Weirdest running… reaction?
Warning: this post has a picture of bloody scratches in it.
I was super psyched to finally get to run along the West Side Highway in NYC on Monday morning. I’ve wanted to ever since I noticed its existence in February of 2011! Anyway. It was awesome.
Not so awesome? Coming back to take a shower and finding bloody spots on the inside thigh above my knee.
And it wasn’t just on one leg – it was on both. OWIE. I wore jeans all day and it rubbed in to the spots. Fabulous. In the evening, it spread in to a lovely rash. On both legs.
Luckily I was staying with Super Mom Gina and she hooked me up with some cream. The rash mostly went down Monday night and I was able to run Tuesday without any issue.*
This really left me wondering “WTF was that?!” though. Seriously. I was wearing tights I had worn many times before for the run. It was 20° with 16 mph winds. I didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary**. Was this wind burn? Is that possible through tights? Was it some freak thing due to dry skin? Ugh. Who knows.
All I know is that this may be my strangest running reaction… maybe even stranger than the weird windburn mark I got from wearing sunglasses early this year.
What is the weirdest running (or exercising) reaction you’ve had?
I have one more run in NYC today! I’ve been lucky to run a lot while I’ve been here, and all over – Brooklyn, Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, and Queens (and maybe in to The Bronx) today!
*The worst part of all of this was that of the bystanders (Steven, Andrew, Gina & Steve) would had to listen to me talk about it, how much it itched, show them what it looked like…
**Except run all over lower Manhattan trying to buy a hat for Steven… FAIL. Maybe it was all the stopping and going?
Themocracy
oooh I’ve had something similar before! My skin can get really, REALLY dry in the winter though..so that + the wind was probably the cause of mine. Hmm, I wonder why yours happened because the weather isn’t extreme or anything!
Exactly! I have run in MUCH colder than this!
It could have been due to the cold – I’ve had this before running outside in the winter. It’s actually a type of hives (allergic reaction) in the skin.
AHH, is that what it is?!
YES! I have this too – doesn’t even have to be super cold (I’m in East Bay). I developed it later in life. Get some Benadryl cream… put it on right when you get home, it actually starts when you get back home (warmer air), it will just take a couple minutes to stop all the itchiness and hives.
Thanks for the tip! 🙂
OMG!
Something similar happened to me after the Goofy Challenge this year, except it was all spotty on my feet and calves. Totally weird.
The things we deal with just so we can run. Lol.
I remember those pics! AHH!!! That looked so painful!
I hope you enjoyed your run despite the injuries! I get something similar when I run in relatively cold conditions on my legs–when my thighs get too cold I get a rash and my skin gets horribly itchy. It’s part of why I’m a pansy and I won’t run outside when the wind chills get down to the low-to-mid 20s.
Now I feel less alone – I thought it was so bizarro!
(And I still had a great run :))
Ooooh, ow!
My weird reaction is that if I have a run where I push pace past tempo and it’s cold out (like 30 or less) I almost always have an allergic-type reaction, sneezing and nose running for 24-48 hour. LUCKY ME!
Oh yeah, the after run “cold”! Sometimes I get a bit of a cough!
Ouch not fun! My skin reacts to laundry soap- did you wash your leggings in different soap than normal while you we’re there?
I didn’t for this run! I washed them and wore them today and didn’t have the rash!
So weird! I wonder why it happened. So happy you should pictures though!
My weirdest reaction is that BOTH my big toenails are fallinng off AND I’M NOT EVEN RUNNING!
ps. when the right toenail falls off I’ll totes send you a pic…
YES! Send me a pic AS SOON as it happens 😉
Interesting! Maybe it was the stopping and starting. Especially if you were going to into stores and getting a bit warm and then going back out in the cold. After we ran in the cold rain two weekends ago when I was in the shower my thighs got really REALLY itchy from all the blood coming to the surface in the hot water.
I get that from wind/cold. My face and thighs usually get it the worst. We can be rash sisters!
LOL! Rash sisters 4 eva!!!
That is so weird! I have no idea what that is! Sometimes I get weird chaffing from clothes, especially in spring time when I switch from spandex to shorts for my long runs.
It must be poison ivy. Okay, I’m definitely not a doctor! Get better soon. By the way, I love the doughnut pics on your banner!
Thanks re: the doughnuts! I am not sure how long I can leave that up there… lol! I might have to make some doughnuts at home! 🙂
When it’s cold out, my skin definitely goes red like that, and it scratches really easily. I always wind up all marked up after running outside in the winter. I actually have very similar pictures of my hot pink legs from just a month or so ago.
Ouch…glad the cream helped though! Besides the occasional awkward inner thigh chaffing, I used to get weird chaffing/rashes where my sports bra rubs on my armpits…not cute, but Vaseline always helps!
Valerie
http://www.the-style-files.com
oh my! this looks painful. I hope it goes away soon. Have you seen a doctor about this? It reminds me of when I had a poison ivy rash during a hike couple of summers ago. I still remember it because it was so red, swollen, and itchy. I’ve never iced so much and so consistently in my life! (ice took away some of the itchiness).
I haven’t seen a doctor, but I might if it happens again! Your poison ivy sounds much worse! 🙁
That is crazy. I don’t think this has happened to me (you’d think I’d remember but…). A friend of mine (Nova and Delilah’s Aunt Lisa) used to break out in a rash when she would run. She was new to running though and did find out that it could have been an allergic reaction – not to what she was wearing (sometimes it would happen to skin not covered by clothing) but to the exercise itself. She hasn’t been able to run lately because of knee and back issues so I have no idea if it would still happen.
That happened to me this winter too- after a cold run I had strange red spots that turned into a gross rash. But it went away without treatment and didn’t happen again. SO who knows what it was!
Holy goodness! That is so strange. I’ve never had anything like that happen before, but if it is the cold, I wouldn’t know since it never really gets that cold where I live.
Weird! I haven’t had anything quite like that happen to me. I guess my weirdest reaction to running is that last summer I wore calf sleeves so much that I had some really funny tan lines, which was my reaction to the sun I guess. It was the most bizarre tan I’ve ever had!
Ooh, what a strange thing! I’d guess it has something to do with dry skin, but who even knows what is going on with our bodies some days. Hope it doesn’t happen again, bah.