughly 65 minutes. Towards the end of the run I realized that I was running out of fuel and that my legs were getting heavy.
When I went out running I never cared too much about carrying water or some food for in between. I always read if you run up to an hour and time your food and liquid consumption correctly, you would be fine and that’s how it was for me up until last week – never had any issues. So, based on my experience from last week I was hoping that my increased and improved workout routine would help. I also decided to take a bottle of Gatorade for the run. My goal was to slowly start refilling on fluids after around 25-30 minutes.
So, I went out for my run and things felt pretty good. I also met my goal to start drinking Gatorade after about 25 minutes. I always adjust my route based on how I feel and so the run turned out to be pretty good. It felt warm though – even though it is just April and I live in the Mile High City, it was warm and I was sweating more than I expected. This time on my run something happened that I did not have often in the past – I had chaffing going on. I could feel that my running shorts (Nike Dri-Fit) were becoming a little moist from the sweat – too moist apparently and the chaffing started around the 1 hour marker. Even though I was still feeling pretty strong I decided to change the route and head home. In the end I ran almost 8 miles in about 75 minutes. The chaffing was still in the early stages when I came home and so it was not too bad and today (Monday) it is almost gone.
Saturday night I did some research and people in different runner forums were suggesting several different things to address this. In the past I had already shaved the hair away from where the shorts (2-in-1 shorts) touch/rub along the upper part of my thighs (inside of the leg). So, some people on the forums recommend Body Glide or Vaseline. Other people recommended to get some compression shorts – either alone or combined with Body Glide. I went shopping at my local Sports Authority yesterday and picked up some UnderArmor compression shorts as well as a Nike Runner Belt. When I ran Saturday I definitely felt the benefit of having a bottle of Gatorade with me and since I want to expand my running a little more I decided it is time to invest into some more professional gear. The belt will help me to easier carry fluids and maybe a sports gel or bar, too.
Come next Saturday I will head out for my next longer run and see how things are going. I am ready already and can’t wait for Saturday to come. Until then I will continue with my improved workout routine on a daily basis at my local 24 Hour Fitness. My overall goal is the 10 mile marker for running. When I get there I will decide if I push towards maybe for running a half marathon maybe or to go even further. We will see. I run because I enjoy it. It helps me to free up my mind and to relax and re-energize. Running in a race – I am not sure if that is something I want to tackle one day. Maybe if I find the right running partner I might go there, but for now it is just me and the road (or trail). Anyway, my sessions with the personal trainer were well worth it.
By the way – you can get a great deal when join 24 Hour Fitness through this link. I will earn a tiny commission if you do so – which will help to maintain this website and to pay for web hosting and stuff like that. I am sure thankful if you do so.
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