Rockin' Rock Tape and the 4arms

Run
time- 48:14
distance-4.9mi

I've been working through Achilles tendonitis for about two weeks now. A minor case, I think, but enough to cause my Dirtbag Injury Hypochondria to kick into 3rd gear. DIH- Third Gear, for those of you wondering, means high enough to fret and take a few days off, but not high enough to send me into a death spiral of self-doubt and frustration, cursing myself and the god Injurious until I feel better.
Sister Dirtbag, Official Trainer of Team Dirtbag, is very familiar with these gears and leapt to the rescue with the first text. She put in the mail a roll of Rock Tape and some Rock Sauce and emailed a link so that Super Awesome Wife could tape me up correctly. I also got a text that basically read, "The tape will stick better if you're not a Sasquatch." Good to know.
Which meant Wednesday night found me in the shower with electric trimmers trying to figure out how far above my knees my bike shorts stop. At the risk of TMI, there is no natural stopping place when it comes to shaving my legs. I either have to pick a spot or stop when I hit waist. No other options are available. So I trimmed to about an inch above my knees, which will work unless I'm wearing my shorter swim trunks or really short running shorts, in which case there will be an interesting 1.5 inch strip of fur showing.
Dirtbag Pro Tip: When shaving with electric trimmer, be sure the trimmers are completely charged before starting.

Damnit. Honey, where's the charger?

Jon Stewart is impressed with my legs

Thursday (thanks to Mass Effect 3) magically became a day off so Friday, normally my day off, became a run day. It's also the day I meet the Grey at 24 Hour Fitness for a swim lesson, so I choose to test out my tendon and the Rock Tape by running to the pool rather than drive. I'd ride, but I don't trust anyone, even with my bike locked up.
Super Awesome Wife consulted the RT website and played trainer, taping me up. First she had to wipe off my feet, since I'm barefoot 100% of the time I'm at home and the foots collect the dirts. Tape doesn't stick well to the dirts. As far as any of you know, this did not tickle and I did not squirm like a small child. Then she taped, and I think she did a good job.

Ready

Why pink, you ask? Sister Dirtbag claims she was going to get the black with skulls, but they were all out so my brother-in-law got to pick the color instead. Thanks, bro.

Rocked and ready to run. In pink.

The run went well. Very little to no pain for most of it, with some twinges at the steepest part of the downhill. Not really sure if I should attribute this to the tape, recovery, or a little of both. So we'll go with both. As you can see from the Garmin, the entire run is downhill. So I thought I was holding a strong pace, but really I was running downhill. Whatever. Stomach got a little crampy at the end, which is why the pace drops to a walk for a few minutes, and that kept up on and off for the rest of the evening. Strange because I haven't had that problem in a while. Hope is goes away before Sunday am. That'll make for a miserable 13.1, won't it?
I also received a new product in the mail which I ordered, my INKnBURN 4arms. Arm sleeves seem like a stupid idea at first blush, but they begin to make sense as the weather turns. You can wear them until you warm up, and then they are really easy to take off and store around your person. I'm going to use them on early morning rides too. And once I get used to wearing something on my arms they will probably work just as well in the sun to keep my delicate Dirtbag guns from burning. Its just that right now I train wearing as little as possible so having compressing sleeves on felts strange. I'll get used to it.

Fake tough.

The RT website claims it will stay on in water, and it did as far as the tape on my calves went, but it immediately came off the bottoms of my feet. Can't fault the product, there isn't much that sticks under water, especially at the speeds I swim at, amiright!?
Iced and rolled when I got home, felt pretty good. Wish the stupid rain would knock it off.