I am not totally sure that I should use this title, as I’m not sure what type of foot fall to the site we will get from web searches…but it’s an important lesson!

By Mid-October, the running was going well.  The same could not be said of the weather. Sunday had become my “long run” day, and on this particular Sunday it was cold and it had just started to rain before I was going to go out. I wasn’t put off by this as I knew that training over the winter would involve a lot of cold, rainy runs!  So off I went on a 9 mile with no Ipod for fear of electrocution.  Despite many layers, I was soon resembling a drowned rat, and the only “positive” was that I couldn’t get any wetter.

Now for those of you with a sensitive disposition, I advise caution when reading further. I don’t know if any of you have tried running in the cold and wet, but it does present certain issues, which, as a novice runner, I had not considered. I had heard before of putting Vaseline on your nipples to avoid chaffing, but hadn’t actually thought about needing it for a 9 mile run: Serious mistake! If I can save anyone the pain that wet t-shirt on nipple causes, by them reading this blog, then my time will have been well spent. 

From that day forward, I ensured all precautions regarding my comfort were taken, having learned another valuable lesson the hard way!