Marathon Training Blog

October 6, 2008

Case of The Irritable Blister: Ouch!

Rushing to slip in a run before going out, I haphazardly pulled on my socks and yanked on my running shoes without untying them first. I noticed that my left sock was only covering half of my heel, but I ran without fixing it. Big mistake. I ended up with a bad, ugly blister that eventually tripped up my running routine.

Little did I know, all it takes is one short run in an ill-fitting sock to get a whopper of a blister. A few days after it appeared, I ran again and the friction from my shoe broke the blister and painfully tore away the skin. Silly me, I put on a bandage and went running again a day later. It hurt for the first half-mile, but then the soreness mysteriously stopped and my heel felt numb. I must have blocked out the pain—when I took my shoe off after my run, I saw that my heel was raw and had bled through my sock!

Ultimately, I had to take four days off from running so that a tough scab could form. Don't make my mistake! Since blisters are caused by skin friction, you can avoid them by keeping your feet dry and doing a quick check to make sure your sock is cushioning your skin. Tip: Instead of wearing cotton socks, try some that wick moisture away from the skin, like these.

How to Banish Blisters
If a blister appears anyway, whatever you do, don't pop it. Experts at the American Podiatric Medical Association recommend you cut a hole the size of the blister in a piece of moleskin ($2.49; amazon.com) to place around the bubble. Then, cover the entire area with an adhesive bandage. Ideally, you want the skin to fall off naturally. If the blister bursts, wash the area, apply an antiseptic and cover it with a bandage.

October 3, 2008

Runner's High + Yoga Glow = Oh, My!

When the new studio Pure Yoga recently opened in my neighborhood, I was skeptical. The word "Pure" seemed a little forced. I mean, isn't good yoga always pure? Still, I couldn't wait to try it. The Vinyasa class, held in a slightly steamy room, radiates some mega-heat, and I was delightfully surprised by the challenging, no-gimmicks workout. I love to reward my legs after a long, hard run with a yoga session. As the poses stretch my legs and back, all the tension and tightness in my body starts to release. Now I can be found at Pure three times weekly.

An amazing by-product of the running/yoga combo is the energetic, anything-is-possible outlook you may start to project. I seem to now have a blinking "talk to me" sign plastered to my forehead. Strangers smile at me and strike up conversations on the subway, at the coffee counter, even in line at the bank. I catch myself singing while boiling water for pasta. And someone I highly respect just gave me an unexpected compliment. She didn't say my earrings looked cute; she said I'm the most positive person she knows and she hopes it rubs off.

People used to say things like this about my grandfather, who exercised every night in front of the TV, played tennis into his seventies and won a bronze medal for swimming in the Senior Olympics. The man was fit—and smiled a lot. I guess you could say I picked up my secret to staying positive from him.

I'm starting to wonder what I can do after marathon training to stay motivated to work out. I don't want this positive vibe to fade!

Q: As you up your training, is your outlook growing a little sunnier?