Help!

[leulamax]

Okay, I have been reading some posts and at least I know I am not alone. I am training for a tri in June and I bought some Tri-shorts that I will swim/bike/run in. I have not used them too much, and the other day I ran about 2 miles in them during the day. Ouch! I got back and took a shower and noticed a "heat rash" around the top of my gentials where they rubbed on the shorts. I haven't done anything for a couple of days and they are still VERY tender. I have been putting baby powder on them, but I don't know if it is helping. Does anyone have any suggestions? Do I need to take more time off? Also, am I doomed to having to wear some sort of underwear under my tri shorts so I don't chaf anymore? Can I use the chamois butter and then swim then bike/swim? Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!

[Tri Girl]

You may want to post this on the triathlon board- you might get more responses there. It could be a number of issues. I don't have problems doing tris in my tri shorts (and I run in them all the time on normal training runs anyway) so I'm not sure what the issue is, but I have some suggestions that may work. I would suggest trying the chamois butter then doing a test run of the tri. Swim for a bit, then get out and cycle then run for a bit (can be really short- maybe 5 min swim/15 min bike/10 min run just to test it out). Don't know if chamois butter is "waterproof" or not. You can also try bodyglide- that IS waterproof. There's also this new stuff out there called Aquaphor (from the makers of Eucerin- I think you can find it at drugstores- it's a skin protectant that is basically like Bodyglide, but is in gel form that you can apply on the spot) that works really well. Try using some of that to test it out. It may be just a matter of trying some different things to see what will work for you. Perhaps it's just a matter of getting your bits used to running with the tri shorts.
Whatever the reason, I hope you find a solution that works for you. I wouldn't worry about taking more time off, I think you should be fine if you want to start running again.

[KnottedYet]

I wear UnderArmor compression shorts under my bike shorts for the tri, and it keeps the chamois from bugging me during the run. (slippery fabric)