Markus

Morning/Afternoon/Whatever (depending on your time zone)

As some might know "chunky" has decided he wants to get a bit fitter, this will make me feel better about myself, which will aid the ol' self-confidence, plus it might have the added bonus of making the local female population swoon (ok, ok, two out of three ain't bad! lol)

So, I obtained a nice new set of running shoes and decent socks and started walking this weekend. I though I'd walk first, then maybe jog. I thankfully have a very nice pathway and parks near where I live, so that's a bonus.

Being so unsued to walking too far, my feet have rebelled! I have a few blisters and a couple of them do hurt somewhat. So I am after any advice on how to a) treat my existing blisters, and b) prevent them occuring again. Are there any walkers/runners/joggers out there who can give me any advice?

OllyK

Bet you will get a whole load of suggestions. Read some of the things people have tried when going for SAS selection!! In short not much works. Make sure the shoes and socks fit well to try and avoid the blisters in the first place.

The main thing is to take good care after you get the blisters, in theory you shouldn't burst them, personally I pefer to and wack a bit of surgical spirit on them, hurts like hell but they clear up pretty quickly after. There are some good "second skin" style plaster that work well after you have burst the blister and removed the flap of skin, have a look for them in your local chemist.

Basically just build up slowly so your feet toughen up, try not to let them get too sweaty as this wil soften the skin and make them more prone to blistering.

Drunken Bungle Whore

MMMAARRRKKKUUUUSSSSS!!!!!

Make sure you have decent running shoes. Don't worry about being trendy, but find a proper running shop (I know a couple of great ones in Reading and Twickenham.... ) A decent shop will give you the best advice re socks and shoes. They may also have a footprint machine which will check out your running style and match you with the perfect running shoe.

Don't overdo it babe - those Canadian mooses can only take so much....

RichWalk

walk around barefooted as much as possible, as with all exercise, takes time for the body to react, I have used white spirit to harden up my feet on several ocassions, however even in the best footwear if you are sweating/ doing long periods of exercise, you can pretty much bet on getting a blister!

Andrew Dixon

Blisters tend to be caused by your feet moving around in your shoes a bit too much, maybe try lacing tighter/differently them for a better fit?

As for dealing with the existingones, I wouldn't pop them - better to rest for a couple of deys and let them go down naturally.

One more thing - have you seen those '1000 Mile' brand running socks? They're sort of a twin-layer construction which is supposed to stop blistering. Seem to remember they have a 'no blisters' guarantee in fact!

Good luck.

Markus

Olly - Thanks, will wander down to the drug store later tonight

Rich - I do actually walk around barefoot some of the time, I'll start doing it more.

Beth! Hey there you I was sensible enough not to go for trendy trainers. The place I got them from is a 'proper' sports shop, eg; NOT footlocker type place. I did spend an unusually long time choosing the shoe, which is most odd for me I shall go back and speak socks to the chaps there and see what they say.

Enough already about the moose! To be honest, I've still not seen one wandering around downtown, now Raccoons, those I have seen, and are quite happy to be fed and look rather cute too. However, the animal kingdom just isn't my bag

ajm

A daily scrub with rubbing alcohol will soon dry out those blisters and toughen up the skin! No pain, no gain!

OllyK

Didn't work for me, but then I was running about in bogs with a burgen on

CharlesW

Markus,

For the treatment of blisters I swear by Compeed dressings. It's like a 2nd skin. Once you have applied it to the blister, you would not know you had one.

Markus

excellent! I'll have a look and see if I can get that here (Canada)

yoza

Flip Flops.....sorted.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Rubbing your feet surgical spirit can help harden the skin...good trick for the old D of E walks

foamy

What happened to the rollerblading, then?

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Couldn't find a lycra suit that was to his likeing??

Jerome

Markus,

If you keep feeding raccoons by hand, blisters will be the last of your worries. You must have found some semi-tame ones, because wild ones are vicious blighters.

I've tried numerous things to prevent blisters as each person needs to find out what works for them. Wearing 2 pairs of socks (with the inner ones being thin) worked. I also had some Thor-Lo socks which were pretty good. If I was going on a fierce tab, I'd use big waterproof plasters on my heels as well. Hopefully your feet will harden quicker than mine do - I've got a couple of jessies for feet.

Markus

Jerome. I'd say they were semi-tame, was at a lookout point between Niagara-on-the-lake and the Falls, halfway up a hill. Stopped there to look at the view and little faces appeared. Squeals of delight from the girl I was with, so we fed the little blighters, v cute. The ones near my place, they are hard as steel buggers, I'm not messing with them! lol

I think two pairs of socks might work, am probably going to pop down to Sherway Gardens later and have a chat and see what they reccomend.

scoobyvirgin

<PMSL> The thought of Markus running is hilarious!

Markus

foamy - I've not yet been out in public on the blades, have been a tad busy, plus when I've had a spare moment it's been rather damp!

As for lycra, forget it, there is no way I'd ever wear lyrca shorts, sod that!

Jimbo - careful there young lad, I can move rather quickly, despite my bulk

Scoobs_4ever

I'd 2nd the use of compeed plasters - not only do they heal the wound quickest, they don't peel of in the wet and you can slap one on and get right back to running straight away.

Regacy

Dump the socks and fill your shoes with Vaseline
I compete in triathlons, so whenever I put my running shoes on my feet are softened up by a good swim and a sweaty bike ride.
A good handful of the slippy stuff helps to get my shoes on without having to undo the laces and they don't rub.
(You get some funny looks in the chemist when you keep going back for extra large tubs though!)

scoobyvirgin

yyy, you never did catch up with me for writing on the blackbeast

ozzy

Try some 1000-mile socks. They are thin, two-layered socks. Inner moves with your foot and outer with the shoe.

Sweaty, wet feet are more prone to blisters so try some talc on your feet to keep the dry'ish when running. You can also try some Zinc-oxide tape on certain hot-spots or even the 2nd-skin stuff from Compeed.

I have a little extra bit of bone on my heel that's prone to blisters on new shoes. Cant really stop them until my shoes are broken in properly. After that I don't have any bother and just use some 1000-mile socks.

I'm not convinced with toughening the skin though. Skin has layers and even if the outer layer is tough, if there's friction it'll still move over the underlying areas and cause blistering. I've had dozens of painful blisters and my feet are used to running in boots, but I still get them if I'm wearing in new shoes/boots or a wear a pair that just don't fit me properly.

Too large and you'll get blisters on the heels.
Too narrow and it'll blister the outside of you foot
Too wide and you'll get blisters on the ***** of your feet (usually outside and under you're small toes)
Too small and you'll probably get black toenails

Also try different makes. For some reason my feet like Asics whereas most other makes I've tried over the years have given me some bother - either they just don't fit well, are uncomfortable or don't provide good support.

Stefan

fast bloke

soak your feet in meths - it dissolves all the natural oils out of the skin and makes them ard as nails (I used to row at uni and the first three weeks of a new season would be a nightmare on the paws without meths) - if you already have blisters be prepared for a bit of pain for the first few seconds

Markus

You mean I'll have to stop drinking the meths and put it on my feet?

Going to try some 1000 mile socks, see what they are like. Currently have moleskin on the feet, little buggers were really hard to catch, and I got some funny looks too, plus made a right mess when I had to skin them