One Tip to Fight Blisters

Jul 18, 2012 by Greg Fowler

During my first year of running, I battled many opponents – motivation (I’m tired!), chaffing (ouch!), and and an out of shape body that protested on many fronts.  Many of these body battles were blisters and hot spots on my feet.  These became a real problem the last 6 weeks or so before my first marathon as I started running longer distances in training.

Obviously, foot blisters are not what you want as a runner.  I even committed the cardinal sin of race day at my first marathon – trying something new.  In an effort to thwart the hot spots,  I applied mole skin to the bottom of my foot.  If you don’t know, moleskin is a thin, adhesive bandage material used to prevent rubbing.  I bought a pack of it and cut a shape to contour my foot, covering the hot spot area.  I tested the day before the race, only by walking around, not by running.

On race day, I set out with the moleskin in place.  By mile 4, I was in trouble.  I could tell a blister was forming in a different spot.  See, the mole skin was doing its job on the target spot, but it was causing a problem on another spot. Arggh!

I stopped around mile 6,  took off my sock and shoe, and removed the moleskin.  It was too late, though.  The blister was there, on the side of my foot.  I then proceeded to re-tie my shoe too tight to try to prevent slipping.  Then I ran the last 20 miles in pain.  Well, more pain than a marathon should, anyway.  At the end, I had a massive blister that took a long time to heal.

My solution to blisters turned out to be very simple.  I learned to tie my shoes – differently.   Thanks to Mike at The Extra Mile in Charleston, SC for teaching this to me. This works best on a pair of shoes that have that last eyelet that is slightly lower than the next to last one.  I always wondered why that eyelet was there.

Here’s how to do this:

1.  Lace your shoes but skip the next to last hole on each side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Then insert them back into the next to last hole from the outside, creating a loop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Cross the string, taking each end of the string through the opposite side loop.

4. Now you can pull on the string to tight the shoe around the top of the foot, while leaving the strings looser over the toes.  This keeps your shoe from moving around and causing blisters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I made this change two-plus years ago, I have not had blister problems.  If you struggle with blisters or hot spots, give this a try.  Let me know your results.

POFIFOTO!

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Thanks iFitness Customer Service

Jul 9, 2012 by Greg Fowler

A while back, I wrote a review about a hydration belt by iFitness that I was using.  In that post, I mentioned the bottles leaked.  For whatever reason, it never occurred to me to contact iFitness and talk to them.  Fortunately, they eventually saw my post and contacted me.  Within a couple of days, I had new bottles that were designed to prevent the leaks I had mentioned.  Apparently they had addressed this problem, but some old style bottles still made it out to market.

I’m happy to report the new bottles work much better – no leaks. The new bottles top no longer have a pop-up spout.  You just turn up the bottle and suck in.

So, thanks, iFitness.  I now give the product an A rating.

You can read the old review here: http://palmettostaterunner.com/?p=1181

Here’s a picture of the differences in the bottle tops:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, here’s a reminder:  Still a little bit of time left to enter the drawing for a pair of Injinji socks.  Follow this link to learn more: http://palmettostaterunner.com/?p=1381

POFIFOTO!

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Give Your Toes Independence!

Jul 3, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Two years ago, I bought my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers (VFF’s) and first pair of Injini Socks on the same day.  As you may know, VFF’s are “barefoot” shoes that have pockets for each toe.  So, if you want to wear socks with VFF’s, then you need some toe socks to go with them.

I decided wearing some ’70’s vintage striped knee high toe socks would push the ‘you look ridiculous’ meter over the top with the VFF’s.  I opted for Injinji’s instead.  Plus, they are moisture-wicking, which I don’t think had been invented  when those original toe socks came out.

These days, I rarely wear the VFF’s, but I do wear Injinji socks on almost every run.  They work just fine in regular shoes.  I still like Swiftwick as well, but right now, I favor the Injinji’s.  The moisture-wicking is great and the toe pockets prevent blisters and maybe even give the toes a little bit of independence.

Injini Giveaway

To celebrate the Fourth of July and try to increase readership of this site, I am giving away one pair of Injinji socks to a subscriber.  This is not a media sample (I don’t have any of those yet!) and is coming out of my own pocket.  To enter the drawing, follow these two steps:

1. Leave a comment on this post with your shoe size.  The socks come in sizes, so I’ll need to know what to get you.

2. Sign up for this blog’s mailing list, if you do not already receive the e-mail updates.    The form is at the bottom of this post and also at the top of the right column on this site.  I will not share your address with anyone else.

If you already receive the e-mail updates, and are reading this in email, simply leave a comment with your shoe size at this link: http://palmettostaterunner.com/?p=1381.

At 9pm Eastern time on Wednesday, July 11th 2012, I will randomly select one name from the e-mail list.  I’ll contact the winner via e-mail Wednesday evening or Thursday morning to get shipping address details.  Sorry, Mom, you are not eligible.

Have a fun and safe Independence Day!

POFIFOTO!

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Four Strategies for Vacation Workouts

Jun 27, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Last year our family went on a week long beach vacation.  I wrote about my obsessive run plan for the trip in this old post: Vacation Running. I’m not taking a summer beach trip this year, but I think I’d do some things differently now, no matter where we go.  Here are some ideas for you.

Four Strategies for Taking Your Workout With You on Vacation.

1. Don’t do any workouts at all.  Blasphemy, I know. This would definitely be the hardest for me, but I am improving (I think).  My problem is sitting still.  I don’t mind lounging by the pool for a bit, but after a while, I want to move around.  Just remember – it is a vacation after all.  Missing one week of workouts won’t set you back.  You may be surprised that nagging injuries may heal up.  Plus, if you’re vacationing at Disney World or the Grand Canyon, you’ll more than likely not feel like putting any extra miles on your feet.  Your body needs rest time, too.

2.Cross train.  No place to bike or swim at home? Why not try it on vacation?  If you are at a beach location, then try swimming in the ocean or find a pool with a lap lane.  Also, coastal locations can be perfect to try some cycling with the lack of hills.  Many resorts have bike rentals for riding on the beach.  Some resorts, like Hilton Head, have extensive bike paths inland.  These are often shady – a nice bonus during summer heat.

3. Cut mileage way down for the week.  Why not limit your self to one “Rave Run”?  Take a minimal amount of gear and plan a run around a must see location. This could be a plain beach run at sunrise or a  local State Park trail run (see post: Myrtle Beach State Park).  This way, you see something new and you compromise with the mental hurdle of a complete layoff .  If you are going to a cooler locale, there may be some local 5K or 10K’s going on.  Show up and register on race day. You may even get a shout out from the race awards announcer for coming a long way to the race.

4. Engage family members.  I hope that most people think a family vacation is about connecting with family.  Why not introduce them to your obsession?  They don’t have to do a long run or even run at all.  If you’re on the beach, just take a few long walks and throw in a light jog for 100 yards every now and then.  You could visit a local park and walk around.  How about a hike in the woods?  It is not hard.  Just ask them along.  Who knows where that might lead.

Any other suggestions?  Leave a comment below.

POFIFOTO!

 

 

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Five Ways to Beat Summer Heat

Jun 21, 2012 by Greg Fowler

If you’ve ever subscribed to a hobby/interest magazine, like Men’s Health or Golf Digest, you eventually start to see repeat articles.   Sure, they’re not word-for-word reprints, but titles like Washboard Abs in 8 weeks (doesn’t work, by the way) or Fix Your Slice Now! (don’t know about this one, I hook the ball) inevitably reappear every so often.

So it is with the running magazine summer issues and the Beat the Heat articles.  I haven’t been reading my running magazines lately, so I don’t know if they’ve put out any new tips on beating the heat.  I do live near a city that uses the slogan “Famously Hot”, and I have been running in the heat,  so I feel more than qualified to rehash these suggestions for running in the heat:

1. Avoid the “heat of the day”.  Around here that pretty much means avoid 9am to 8pm.  If you go early it usually means a slightly lower temperature but higher humidity. If you go late in the day, the temperature is higher and the humidity is lower.  Still not a dry heat here, though.

2. Run slower.  A lot slower.  Even walk some.  Maybe it is an age thing, but the heat really hammers me.  In the past summers, I’ve pushed myself to run my cooler weather faster paces.  This year I’m doing two things differently to slow down. First, I’m doing heart rate training, not allowing my heart rate to exceed a certain limit.  This slows me down in cool weather and even more in the heat.  Second, I’m doing a lot of running with someone whose pace is much slower than mine.  I’ve learned to run at that pace, which has helped me in the heat – her, not so much, though.

3. Drink up.  Before, during, and after. I’ve really made a conscious effort on hydration over the last few months. I’ve realized it is best for me to make hydration part of the overall fitness routine, and most days I drink about 80 ounces of electrolyte fortified water.   Sometimes it is hard to drink that water instead of a Diet Dr. Pepper, but I make it most days.  During runs, especially those over 45 minutes, I make sure I have water with me or in the mailbox on a pass by.  To learn about the water program I adopted click here.

