Showing posts with label bra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bra. Show all posts

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Walking wounded

September was not my best month!  It started off well with a lovely relaxing week in Ibiza which was my first week off since forever…well last year really.  Then I came back ready to get focused carry on with the swimming, cycling and getting down to some serious training before my key race Robin Hood half marathon.

And that is where things started to go downhill; since forever I have been thinking, talking about cycling to my parents' house. I have run it many times and the last time, I ran along the cycle route and I was excited about trying it out.

The short version of this story is that I had a collision with a Bee; which made me I fall off my bike, had to be rescued by my knight in shining armour, get patched up by the angles at the Walk in Centre and then be ridiculed by my friends and family alike (once of course, they knew I wasn't too badly injured). I really can’t wait for the ambulance chasers call me up with "had an accident that wasn’t your fault" :)

So due to my injures this meant I wasn't able to go swimming, because of the nasty open wound on my elbow, and it was a perfect excuse not to do any speed work… I fell of my bike you know

My next calamity happened because I just wasn't thinking; as I mentioned earlier my key race this, but it had been demoted to get around and survive.  The main reason for this was that I simply hadn’t put in the key running sessions what with, training for the triathlon, the falling off my bike and always taking the easy option on club night. 

So race day came and although I felt  undertrained, I was well prepared in terms of kit…no missing running bra or running trainers this time - that was a relief. Little did I know at the time I had already made my biggest mistake of the day, simply by putting my bra on!

Now your running bras, ladies, are like your trainers after around 300-400  miles they start to lose their elasticity and you need to replace them and this was the reason that I had chosen  today of all the days to were a new running bra, this was not only new new but really new as in a new model I had never worn before…..YES I KNOW I committed the mortal sin of wearing something new on race day. 

For the first couple of miles all was good….however after mile 3 I was in serious trouble, by mile 8 was agony and despite asking every one of the St Johns ambulance  crews on route no one had any Vaseline to spare :( 

Although I was very uncomfortable to say the very least, there was a reminder that there will be other people who might be having a worse day; case and point was right in front of me a lady who err umm how does one say this…was having a worse day than me and the evidence was running down the back of her legs.  I have to say this did spur me on a little if not in the least to get away as no one wants to be caught on camera with that in either the fore or back ground.

My last few miles were very uncomfortable and I admit the thought of taking my bra off did cross my mind, but the damage had been done and the best thing I could do would be to get to the finish ASAP, take the dam thing off. But if you have ever suffered with third degree chafedge you know that taking the offending article of clothing off is not the end of the story, there is the horror of the shower and putting clothes back on! Needless to say the following weeks after Nottingham were very uncomfortable and not very supportive ;)

What followed for the rest of September was a terrible sore throat, followed a week later by a stinking head cold. So I can honestly say that it September has been pretty shitty really, in terms of my health!


I am approaching October optimistically :) watch this space

Friday, May 15, 2015

The pain of training by heart rate

Being of the female variety and runner I suffer with terrible chaffing when I have worn heart rate monitors in the past.  I understand that running is tough and it is going to hurt at times, but I draw the line at wearing something that is going to have me whimpering in the shower at the end of my run.  

Now trust me I am accustomed to the odd chaffing incident  here and there (wearing a wonder bra for 26.2 miles will leave both physical and mental scars for a long time) but very much like wonder bras and ill-fitting shoes I will only do it once, learn and never do it again!  So this was where I was at with my heart rate monitor it didn't matter how much Vaseline I still felt the familiar sting and I am sure feel the familiar sensation of your skin been rubbed away millimeter by millimeter is not going to do your heart rate any good, 

So I put away my heart rate monitor into the back of draw and resigned myself to never really understanding my heart rate zones, but safe in the knowledge that I may be able to wear a bikini on holiday.  Then I saw that purelime have incorporated a heart rate monitor holder into their compression running bra,  worth  look I would say.

Now running bras are not cheap and to be truthful I don't think that a running bra is the place to scrimp and try and save the pennies, it is suggested that ladies breasts will move quite considerable amount when running.  Apparently they move in a figure of 8 and can oscillate up to 8 inches, want to see how your boobs move check this out…. 

So I thought an extra fiver to incorporate a heart rate monitor would be a bargain, not only in terms of getting a firm grasp of my boobs but also to get to grips on my heart rate monitor training.  However, I feel that the extra pounds I am carrying and training in the spring showers,  didn't really realise the chafe free running I was hoping… undeterred when I saw shock absorber had also incorporated a heart rate monitor I gave it another go… but the results where the same :( 

I know I could get a watch which incorporates the heart rate monitor in the strap but as it stands I have had a new running GPS watch every year for the past 3 years, so this free sport of running is becoming quite an expensive habit.

So instead I am now going to try and loose a few pounds and hope that the weather improves, I'll keep you all informed if I can indeed have a chafe free run and if not Christmas is only 7 months away, and Garmin have brought out their latest watch with integrated wrist strap HRM.