Prepared for Friction
Today I am grateful for my job, my co-workers, and the students and parents I work with. I am also grateful for homemade ice cream, courtesy of one of those co-workers. Thanks George!
I am also grateful we were prepared for our 20-mile training run on Saturday. I ran into a friction issue. Friction and running 20 miles are not compatible. Blisters, chafing, and other painful situations can arise. Darcy and I have learned some tricks to reduce the potential for such issues. One of those tricks is a product called "Body Glide." It is an anti-chafing balm. It looks like roll-on deodorant and you can apply it anywhere you tend to have friction.
For some runners, that's their feet. For many men, it's their nipples. Before my bilateral mastectomies, it was my bra lines. I wore two running bras for added support. The straps and under-breast areas were prone to chafing, especially in warmer conditions. Generous application of "glide" was an effective preventive. I appreciated this balm when I needed it. Darcy still appreciates it.
On a brief tangent: One of the things I can appreciate about being breast-less when I run is that I no longer need running bras and I no longer need to worry about chafing there.
This last Saturday, I was wearing my favorite running pants. They are so comfortable and work well in cooler and then colder temperatures. They are lightweight and they have pockets. I was carrying some of our sustenance in my pockets-a Clif bar, some Gu chomps and Power gel. Just a couple miles in, I could feel some friction in one pocket. Something was rubbing against my upper thigh, likely one of the corners on a packet. I didn't think too much of it and it wasn't too painful, but when we made a pit stop about an hour and 40 minutes into the run, I discovered that the area was scraped and bleeding.
Luckily I had some money along and we had decided to make our pit stop at a K-Mart after discovering the park bathrooms we had just passed were closed for the season. I bought some bandaids and took care of the friction issue. I moved stuff around in my pockets too. But without a protective layer between the new abrasion and my attire, the area would have continued to rub for 2 1/2 more hours and could have gotten much more uncomfortable and problematic.
That's the thing about friction. Be prepared for it. Avoid it when possible. Get a protective layer in place as soon as you can if friction starts. It doesn't take much friction to have a real problem on your hands.
How about friction between humans and in our daily lives? Isn't it the same way? What starts out small can get worse and worse if the abrasive thought or action continues. Consider gratitude practice to be the "glide" for such friction. Instead of dwelling on what frustrates me about a person in my life, I try to dwell on what I appreciate about them. Instead of giving much energy to something that is frustrating me, I try to give my energy to what is going well, what I can be thankful for.
I am also grateful we were prepared for our 20-mile training run on Saturday. I ran into a friction issue. Friction and running 20 miles are not compatible. Blisters, chafing, and other painful situations can arise. Darcy and I have learned some tricks to reduce the potential for such issues. One of those tricks is a product called "Body Glide." It is an anti-chafing balm. It looks like roll-on deodorant and you can apply it anywhere you tend to have friction.
For some runners, that's their feet. For many men, it's their nipples. Before my bilateral mastectomies, it was my bra lines. I wore two running bras for added support. The straps and under-breast areas were prone to chafing, especially in warmer conditions. Generous application of "glide" was an effective preventive. I appreciated this balm when I needed it. Darcy still appreciates it.
On a brief tangent: One of the things I can appreciate about being breast-less when I run is that I no longer need running bras and I no longer need to worry about chafing there.
This last Saturday, I was wearing my favorite running pants. They are so comfortable and work well in cooler and then colder temperatures. They are lightweight and they have pockets. I was carrying some of our sustenance in my pockets-a Clif bar, some Gu chomps and Power gel. Just a couple miles in, I could feel some friction in one pocket. Something was rubbing against my upper thigh, likely one of the corners on a packet. I didn't think too much of it and it wasn't too painful, but when we made a pit stop about an hour and 40 minutes into the run, I discovered that the area was scraped and bleeding.
Luckily I had some money along and we had decided to make our pit stop at a K-Mart after discovering the park bathrooms we had just passed were closed for the season. I bought some bandaids and took care of the friction issue. I moved stuff around in my pockets too. But without a protective layer between the new abrasion and my attire, the area would have continued to rub for 2 1/2 more hours and could have gotten much more uncomfortable and problematic.
That's the thing about friction. Be prepared for it. Avoid it when possible. Get a protective layer in place as soon as you can if friction starts. It doesn't take much friction to have a real problem on your hands.
How about friction between humans and in our daily lives? Isn't it the same way? What starts out small can get worse and worse if the abrasive thought or action continues. Consider gratitude practice to be the "glide" for such friction. Instead of dwelling on what frustrates me about a person in my life, I try to dwell on what I appreciate about them. Instead of giving much energy to something that is frustrating me, I try to give my energy to what is going well, what I can be thankful for.
Gratitude as "glide" -- thanks so much. I find that practicing kindness, to myself and others, works well with the friction of life as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda! One of my mantras is "be kind and gentle with myself and others."
ReplyDeleteI think gratitude and kindness work because they require us to pause and get out of our own heads.