By Jeff Freer
Yes, I admit it. I have sensitive nipples. Hot and steamy North Carolina summers can cause your shirt to fill with sweat and subsequently chafe those sensitive parts as your sweat-heavy shirt bounces all around while you are r
unning. And the winter around here isn’t much better with your heavier clothing soaking up all that sweat.
The first indication you have been afflicted with sensitive nipples like mine is the blood red ‘11’ on your singlet that was not there when you left the house followed by the sensation of being skinned alive when you take your post-run shower. I have a strange friend that says he likes it. I do not. While this was never a problem when I lived elsewhere, it has been a constant source of angst since moving to the Greater Republic of North Carolina.
Over the past four and a half years I have tried almost everything:
Not Running – unfortunately all the ice cream I was accustomed to eating started going straight to my hips.
Body Glide (the active person’s lubricant) – for me, it faded away at about mile 8 of a 12 mile run.
Regular-size Band-Aids – worked well for the run but the subsequent removal was akin to an unwanted chest-hair waxing.
Little Round Band-Aids – just the right size but fly off like a bad guy in James Bond’s ejector seat when stimulated.
Nothing seemed to work. But then, I started working at a local running store and, voila, over in the corner was a little yellow tube of Nipguards. Hee, hee, hee. ‘Nipguards’. Just saying the word brought out a Beavis-like chuckle but, I figured I needed to give those guys a shot.
On a steamy June day in 2008 (in case you don’t remember it was about 103 degrees and HUMID!) I popped the cap of my new tube of Nipguards and looked them over. Hmmm, nice concave interior so they won’t pop off, super sticky adhesive, and a subtle ‘almost’ flesh color. I stuck a couple on and was ready to roll. As usual, a bit into my run, my sweat-soaked shirt weighed about the same as a young labradoodle but I soldiered on through my 10-miler. When I finished back at the house, I was missing the tell-tale crimson 11 on my shirt and wasn’t experiencing any tingling sensation. Awesome! While the Nipguards did their job, I did notice the little beige circles were fairly apparent through my soaked high-tech fabric shirt. But, hey, that means they were still there and not just stuck in my shirt somewhere they were not supposed to be! They should have smiley faces or something on them so they would not be so, well, beige.
In the year and a half since, I have trained for and run two marathons plus a half-Ironman and have not had any more issues with my exquisitely developed runner’s chest. So, for those of you similarly afflicted, I would highly recommend Nipguards.
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Jeff Freer has been the Running Manager at Inside-Out Sports in Cary, NC, since giving up his corporate cubicle dwelling-ways about 1.5 years ago. He has been a recreational runner for many years and took up distance running and triathlon more recently as a potential outlet for his midlife crisis. He is also a non-practicing RRCA-certified Running Coach.
