The details of Running

There are all sorts of things you learn when you try doing something yourself for the first time. Take for example the first few times I went jogging. You put some shoes on, I even bought some nice jogging shoes, and headed out the door. I've exercised enough in the past to spend a few minutes stretching and then took it real easy the first 10 minutes or so, so I could warm up. 40 minutes or so later and I had completed my first 4 mile trail run and fairly hilly at that. I cycle quite a bit so I'd say I'm in good shape. Everything seemed pretty good, but my nipples were seriously feeling chaffed.

After a few more runs, and the escalation of the chafing issue, I started searching the web. Last thing you want to do is google this problem and see an image pop up. It's a grotesque image of a poor fellow running with his shirt blood stained at his nipples. Wow, this is a really big problem, I thought to myself. And why is it you have to learn about these things the hard way?! I certainly have spoke to numerous people about getting into jogging.

-What shoes should I buy, stretches, routes in my local area, books to read, etc...

I did read a couple books before getting started, Ready To Run and The Running Revolution. I can't recall this issue being discussed, but I sure did learn about form and stretching. Why was a critical pain point, that could have been avoided, never even mentioned?

It turns out you need some type of chafing protection. I now use a product called NipGuards, and maybe I'll try other products as time goes on. But seriously, once you find something that works, you really don't feel like experimenting.

I also now understand why I see so many guys running with a shirt off. You take the shirt off and the chafing potential goes away. Spread the word, if you are planning on getting into jogging, get some NipGuards and save yourself a painful learning curve.