I apologize in advance for the ugly pictures...
This is how I ended up after my marathon yesterday. The pictures were taken about one hour after the race, when I was back at the hotel, and after I had washed the affected areas. It looked much worse while I was running.
I've never chafed before and so never had to use any Bodyglide type of product. It was a total surprise to me when this chafing started appearing at mile 10 of the race. By mile 16, the burn was really painful and I could feel wetness where the chafed spots were. There was blood. By mile 20, the pain there was all I could think about. It made the pain of running those last 6 miles pale in comparison.
My legs have never rubbed together in my years of running (not that I've noticed anyway), but I could definitely feel my knees rubbing against each other yesterday. Why was I suddenly running like that? I ran 36 miles last weekend (18+12+6) with no problem at all. The only thing that happened, and I'm wondering if that could be the cause of my running differently, is that I injured my back last Monday, while gardening. I was using a brand new tool for taking weeds out of the lawn and I did a lot of weeding that day. It left my back really sore by the end of the day, but only on the right side (I was using mostly my right arm to pull the weeds out). I still have a sore back, when sitting, or laying down, mostly, but it is not really a problem when I'm running. Could the mechanic of my running have changed in order to prevent the back pain? This could explain why my knees are now touching together. Otherwise, I have no clue why I would suddenly run like this...
I ran every day of the 5 days preceding the race, but nothing over 13 miles. I think I remember that on the day I ran 13 miles, I became aware for a brief moment of my knees rubbing, but since it did not cause any chafing, I didn't really worry about it.
The deepest wound is on my right interior knee and it is leaking some sort of liquid this morning. Totally gross... I may have to go to a clinic to have it disinfected and have a bandage put on it. I seem to have lost a few layers of flesh there...
Anyway, has anyone ever had something similar happen to them? I now have deep sympathy for runners who regularly chafe. I hope this does not become a permanent problem for me, because it is not pleasant.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Hip Redux
Holy crap. That looks painful I've seen some chafing and I can honestly say I've never seen anyone chafe their calves like that!
I've never experienced or seen anything like that, Julie! I can't imagine how it hurt to run through it.
20,000 miles behind me, the world still to see.
Yeah... it's totally weird. I was actually embarrassed to be seen like this. I must have looked ridiculous in the way I was running, seen from the back...
Ouch! Never experienced chafing below. Mine is usually top of the thighs. Sorry.
Damaris
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I've never seen anything like that. The closest I've seen is runners kicking themselves on the ankle or lower calf.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
That looks painful Julie. Are you sure it was from the running? It almost looks like poison oak/ivy. Could you have gotten into some gardening and it just, unluckily, started manifesting during your marathon?
Life is good.
That looks really painful. Were you wearing capris that are sort of loose?
Definitely the running. There is no itchiness and it appeared during the race, 7 days after the gardening. Also, I was aware of my new way of running. I tried to keep my legs from touching each other, but it would require too much concentration and my knees and ankles would end up rubbing again.
I will let it heal for a few days. Hopefully, when I return to running, my legs won't rub anymore. It's like a bad case of over-pronation, or something like that...
No. I was wearing a running skirt. No clothing touching that particular area.
Runs4Sanity
Ouch!
So sorry you had to experience that, I have never chafed
Anywhere other than my inner thighs. That looks like you deserve a few glasses of wine, seriously.
*Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*
PRs
5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace)
10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)
15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)
13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)
26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)
Could your shoes be starting to break down? That could throw your stride off.
That does look really painful. There's a product for sunburn called Solarcaine with aloe and lidocaine that can help a lot with chaffing. It stings when you first put it on, but then it cools and moisturizes the skin so it stops hurting.
Could your shoes be starting to break down? That could throw your stride off. That does look really painful. There's a product for sunburn called Solarcaine with aloe and lidocaine that can help a lot with chaffing. It stings when you first put it on, but then it cools and moisturizes the skin so it stops hurting.
Thanks for the tip, Ginny! I will look for it at the drugstore.
I wore my regular Newton shoes. The ones I always wear for my races and my LRs. They have about 200 miles on them. I can usually wear my Newtons for up to 700-800 miles. I don't think it was the shoes, unless this pair is defective for some reason. I will mark them to see if it happens again with them on.
That looks pretty bizarre, but I'll vote for the injured back. Do you have a massage person? My guy will occasionally realign my pelvis. He has me lay on my back, knees bent, feet flat. He'll put his forearm between my knees, hand on one knee, elbow on the other knee. Then I push my knees toward each other, against his arm. He also does the opposite, holding the outsides while I push out.
The first time he did it, I could tell a definite difference when running. I wanted to kick my ankles, and my knees wanted to knock together. I was not amused and didn't want him to do it ever again. That first time must have been a big adjustment, because subsequent times didn't affect me as much.
I vote for chiro/massage/PT who can fix your back/pelvis.
delicate flower
I think chafing like that is fairly common when you wear barbed wire instead of running clothes.
That post-race shower must have been brutal.
<3