The following
question arrived at YOURIRONGUIDE headquarters from a Facebook friend following
the last blog.
“Hi Rod
interesting timing on the saddle soreness subject, any advice on a cure for it
as I've picked up a nasty inflammation on my under carriage after a 6 hr ride
last weekend. Driving me crazy all wk ! Cheers”
While Ironman
training won’t allow most of us to have bodies as good as World Champion’s
Craig Alexander or Mirinda Carfrae (pictured below),
it is likely to improve physical appearance, toning the muscles and
reducing excess weight.
There are 3
areas however that are more likely to become uglier than before you started.
These include fungal infections (in places that stay wet/damp during and post
training), saddle sores and cuts around the “undercarriage” and black toenails
post-race. We fired off a response but thought it was worth sharing in the hope
of giving everyone tips on limiting their impact on your training and race.
Fungal infections
Unfortunately when it comes to time management,
Ironmen are in a rush between a training session and work or another
appointment. This means we neglect personal hygiene to the detriment of
possible infections. This is particularly relevant to drying all skin
thoroughly before moving on. Fungal infections will regularly attack the feet especially
between the toes (athlete’s foot) and toe nails (toe nail fungus that turns
nails yellow and disfigured) as well as the groin. The simple guard against
this is to keep these areas as dry as possible. I have even dried my feet (and
undercarriage) with a hair dryer and a small portable hairdryer is a valuable
investment especially in prevention rather than cure. I have also chosen to
drive to work bare foot while having the car interior heater on and directed at
my feet especially in winter. Regularly changing to clean dry socks and
training gear and using plenty of soap and water when cleaning these areas also
helps. If you can get sunlight to affected areas it is also a bonus (but be
careful if this is for the undercarriage as not everyone needs to see that!). In
addition, wear flip flops in public shower areas. If you do pick up a toe nail
fungus, it looks like a yellow elevated toe nail and requires a long term treatment.
Creams and ointments are available from the chemist or you can go “old school”
by alternating soaking in 3% hydrogen peroxide mix and vinegar (not at the same
time!!!!) each day. The new nail will need to grow through the old, fungal nail
so it does take a while. YOURIRONGUIDE always rides without socks in
preparation for an event and this also increases the risk of infection. Add foot
powder to shoes (and socks if you use them) and Bi-carb Soda can also be used
in shoes (especially smelly ones) to lower moisture.
Saddle sores
Firstly, confirm if it is a saddlesore (ingrown
hair/boil), cut or ripped skin or simply numbness due to sitting on your
sitting bones for that period? The recommended first step would be to clip the
area and confirm exactly what it is with a mirror. Shaving with a razor or
using depilatory cream may irritate the area more. If it is a cut, then buy some fixomil
(available from most chemists). Thoroughly clean the area with soap and
completely dry first. Then cover the area with a small sheet of it. This stuff
breathes like skin but will pad and protect the area allowing you to continue
riding. Leave it on until it washes off under the shower as it will continue to
protect even after a ride. Make sure you dry thoroughly the undercarriage after
any shower/swim. Use a hair blow dryer. Always apply a good chamois cream/anti
bacteria cream before riding. Wind trainer sessions especially will increase
the risk of an issue. Change bibs over and wash them in woolmix regularly. Saddle
sores may need further medical treatment – see link below.
Black toe
nails
There have
been many reported causes of black toe nails following IM events. One in particular
is the building up of blood in the toe area from cycling, then pounding this
area under pressure within shoes immediately after. Multiple IM world champion,
Chrissie Wellington, always recommended a shoe which was half a size bigger
than for training for events. YOURIRONGUIDE has followed this guideline with
great results. Another theory is to completely submerge the toes in Vaseline
before running but we have never tried this. The best advice is to never run in
new shoes for an event (wear them in well before race day) and have a good set
of socks to match. Wear the black toe nails like a badge of honour and have
flip flops/thongs at the finish line to walk home in as you will need them!
BTW, black toe nails will eventually fall off and the new nail will be created
by hardening the exposed bed (not growing from the bottom up).
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