Katie's Korner

Chaffed Up
12 weeks left...

Ahhhh yes, nothing like some good butt chaffing after a nice long bike ride!! Dang it anyways. Got some new bike shorts (which aren't cheap for those of you not in the cycling trade). Finally got to go outside and it felt great. I was all excited and went on a great ride with Erin on Saturday. Until about mile 30 when I could feel the skin begin to erode. Sure enough, I now have scars where the padding was on the shorts. Guess I can't return them either!

Other than that, still doing well. Did the 20 mile run on Sunday which felt good...but long. Now it is all taper until Boston.

Swims have been going well although, I am lapped quite often by those swimming in lanes next to me. I just don't get it. I must say, I tried that electrolyte drink...and it tastes like crappola. Maybe I will try adding some extract to that.

Carla or Len, do you think I need a new back tire, especially after having been on the trainer for a few long rides?

Okay, that's all for now,
Night

Balm...
Who told you to put on the balm?
What our IronGirl in training is currently experiencing is known as saddle soreness. And for a lot of cyclists, its not that uncommon. However, contrary to popular belief, saddle soreness is caused by friction, not by pressure. Since Katie has been training on the bike for several weeks now and did not experience any chaffing previously, its likewise just as easy to assume that her new bike shorts are responsible, but it may be a combination of things.

Other factors that contribute to saddle soreness or crotch pain could be the saddle, adjustment to a different saddle position, and shorts with insufficient padding, or center seams that irritate that part of the anatomy. If you remember from the last Katie's Korner, she just had her bike re-fitted and adjusted.

So what's the solution? Well, while Katie adjust to her new saddle postion, she should probably use a balm (with all due respect to Cosmo Kramer's attorney, Jackie Chiles). A nice "liberal" application of anti-chafing ointment or “butt balm” to the groin area should help. There are several brands out there, and most can be found at your local bike shop. As an application (and clean up afterwards) can be messy, and since a wet lubricant, such as a balm, can be a breeding ground for germs and possibly cause further infection to the area, women should not use petroleum-based products. For longer rides, Oude Granny suggest that you carry a small tube along in your saddle pack should re-applicaton prove necessary.

Wet v. Dry
This really comes down to personal preference. Most riders opt for a wet lubricant, while other riders choose dry (and less expensive) lubricants such as talc, baby powder, and corn starch. The two most popular wet lubricants, salves, are Chamois Butt'r (yes, there is a pun intended) and Bag Balm (and no guys, there isn't one intended here). Bag Balm, a Vermont original, was created to soften cow udders. For most competitors in RAAM (the annual Race Across America) Bag Balm has proven to be the common choice. Another reason most choose a balm rather than a powder is that they often contain other ingredients such as moisturizers, and healing ingredients such as Vitamin E.

Tires Gone Simple
In a previous Grab Bag feature, I reviewed an alternative to using your actual racing tires on an indoor trainer. Conti's (Continental Tires) UltraSport Hometrainer tire "doesn´t experience the heat buildup of your typical road tire, nor does it suffer the tread separation that the road tire is prone to under the special loads occurring when in cycling and braking on indoor trainer or rollers." But since Katie has been using the same tires for both, getting a new back wheel really depends on the length of time the tire has been on and the amount of wear and tear. Most riders will look to put on a new set of tires every new (racing) season, as even the deflation and dry conditions of winter storage can cause cracking to the tire's rubber.

Without knowing the age of Katie's tires or seeing the wear and tear on them, its hard to say for certain if a new tire is needed. But, with the limited information she's provided, it doesn't sound as if she'll need a new back tire at all, as a couple of long indoor training sessions should not have caused significant damage.

So what should Katie do? I'm a big proponent of William of Ockham, and of Henry David Thoreau for that matter. To paraphrase his principle, Ockham's Razor, when faced with two solutions, the simplest is often the correct choice (and in Thoreau's case, "simplify, simplify..."). The solution: rotate the tires. Unless Katie was on rollers (free standing trainer), where both of her tires might (key word here, as your weight in combination with a rear drivetrain, the back tire usually experiences heavier loads than the front) have gotten equal wear and tear, moving the front tire back, and vice versa, will solve her current worries.