Injury Report: Blisters

Blisters, you nasty little buggers.

I'm not entirely sure when my blister trouble started. I believe some time after the Philly Run Wild, hence this blogs placement. The majority of my blisters have been on the back of my right foot, on the heel. I've tried a lot to try and make them stop and so far nothing seems to be a permanent solution.

Bandages
I've tried every bandage I can think of - Water poof bandages, sports bandages, liquid bandages, hydrocolloid bandages... nothing stays put on my foot! By the end of the first mile (and sometimes sooner than that) the bandage has all but worked its way out of my sock. I keep putting them on there though in hopes one day they'll stick and keep me blister free.

Shoes
I thought MAYBE since everyone keeps saying "maybe it's the shoes" that maaaaaybe just maybe it could be the shoes. I got a second pair of running shoes to try / break in for my Disney race (and uh, these match my planned costume too). They're Brooks PureConnect 2. Brooks makes a 3 now but I got the 2 based on price and reviews. Again, who needs a professional, online shopping is good for shoes, right? Thankfully they seem to fit. They're a bit snug but actually I think they MAY be better for blister prevention. They still need a little breaking in and the balance is a little different in them than I'm used to, but I have heard that alternating between shoes can help with injury prevention.

Socks
I've tried a few different socks to try and keep my feet dry. My original socks were some generic athletic socks from Kmart. Acrylic I believe. Since those seemed to not work for me, I've moved on to try nylon, bamboo, polyester (Dr. Scholl's BlisterGuard socks) and as of yesterday I acquired some wool. I haven't gotten to try those out though, as I'm waiting on my current blisters to heal. Yeah, these last blisters were quite a doozy.

Billie and I went out on our trail on Wednesday. We planned to go 6 miles this night, which we did, though the majority of it turned into a walk rather than a run. Boo.

Happy to be outside in the sunshine after a long day in the office!

We followed our trail twice as it's only just barely 3 miles once around. After our first lap I could tell my feet weren't all that pleased but I wanted to keep going. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! By the time we got back after our 6th mile I knew my feet would be trouble. I de-shoed and de-socked before even getting back into my car. Oh hi there half dollar coin sized blisters! Woops.

Click to see all of its blistery goodness!

Sorry squeamish people, if anyone knows how to make that a link only I'll hide it... till then I made it super tiny so you can hopefully just overlook it if you choose.

I only included the left foot on here but it looks the same on both feet. Matching blisters. Sweeeet... and the white spot in the middle is a previous blister. I have blisters on my blisters! I am guessing that it was a compromised area to start with and that's how it ended up so bad after just 6 miles. I've been hobbling around since Wednesday but they're mostly ok to walk on now (Sunday). I've discovered I love Moleskin. I make little donuts of them and stick them around the blisters. It doesn't hurt quite as much with it on. In fact, I managed to walk practically normal last night (albeit rather slow) at an outdoor concert! Whee normal!

So that's the majority of my current problem. Obviously I can't run with half dollar coin sized blisters on the balls of my feet, so I'm taking some time off again. I go see a doctor tomorrow (yes, I finally gave in after 6 months) to see what she can tell me about my injuries. I'll keep you posted!