The Shaved Leg Theory

My legs are hairy.

Yeah, no surprise there.  I've gone through puberty.  But I have a theory.  If my legs are hairy, I will fall on the trails, if they're relatively hairless, I'm good.  No falls.  You see, I have shaved my legs in the past.  For running.  Actually, if I'm honest, I waxed them a long time ago.  Myself. Oh yes I did.  I did it while I watched football one afternoon.  (had to counteract the girlie-ness of it I guess)  and yes, it did hurt about as much as you would expect.  Now you're probably asking yourself, "Jeff, why in the hell would you do that?"  Good question.  I have done it for the same reason that cyclists do it.  I used to think that they did it for speed, aerodynamics, crap like that.  Not so.  Cyclists do it in the event of a crash.  You see, when you hit the pavement at a high rate of speed and you've got hairy legs, it doesn't scrape your skin off, it pulls it out in nasty clumps because of the hair.  When you've got smooth legs, you get the nasty road rash, the scrape, but it's relatively clean, and when you're treating the wounds, it's much easier to do so when there isn't hair.  All the scabbing... and trying to shave the area after you've had a bad scrape? Yeah, that sucks pretty hard too.  

Great, great, Jeff.  Can we get to it already? 

Of course.  In the past, when I've gone on long runs on the trails, I fall down occasionally.  Could be a turned ankle, could be tired legs letting me down, just your basic stumble bum scenario, but whatever the reason, I have fallen on the trail too many times to mention and have the scars to prove it.  That's when I started to get rid of most of the hair on my legs.  I don't shave them.  Sometimes I'd knock it back a bit, get the majority of it off, and it was like an insurance policy.  If the legs were relatively hairless, then the trail gods would smile down upon me and let me pass unimpeded.  But, when I have hair on them, and I start running longer distances on the trails, you can bet your butt that I'll find myself with blood running down a knee, or two...  

My trail runs are getting to be in the 12-14 mile range, and my legs? Hairy.  

You do the math.  

Today's run:  4 mile negative split looked something like this:

4.08 miles

Total time 30:46

Average 7:32/mile

153 bpm heart rate

lap 1:  

2.04 miles

16:06 

7:54/mile 

145/bpm heart rate

lap 2:

2.04 miles  

14:40

Average 7:10/mile 

163/bpm heart rate