Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Till It Bleeds

I think I crossed into new and unexplored levels of disgusting this morning. After a lackluster performance in the pool I ran 5.5 miles – decent time considering it was post swimming. Normally we just call that Wednesday, but instead of running on the dreadmill I ran outside. As much as I’m ready for spring, I love the cool weather for running and want to take advantage of as much of it as I can. I wore a tank top, which was a mistake for a couple of reasons. The first is that it was cold and the wind was blowing along the river. The second is the inspiration for this post. I got road rash in an interesting place. Don’t worry, it’s PG. The shirt I was wearing is almost four years old. It’s strictly a workout shirt. I imagine I wear (wore) this shirt once every ten days. That adds up over four years. It’s held up great, especially considering that it’s an Old Navy shirt that cost $9.99. The problem is that it may have held up too well. After four years of sweat drenching, washing, and drying, the arm pit area has acquired the texture of steel wool. I won’t get into the nicotine stain yellow discoloration that I ignore. After about 4 ½ miles I started to feel a burning on my side just below my armpit and the inside of my arm. I thought it was my iPod armband and I kept adjusting it during the last mile of my run. It wasn’t until I got back to the Y and took my shirt off that I figured out what was scraping off my skin. I couldn’t believe how gross that was. My horror was only intensified when I saw that I was bleeding. I think I have to retire the shirt and head back to Old Navy. As much of a cheap bastard as I am, I have to accept that getting four years out of a $10 shirt is a bargain.

8 comments:

Beth said...

Wow. You're really turning me off of running, dude. Definitely go buy a new shirt!

JSG said...

I heart bodyglide. Just sayin'

LJ said...

Beth, I hope I'm not really putting you off of running. It's great, especially outside.

You'll see your neighborhood like you've never seen it before.

Also, the running community is the most positive group ever.

You should bite the bullet, drop $20 on a 5k, and do it. Even if you walk the whole thing it's 45 minutes.

LJ said...

JSG, the way I do things I would have to get lubed up like Burt Reynolds in Striptease, and that might be a little awkward at the starting line.

Christina said...

First of all, that sucks. second of all, that use to happen to Josh on his chest, so he uses this stuff called Body Glide. You can use it anywhere there is friction. It looks like a mini deodorant. Sports Authority and Dick's carry it. It will make everything so much better. bodyglide.com

MJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MJ said...

Previous comment removed by the author who can't spell. Revised comment:

I thought the word nipple was going to appear in this post. I am relieved.

Beth said...

Just teasing you, LJ. (Sort of.) I was trying to do C25K, but doing that on the treadmill kind of sucks. (Especially in the first phases when you run for 60 seconds and then walk for 90 seconds, for 30 minutes.) So maybe when it warms up and time changes, I can try again outside. But I'm skeptical that running will ever be my thing. I just like the idea of it because it's good cardio, and it doesn't take too much time.