ABOUT THOSE BLOODY NIPPLES

Well, I thought it would never happen to me. I would watch the "Fun Run" Office episode in glee, laughing at Andy as he explained his sensitive nipples. And while his is definitely overplayed, especially on a 5k, there is a lot of truth to it.



I have never bled through my shirt.



I don't remember exactly how it started, but I think it was on one of my longer runs, maybe something around eight miles or so. Let me backtrack, they've only bled ONCE. But they get irritated and sensitive before that. Most times when it would happen they've just get raw and irritated feeling and then would sting in the shower afterward. It wasn't until the 15 mile run where they actually BLED.

As it stands today, I could totally run 5k without problem. Even six miles is fairly safe if I apply some Body Glide. Anything above that though and I'm risking some major irritation. Like Andy says in the episode:

"I'm petrified of nipple chafing. Once it starts, it's a vicious circle. You have sensitive nipples, they chafe. So they become more sensitive, so they chafe more. So I take precautions."

Very true! You rub them raw one day, and then run the next, they are going to bug you way faster the second day because they are already worn down from the first run.

"Solutions" that don't really work:

- Body Glide (maybe delays the onset, but this wasn't the miracle cure I hoped)

- Tech tees (maybe slightly better than cotton, but certainly not a solution as I wear them a majority of the time when running)

 Solutions that have worked:

- Band aids. Yes, band aids. Plus, a fellow runner at theboringrunner.com wears bandaids all the time and he's a super serious runner, so I don't feel so stupid.

This I may or may not have done this before...

So I am now wearing bandaids over my nips on most runs. I won't do it with shorter runs, but anything above 5k and I want to cover up. I hope by doing this I'll allow my nipples to heal, thus allowing me to run 10k again without bandaids. I used to be able to do that no problem! I just irritated them that one day and then the cycle started. So maybe soon I'll try a run sans band aids with Body Glide. I accidentally did 5 miles and was fine last Friday, so I'm almost there.

Overall, I guess I am scared to try without protection because I don't want to start the cycle again. I'll just have to put on my big boy pants.