A blister story

Almost every runner has a story to tell about blisters. They seem to be a part of the job description if you have run much mileage at all.

Here's my most recent story.

Don't read any further if you have a weak constitution. I don't want to ruin any else's day.

Two weeks ago, I ran 4 times pretty hard in less than 13 hours. The result, the mother of all blisters appears on my right forefoot. The exact place where my foot strikes i.e. hits the ground and is oh so painful. I tried opening it but because it was under the callus, I wasn't having much luck.

Somehow, another week was in the books and yet another race needed to be run. This time there were 10 miles of hard running to do.

The pain was there during my warm up but bearable. The start of the race sent pain signals directly to my brain. Stop, stop, stop.

Well, I did, but not until after 10 miles.

Hobbling back to the car, I then endured a painful ride back to Charlotte. I tried opening it but still I didn't have any luck.

Flash forward; I tried running 7 miles yesterday. Calling it running might be an overstatement. The legs were moving and yes, I was dressed in running clothes but appearances can be deceiving.

Finally, this morning the pain became more than my resistance to jabbing a hot needle through my callus and into the bottom of my foot.

Picture this – sterilizing my foot. I am heating the needle to kill the germs. I turn over my foot so I can see where the blister is. I line it up like I am getting ready to through a dart. All the while, my common sense is telling me that this needs to be done, but my brain says "Yes, your foot hurts but if you do this wrong, the pain will be worse".

Finally, eyes open. I do it. Ouch. Actually, it was more like "OUCH!!!!". But when I pulled out the needle, out flowed the bloody fluid that was making my life so difficult. More and more flowed out. When the fluid finally ceased flowing out the opening, a sigh of relief sweep across my brain.

Man, the last week was tough. The last 24 hours had been absolutely miserable.

I will be the first to say "I hate getting a blister". Those blisters that occur under callus are the worst. They are difficult to open.

I wish that I would never get another one, but I know I will. Blisters are a part of life and a part of running.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner