Runners: Blister and Racing shortly... help!!!! :(

ooOOooGravy

I have a 10K Run Race on 25th March (18 days) i have just gone and got myself the worlds biggest blister on my left heel from a new pair of shoes. The skin has come off and its now very sore and raw. I have a 10K race on 25th March and i have been training hard last few months to Sub 1 Hour. And this is highly discouraging!

Anyone have any tips to aid healing, and to best care for it? I do have to do a bit of walking in my job and ill be doing alot of walking saturday, all day.

I was begining to taper down on 19th of March anyway, but i suppose i could to stationary biking with no shoes on to keep my fitness up, if no running is ideally permitted.

Any help of tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance

Chairless

bump

ryno0618

Oh this is discouraging, sorry man! That blister needs time to heal. Keep it wrapped up with a bandage while wearing shoes and then try to let it heal in the open air as much as possible when home or even sitting at your desk slip your shoe off and let that blister breathe.

Is the blister popped? Did you break it? Its best to let them heal on their own without popping them, however, if you are trying to get it to heal faster you can try draining the blister of liquid. Again, just try to let it have as much open air as possible.

Sorry your new shoes caused this. ya may need to rethink these shoes. Also, make sure you are exercising in good quality socks. A good pair of water whicking breathable socks really do make a difference. Look at Nike Dri-Fit and similar. Pricier per pair than your standard cotton socks but way way way better for running.

Best of luck on your 10k! You're going to smash it!!!!!

madmickie

Man up, it's only a blister and you have 18 days to your race. It should be ok in a few days. meantime protect the area with whatever and avoid irritating it.

Worst case is you will have to wear your old shoes on the day.

jacksonpt

Give it as much air as you can so it heals/"toughens" up as fast as possible. The longer the skin stays raw the longer you'll be sore.

Once you're back running again, look at some anti-chafe (body glide and the like) to prevent it from happening again.

Needless to say, 2 weeks before a big race probably isn't the best time to be breaking in new shoes.

mikeyrp

I went through a phase of having really bad blisters - including the ones under your toenails (Ouch!!!)

I now have some runbreeze anti blister socks http://www.runbreeze.com/ and this has gone a long way to eliminating the problem completely.

Good advice below about how to clear up the ones you have. I think the best advice was to "Man Up" though... you will find if you start running with a blister you will be uncomfortable but not incapacitated in any way. When you get moving you will barely notice it.

Good luck with your 10K - I'm sure you will do brilliantly.

lawkat

I have used Dr. Scholl's Blister treatment when I get a blister. They are great and you don't have to stop running. It adds some protection and aids on healing a lot faster then just a regular band-aid.

El_Rapido

3 things essential for the prevention of running blisters:

Good fitting shoes that don't rub in the wrong places

Good, anatomically shaped, breathable running socks, double skinned anti-blister socks are aprticularly good. Avoid cotton sports socks at all costs!

Vaseline! Smear it on your feet and toes before you put your socks on, Vaseline can block pores though so some people prefer water based sports lubricants like bodyglide but they are expensive and vaseline has never been problematic to me, its good to stop the nips from chafing too!

As for the blister, get air to it, keep it dry and it should heal/toughen up sufficiently to allow you to run.

Good luck in your race

erikazj

Good advice from El_Rapido there...you've got plenty of time before your race, so panic not. I fear I am a wimp and am not good at running on blisters, but I have found that 'Compeed' blister plasters are amazing. They protect and help healing, but also cushion the blister so you can carry on pain free. Warm them before applying them to the blister (I find before bed is best so they have all night to stick) and then wear them until they fall off.

Good luck!

Erika

billythefishuk

Double socks are great for avoid blisters. If you can't get those, just wear a thin pair of socks under your usual socks.

ooOOooGravy

Thanks for the advise all,

I also spoke with my Running Club trainer and he suggested i was to take it easy on the running to avoid making it any worse than it is and make sure it will be completely healed by race day.

The race is only 2 weeks away so i will keep moving through swimming and cycling, so i wont lose any fitness or form, but more importantly, if i were to try and run with it as it is, the pain will force me to run differently which will deffinatley put me at high risk of a real injury: Which im not willing to test.

But i will most deffinately be taking in your tips on blister prevention in the future

Thanks all