Bah, Bloody Blisters! (Read 648 times)

Amen! I only have one here, but he's my super early riser! The bonus is, I can tell him to go get his own breakfast & play & I know he'll be good! This morning, he was so excited about going to work with Nate that he started trying to wake me up at 5:00am! Mind you, I was up until 1:30am & still had some bed spins at that point. I was so happy when they left & stayed in bed recovering until 9:45am!!

So what might be a solution to the problem? I'm kind of wondering if a different sock might help. While these (Asics technical sock of some sort) are very snug through the toes, they are designed to fit a range of foot sizes, so there is some slack at the back of the sock, right where I am blistering. I've used moleskin in the past, but find that it tends to sweat off and I think a loose piece of moleskin floating around back there might make matters worse.

Hope I'm not too late to speak up... it sounds like your sock is involved, if you've got 'slack in the back' (haha ). Have you tried using shorter socks? I like to buy my socks as short as I can, those kind with no 'neck', so the top just barely fits over my ankle bone (if at all). I also buy them pretty small so they fit my foot pretty tight (they stretch just fine) and don't slide down. And, of course, don't EVER wear cotton socks (I like coolmax and that sort of stuff, but I've been realy interested in the smartwool stuff). Of course, if your shoe is really rubbing the back of your ankle, it's not going to really help no matter what sock. I agree that some moleskin/foam will help you heal... then perhaps be preventative with some body-glide or vaseline? Eventually, if it's not a really bad rub, I'll bet you'll form a really sexy callus back there... we runners have beautiful feet, right?

It could also be that your right foot is longer than your left, which would make the right shoe's fit a little tighter and could explain the rubbing. It's not uncommon to have one foot longer than the other. Mine are different by 1/4 of an inch.

My right foot IS my "bigger" foot--I've never been certain if it's longer or wider...maybe both. Shoes always fit righty a bit snugger. Vincente, I agree on the short socks--I mostly like the really short ones to avoid sock lines as much as possible. But the length is still a tad long, since they are designed to fit a range of sizes and my foot size is right in the middle. I was reading that higher-end (ie pricier) running socks come in more sizes to help avoid blister issues (and this is one reason they cost more). We have a running store about 45 minutes away that I have been wanting to check out, so I might head that way later today. According to the Wright sock website they carry their double-layer socks there (and I've been seeing those socks recommended on quite a few sites). k

Owie...so I put one of those expensive blister pads on and a new pair of those Wright double-layer socks. Unfortunately the double-layered part of the sock ends (where the sock cuffs) right around where the blister starts. And the blister pad sweated/rubbed-off by about 1.5 miles into my run. Again my heel (achilles tendon area) is bloody. I think this is probably why I've been dealing with shin splints, too--I'm certain I am favoring my heel, which is making my foot plant and stride off. I did the lace-lock technique with my laces, too...but didn't really notice that it did much. I'll try tying my shoes snugger next time to see if that helps. Any other suggestions? k

Well I haven't worn those shoes since Sat and it was almost totally healed before tonite's run...I don't know how I can keep training for that 10 mile race in 2.5 weeks if I take time off every time my heel bleeds. Will I develop a callus if I just ignore it and run? It stops hurting after a while (probably is literally rubbed raw, heh). k

If you just ignore the raw, bleeding area and continue to torture yourself, my bet's that it'll affect your stride... which can affect your joints... which can cause you bigger problems than the blister. How about going back to your old shoes until you can get some new ones... and then designating these lovely new ones as, say, gardening shoes? Some places will let you return ones that give you blisters... but I'm thinking the chances of someone taking back blood-soaked shoes would be pretty slim...

I found some interesting suggestions in this thread. Now I am wondering if the problem is that my shoe is too tight in the back after one of the comments in that thread, but I really don't think that's the case. Tonite I noticed that my left heel doesn't feel like it moves in the shoe at all, while I can feel the right sliding up-and-down in the shoe, which makes me think that the left heel is bigger or shaped in such a way that the shoe hugs the heel properly. While my right foot seems to be the bigger of the two, perhaps my left heel is larger than my right...? I saw somewhere where someone also recommended duct tape on areas of feet that get rubbed, which I may give a try--if for no other reason than to actually hold the blister pad in place (rather than having it sweat right off). I also want to see what the Smartwool socks do, since the Wright double-layer (while amazingly comfy--I do recommend them) socks don't seem to help, due to the double-layers not going high enough on the back of my foot. Oh, and this also seems to be a factor--my last pair of shoes had sort of a U-shaped notch cut out of the back, while the new NB 1000s don't have this notch and instead go straight across (so the area that is being rubbed was actually not covered by shoe in my previous pair). Next pair of shoes I will definitely be looking for another pair with that notch in the back (and I will be contacting NB to beg them to redesign the next generation of the 1000s to have that notch, as I really do love the shoes, otherwise). k