Sometimes Even Great Races Stink

-
I mentioned in my Sunday race report that there was one minor incident that cost me some time in the 10k. Allow me to explain.

About 1.5 miles into the race, I came upon a group and smelled something really foul. Initially, I thought it was a dead animal; then I realized it was from someone very alive in front of me. Process of elimination led me to a very tall gentleman in his late 60s, maybe older. The stench grew stronger as the race intensified and no matter where I ran, I always seemed to be downwind from this guy with a major hygiene FAIL.

This was no regular body odor, and I kept gagging. I noticed everyone who came up behind him make a face and sometimes quietly, sometimes not let loose with comments like “Sweet Jesus!” and "Peeee-eeeew!" There came to be a wide berth around this fellow, but no one said anything to him directly. It was a polite crowd.

By mile 4, I was really starting to gag and also tiring of passing the guy only to be passed by him a few minutes later. I decided to slow slightly until the invisible plume of unpleasantness was well ahead of me. When I thought it was safe again, I sped back up.

Here’s what I think contributed to this man’s major funk:


  • He most likely didn’t shower prior to the race. Everyone should, whether you normally do or not. One of the SDTC coaches just the day before explained that a pre-race shower not only makes you feel, look and smell fresh, but it loosens muscles and opens pores.


  • He most likely didn’t use deodorant either. Remember, there’s a difference between deodorant and antiperspirant. Deodorants disguise odor; antiperspirants narrow the pores that produce sweat. Many products contain both now, but always check.


  • He wore a technical shirt. Synthetic T-shirts are wonderful at wicking away moisture so you feel cooler; however, artificial fibers also hold in odors. Sometimes the smells do not come out in the wash either, which is why there are now products specifically designed to wash athletic wear.

Popular posts from this blog

I Leave You With This

-
Image
There's this social media post some guy put up on Instagram. I almost scrolled past it, but I'm glad I didn't. It asked what question we should ask ourselves when we die. In retrospect, ChatGPT's response was basically pulling from Eastern philosophy, but, still, I couldn't stop thinking about it in the hours and days since I first heard it. Here's a partial transcript I cribbed using -- what else? -- AI. Some guy set up the prompt, which was long and convoluted. The following picks it up from there.  Some guy : I'm assuming most people would ask, 'Where am I going? What's next?' Something like that. Is that a good question?  ChatGPT : No, because they don't matter. Some guy : W hy don't they matter?  ChatGPT : If there's a heaven or hell or some next phase, you're likely already heading there. Asking won't change your destination. It's a wasted question.  Some guy : That's a good point. Um, what about 'Did I do en...
Read more

Music to My Ears

-
I'm listening less and less to music these days and more to the spoken contributions of journalists, authors and plain ol' folk on podcasts and the public airwaves. I'm lucky. I have both an iPod with plenty of playlists and my old Rio Cali that has an excellent antennae to pick up radio stations while I run. This morning I was so engrossed in this personal essay from the "This I Believe" series on NPR, that I failed to notice the flashing red lights on the fire engines heading out of a station in front of me. It made me think of home, and it made me think of hard times. It also made the five miles of hills fly by. From NPR. org: The Art of Being a Neighbor P.S. Even though I'm not a big fan of hockey, I gotta give it up for my alma mater, Boston University, for winning last night's come-from-behind, Disney-movie-like national championship victory over Miami (Ohio).
Read more

Return to Bay 2 Breakers

-
Image
In the end, I ended up running about half of the 12k Bay 2 Breakers course. Of the roughly 4 miles we ran, I’d trained for to do just .25 of them. My race entry predated my farewell to  running . And despite landing in a fast corral, I was told there are plenty who choose it to avoid all the naked people and start walking after a very short spurt. In my mind, we’d show up a little before the race start, run at a good clip for a quarter mile and then walk it off.    That didn’t happen.   A long wait while hurling tortillas Parking can be hard to come by in downtown San Francisco. And public transportation can be cumbersome if traveling from another part of the Bay Area, though a ferry will get you within easy reach of starting corrals.  We opted to take a shuttle from a Mill Valley Park ‘n Ride to the start. (“We” being me, my daughter and son-in-law, who are B2B regulars.) Similar shuttles operated from Emeryville in East Bay and Millbrae to the south. This...
Read more