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.

Running ain't pretty

As the title suggests running is not  sport you undertake if you want to look glamorous,  well unless you are Nel McAndrew that is, she is one person who can run a sub 3 hour marathon and look brilliant at the end of it, I am putting it down to good genes.

I see some ladies at the start line with full makeup on  and wonder if they will end up looking  like Alice Cooper at the finish, I know I would! I have contemplated wearing waterproof mascara and stay put foundation, but my main focus on the morning of any run is trying to calm my hair down and asking the question "do I really need another wee?"

Then there is the race photos,  there are some kind hearted souls who give up their Sunday morning, in all weathers to spend hours taking photos of the runner as they go past,  they are indeed kind hearted souls but they have a mean streak, which is why they will find a great spot at the top the steepest hill on the course, when you are blowing out of our backside and looking a soggy sweaty mess and you try and raise a  cheery smile. However when you have built up enjoy energy to

check your photos on line later you could frame it and use it to scare the kids away from the fire.   I imagine that there are even worse ones that even the Internet gods just say No to.

Let's not forget the physical side of things, your feet as a runner would make bilbo baggins feel ashamed, you have to paint your toe nails or the front of our toe where your nail use to be to make them look halfway famine. Blisters are another blight of the runner, no matter how you try they do not look pretty so summer slingbacks and flip flops are out of the questions. If you don't suffer the blight of blisters, well done your feet are now that hardened that you can successfully walk across cut glass or hot coals and not feel a thing.

Chafing is a other charming side effect of running, currently I look like I am sporting the Rihanna style tattoo just below the bra strap from my recent obsession with heart rate monitor bra,  I thought it was a better alternative to my heart rate monitor strap but alas no.  I am really hoping that it goes before my holiday in May, but with training for London Marathon  I doubt it. I suppose us women do fare much better than men when it comes to chafing, I have seen many a gentleman finishing a run/ race with two red streaks down their running tops and I hear that it can get much worse, but I have opted not to dig much more into the topic with them, but then again some men do not help themselves ------->

The runners tan is another delight,  I love spring and summer running you get to be out and about when  the sun is shining,  however the strange tan line we end up with are legendary,  as the summer moves open the three quarter tights give way to shorts and then even shorter shorts and the tan gradually raises up your legs but completely misses your feel. The problem is most female runners are not Gemma Steele or Liz Yelling so the running pants are a pipe dream ( thank goodness)
however it does lead to an embarrassing couple of days on holiday while the rest of the body catches  up.

But then again I guess we don't do it for the glamour, we do it because we can, we do it for the health benefits, we do it for the personal challenge and we do it for the bling!

Doing things differently

Albert Einstein defined Insanity as

" doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result" 

This is my current mantra which is circulating round my head at the moment, I am mixing up my running again and I have joined Dec's club training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These are tough sessions but instead of running up and down Campbell Road and dodging the trucks with the lads team, we run around the streets and this involves hills (by hills I mean the up part) during our tempo and interval sessions!

Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying that debs sessions are any better or worse than the lads sessions,  but it is horses for courses and the sessions even join up every now and again.  What I think works is that as reads will now I have struggled with my mjono over the last few weeks, but these sessions have helped me find my enjoyment I  running again, challenging myself and feeling uncomfortable. 

So just pulling on my trainers was not going to help because as  Albert says this  is indeed the definition of insanity,  but changing and challenging my self has helped, yes it is still tough at times but then again nothing worth having  ever came easy.  