Bras, Bunions, and Bruises: No, Really, It's All from Ultramarathon Training
Welcome back to Momma Runs an Ultra! Today’s episode is a slightly bemused look at the realities of training for an ultra marathon, especially when you’re pushing into new territory later in life.
The miles are getting longer than ever before, and so far, things are going surprisingly well.
My recurring theme is preventing problems. Finding the right gear for me following the sudden and rather unfortunate demolition of my favorite running bra has turned into an ongoing search for a unicorn.
Someone suggested friction reducing stickers on the inside of my shoes where my wacky high arches are rubbing. Thank you! I've never heard of this product before. I'll let y'all know how they help.
Finally, I am trouble shooting this weird inner arm bruise, I guess from the seam on my shirt. It doesn't hurt, but it looks terrible, and I would like to avoid getting more. I didn't think about inner arm seams on shirts!
How I Procrastinate
- Sleep with Rock Stars, the Gen X Sleep Podcast
- Country Fried Rock, Podcast Archives from 2009-2020
- Music Playlists
- Support This Podcast
- Dive Bar Music Club, the Low Key, High Taste Happy Hour for Music Nerds
Chapters
- 00:04 - Starting My Ultra Marathon Journey
- 01:27 - The Quest for the Perfect Running Bra
- 02:53 - Training for an Ultra: My Journey
- 03:10 - Exploring New Hiking Products
- 04:05 - Preparing for an Ultramarathon
Recommended If You Like
ultra marathon training, running tips for beginners, chafing prevention for runners, best running bras, running gear for women, ultra running injuries, managing running discomfort, high arches running solutions, sports massage for runners, running clothing advice, first ultra marathon experience, preventing running bruises, running vest benefits, comfortable running clothes, ultra marathon podcast, running tips for older adults, managing running gear issues, footwear for ultra running, running comfort solutions, advice for female runners
Mentioned in this episode:
Dive Bar Music Club, the Low Key, High Taste Music Podcast
A rotating cast of The Regulars gather to chat about the music they're currently listening to.
Transcript
Well, hey y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker A:Welcome to Mama Runs an Ultra.
Speaker A:I'm a runner on the downhill side of my 50s who decided to train for my very first ultra marathon.
Speaker A:And this podcast is me saying all the thoughts out loud of what the hell am I thinking?
Speaker A:So I've now had several weeks in a row of long runs exceeding my previous max mileage in one day.
Speaker A:And so far, so good.
Speaker A:Knock wood.
Speaker A:Still having a lot of like, fashion learnings.
Speaker A:And mostly it was the super sad tale of my favorite bras all dying at the time.
Speaker A:So if you don't wear a running bra, you may not realize how great it is when you finally find the unicorn bra that works for you.
Speaker A:And many years ago, so before the pandemic, I found this one bra that I really, really liked and then I ordered six more of them.
Speaker A:Well, those are the only bras I have worn running for anything over six miles since then and they all decided to die at the same time and they don't make them anymore and there is nothing similar to them.
Speaker A:And weirdly, the part that is getting me is under the armpits where that seam is absolutely destroying me in a new place.
Speaker A:So, wah wah wah.
Speaker A:We did a little funeral for all of my formerly favorite bras and now I'm back to putting clothes on inside out again.
Speaker A:I mentioned that a while back about turning my undies inside out to avoid these weird chafe things I was getting on my hips.
Speaker A:And now I am trying my not favorite bras, but they have very few seams inside out.
Speaker A:We'll see how this goes.
Speaker A:So between the perpetual search for the unicorn bra and finally thinking that I've nailed down how to handle chafe prevention, I discovered the weirdest injury thus far from ultra training.
Speaker A:So I'm not even sure you can really call this an injury, but this is weird and I need to track it down.
Speaker A:And all I can figure.
Speaker A:Hold up.
Speaker A:You'll have to figure this out with me backing up after I had to find new ways to wear running bras so such as turning my not as favorite bras inside out to prevent chafing.
Speaker A:Okay, that's working.
Speaker A:But I went to comb my hair after a recent run and I reached up and realized I had this massive bruise on the inside of one of my arms.
Speaker A:And all I can figure is that it is from the seam of the shirt that I was wearing because I always run with my vest on all of my back to back long runs.
Speaker A:Not because I need it for the second ones particularly, but I want it to be Part of what I do when I'm tired, I don't want it to ever have, like, pulling or feeling like it's something that I'm not just totally used to having when I run.
Speaker A:And so nothing was different about the way my vest was set up.
Speaker A:However, I did wear a different shirt than I normally do, one that I've had forever and I normally wear for the gym.
Speaker A:And all I can figure is it has bigger seams through, like, the armpit and on the inside of my arm.
Speaker A:But, oh, my gosh, I have a bruise like the size of like two or three quarters.
Speaker A:Just not a place I expected to have gear issues.
Speaker A:So it's not really chafe.
Speaker A:It's more like a bruise.
Speaker A:Weird, weird, weird.
Speaker A:So I'm going for my first sports massage this week and I'm going to have to be like, well, I have all these weird injuries.
Speaker A:No, really, I'm fine.
Speaker A:I'm training for an ultra.
Speaker A:I know I have these weird chafe spots on my hips.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've resolved that one.
Speaker A:I know I have this massive bruise on the inside of one of my arms.
Speaker A:Well, I'm pretty sure that's from the seam of her shirt.
Speaker A:No, really, I swear it's from the seam of a shirt.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:But I did discover another new product that I have not yet used that I have ordered, however, which apparently has been well known in the hiking world for a long time.
Speaker A:And I told y' all that I was having trouble with where the bone of my big toe goes on a couple of my pairs of shoes.
Speaker A:I don't have bunions.
Speaker A:I have normal feet, knock wood.
Speaker A:But it's sort of where that would be if your feet were shaped that way.
Speaker A:But my feet are not shaped that way.
Speaker A:I just have super, super, super high arches.
Speaker A:So there are things that put on the shoe that reduce the friction to help prevent that rubbing or hot spot area.
Speaker A:And so I'm willing to try it.
Speaker A:Four bucks willing to go down this road.
Speaker A:I will report back on how this one goes.
Speaker A:I've never heard of it before, but apparently they're not new at all.
Speaker A:So I guess part of ultra training is constantly managing chafe and bruise prevention.
Speaker A:And if something is slightly uncomfortable, nipping that in the bud before it becomes a major issue.
Speaker A:So thank you to the hiker slash ultra runner who gave me the heads up about these friction reducing things to put on the inside of your shoes.
Speaker A:I will definitely report back how that goes.
Speaker A:If there is something I don't know about yet, and I haven't asked the actual question that I really ought to know about training for my first ultramarathon.
Speaker A:I would really appreciate y' all letting me know in the comments of any of your favorite podcast apps.
Speaker A:Please go ahead and give a five star rating and review and follow wherever you are.
Speaker A:Super helpful for helping other people who are new to ultra running hopefully learn some of these things that everyone with experience seems to take for granted.
Speaker A:I gotta get back out there.
Speaker A:This cutback week is just about over cause Mama runs an ultra.