4. Clothing.  Not optional.  I think everyone over 30 should run with shirts on.  That being said, the standard lighter colors and moisture-wicking story applies here.  Avoid cotton – in socks, especially.  I almost always run with some kind of headwear, too.  I’ve been leaning toward visors lately, but I’m also a fan of the Original Buff from Buff Headwear.  This is an update on the old cotton do-rag.  It is moisture wicking and can be configured several ways to provide different varieties of head and neck protection.  Does a great job of keeping the sweat out of my eyes.

5.Find some shade.  Two options here. A. Stay Indoors.  If you have a treadmill in the house or access to a fitness center, sometimes this is the best option, especially as temperatures climb over 90.  B. Hit the trails.  I like this option better than staying indoors, but getting to trails can prove time consuming.

So, that’s it.  No big surprises here.  Just use some common sense and be safe.  Just think about how good it will feel in September when the humidity breaks.  What are some ways you’ve found to beat the heat? Leave a comment below.  Thanks!

POFIFOTO!

 

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Kiawah Island Marathon Change

Jun 8, 2012 by Greg Fowler

My first marathon was the 2009 Kiawah Island Marathon.  I don’t remember exactly why I choose that one, but it fit my main criteria – flat.

Overall, it was a good experience, but I was little underwhelmed with the route.   It was a two-loop run that frankly got a little boring during the second loop.  After that race, I decided I would not repeat marathon locations.   My thinking was that since I may only do one marathon per year, why not see somewhere new each time?  So, far I have followed that thinking for my three marathons – Kiawah Island, Myrtle Beach, and Columbia, SC.

After the Columbia marathon, I started pondering my next locale.  I really want to complete all the South Carolina road marathons, so that meant Greenville and Charleston were still left.  However, while looking around, I saw that Kiawah was changing their route to be a single loop.  This had me intrigued.  For the last two months or so, the Kiawah website has mentioned that the new route is going to be published soon. Well, they finally published the route this week. It can be found here:

http://www.kiawahresort.com/downloads/pdf/new-marathon-full-map.pdf

Calling it a ‘loop’ is a bit of a stretch – there are several out and back spokes and some overlap, but it definitely looks improved.  Wish I had downloaded the old map for a side by side comparison.   Still no hills. 🙂

So, right now, this is high on my list of next marathons.  I can technically say it is not a repeat since the route is new.

For more information on the marathon and the island, check out:

http://www.kiawahresort.com/recreation/kiawah-island-marathon/

POFIFOTO!

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Race Review: 2012 Jailbreak 5K

May 28, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Event Recap

Everyone knows that Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer.  Most everyone also knows that summer means hot in the midlands of South Carolina.  So, if you are planning a holiday weekend on the lake or at the beach, then bright, sunny and hot are what you want.  If you want to run a race, though, then these are not what you want.  Throw in some very high humidity, and you have the race conditions for last Saturday’s Jailbreak VI in Lexington, South Carolina.  The temperature at race time was 75 degrees, and the humidity was 75%, according to my weather app. Yuck.

The local elites didn’t seem to have too much trouble with the heat. What they did have trouble with was an outsider who rained on their parade. Scott Wietecha from Hendersonville, Tennessee showed up and threw a 14:47 on the field, besting perennial favorite Eric Ashton by an entire minute. Folks, that’s a butt-whippin in my limited 5K race knowledge book.  I could not have run a 14:47 if I’d have turned left at the intersection of Pond View and Gibson and cut 3/4 of a mile off the race.  Wow.

Here is the link to the results to see how the other 500-plus of us fared: http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/12JailBreak.txt

I enjoy the Jailbreak event, but they can do two things to improve in the future.  First, move the race up to 7:30 or worst case 8:00.  8:30 is too late this time of  year.  Second, provide a technical T-shirt instead of a cotton shirt.  I like the designs of their shirts, but I personally dislike the Haynes cotton tee they include with the registration fee.  Just doesn’t fit well.

Personal Recap

I had two goals for the race.  The first was to break 22 minutes.  I figured that was out the window when I saw the weather.  I kept a dim hope alive for a PR, which would be to break 22:37.  I came up just short of this with a 22:45.  My mile splits were 6:50, 7:21, and 8:03.    I was hurting by mile one, and you can see the crashing progression.  It was painful.  Not even great live ’80’s music on the playlist could help me.

My other goal was to beat my teenage son.  I did that, but he had such a bad race, there was no fun in that.  I never saw him once the gun went off, so I honestly wasn’t sure if he was ahead of or behind me.  I guess the epic neck and neck battle at the finish will have to wait until fall sometime.  He’ll be starting his summer cross county running in earnest this week, so by September, he should be well ahead of me.  Probably for good this time.

That is supposed to wrap it up for my spring racing season.  However, right now next Saturday’s weather forecast looks a little cooler.  Maybe I’ll find one last race, so I can end with a PR before summer!

POFIFOTO!

 

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