Saturday, January 30, 2010

Blisters

So I’ve acquiesced to the fact that blisters are a constant companion as a runner. Not the big, bloody monsters I used to get, but those annoying white blisters that probably could turn into the monsters given enough miles. I first thought I had it figured out when I found a shoe that fit well. I use the La Sportiva Wildcat, (http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/536) and have been REALLY happy with it, but blisters still sneak up on me.

Then I thought I had it nailed after going to Dr. David Seegmiller, DPM and getting custom orthotics built (side view photo). They were super-spendy at $300, and arguably did make a significant difference, as the last 50k I ran without them cost me my “index” toenails, and now they’ve actually grown back. However, I’ve had to tweak them nine ways from Sunday to get them working at a level I would have expected “out of the box”. I’ve had to add additional arch support, and put some additional structure under the ball of my foot to lessen the pressure on the first Metatarsal.

So… all that, and after 17 miles yesterday, I’ve got blisters on my left foot under the medial lobe of the first Metatarsal (thought I had that licked), and on my left index toe where it rubs against the bit toe (also thought I had that licked). I have to believe that super-experienced ultra-runners like Karl Meltzer have probably come to this same acknowledgement, but being relatively new to the sport, I assumed that over a couple of years this wouldn’t be an issue… obviously I’m wrong.

I also have to ask the question, is obsessing over blisters some kind of indictment on what I’ve become? Did I suddenly become an ultra-running geek who obsesses over the minutiae associated with his sport? Looking back over the past 30 years or so, I did this with ski racing and rock climbing… so it goes to follow I’d fall into that space with this.

The upside is that I’ve kept those two sports as life-long pursuits, and that bodes well for my goals with running, as I expect to be doing ultras into my 80s.