Blister – Oh so tender

After years of running my feet are pretty tough. Lots of miles will do that to them. But sometimes even the smallest pebble can feel like a boulder when I step on it.

That's what's happening right now.

Somewhere along the road to Manteo I developed this huge blister on my right foot. This was not the first blister to mark my completion of a marathon race, but this current OBX blister has been the most lingering.

For 3 weeks, I ran on a sore blister which was just about healed. Then, along comes the Holiday Huntersville ½ marathon. Here I created a new blister and reopened the old one.

Seems like since September, the only luck I can get is bad luck where injuries are concerned.

I mean a blister is a blister and it isn't like I have never had one before nor ever run on one before.

Sunday, I ran. Monday, I ran and so on.

By yesterday, instead of getting better, it was getting worse. I could barely put any weight on the middle part of my foot. I tried running on the outside part but after a while, this part even started hurting.

Now comes the gross part. You might want to skip the rest.

After my run, I knew I needed to open it. The trouble was; the blister is hidden under a large callus. This takes me back to a Tom Hanks movie – Castaway. In the movie Tom Hanks has a bad tooth that needed to come out so using a pair of ice skates and a rock, he knocks out the tooth. The scene hurts just watch in the movie and what I was about to do was probably going to hurt as well.

I sterilized a needle and prepared to open it. One of three things were about to happen. Water would come out. Blood would come out. I would hit a nerve. Of the 3 options, I hoped it was not the last.

No leather strap, I just gritted my teeth and plunged in the needle. No blood came out but a lot of water and pus. No wonder my foot has been hurting.

Next there was some squeezing to encourage all of it to come out and then applied some antibiotic cream.

My foot is oh so sore today. I may try to do just a few miles. I have to keep my streak going.

Otherwise, I am trying to stay off it. Maybe a couple of real easy day are what I need anyway.

 

Sharing one thought at a time,

The Cool Down Runner