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Who said run with no socks? Blister Awareness Post

Compeed.



Warning, do not under any circumstances try to peel it off before it falls off. The smell is appalling. Chuff knows what they make them off. They do work though.



Trying no socks three days before a race may not be the best plan. It's taken me about four weeks to break in my trainers for no sock running (more accurately to break in my feet). Blisters, blood on the trainers but eventually nice hard skin at all chaffing points. I did a four mile race last night with no socks no bother.
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Comments

  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    I ran 10k two days ago and ran the skin off the balls of my feet.



    Then i did a 5k fun run yesterday and opened the old blighters up again.



    I've trained with no socks for over a year with no drama, why now?! Mama says that when she was a ballerina, her troupe all used surgical spirit to harden the skin for pointe work. graceful like a swan i am not, but maybe mother knows best?



    She does make excellent lemon drizzle cake....
  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    My advice is not to go running with no socks on three days before a planned race! Only did 25mins of interval work and a blister the size of wales has appeared on my heel. Skins still in one piece.



    Has anyone got any wonder cures to get blisters banished?



  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    thanks jules......i will have it within the hour!



    mmmmm......lemon drizzle cake ;o)
  • MowfMowf Posts: 272
    Remember to lube up. Now you have blisters, you know where your shoes rub for next time, so you can apply your lube of choice and run hassle free! Worked for me anyway.
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    The problem I find Conehead is that if I just ditch the socks on race day but waer socks to train, I get very painful blisters very quickly. However one I get the skin on my feet my feet and ankles hardened I can run with no socks all the time without a problem. If when I ever do any IM or 1/2IM I might reconsider I guess.



    Everyone's feet are different I suppose.
  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    Compeed and surgical spirit are on order with the WAT office, she'll pick them up on the way home from work. Meanwhile, just to take this further, i did my sprint tri last sunday without socks and had no issues at all, but i had lock laces in. Today, due to my ongoing shin pains, i had put my normal laces back in and tightened my trainers v.tight to try to get more arch support and therefore reduce and shin issues.



    So, no shin pains [:D] but large blister [:@]



    Lock laces back in for this Sunday, socks?? But that may cost me 10 seconds? THAT'S RIGHT, 10 SECONDS. I'm not here to make up the numbers, i want to be better this time than last, and repeat that for ever more (or until i win [8D])!



    Depending on the blister status i may go with my 1000 milers, no doubt another hefty race debrief will follow so you'll know what i know.
  • Jelly legsJelly legs Posts: 278
    Just pop the little fella it will only hurt for a bit then Inject with erm benzine something or other ( I knew i would forget that stuff one day, its the stuff they use in surgical prosedures to clean wounds, the brown stuff you have seen in films





    Prevention



    Wee on your feet alot, it will toughen the skin



    Train without socks, you will get blisters but eventually you wont.



    Its all in the mind they dont hurt really.
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    garyroberts wrote:


    Lock laces back in for this Sunday, socks?? But that may cost me 10 seconds? THAT'S RIGHT, 10 SECONDS. I'm not here to make up the numbers, i want to be better this time than last, and repeat that for ever more (or until i win [8D])!



    There is no way it should take 10 seconds to put socks on, even if you pat each foot dry. Why not sit in front of the TV practicing changing from cycling shoes to socks + running shoes, or just putting socks on if you one of those clever people that can still manage to stay on their bike whilst removing your feet from your bike shoes without crashing.
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    Jelly legs wrote:


    Wee on your feet alot



    You want to be careful suggesting this, certain forumites think it is a bad thing to do this even if propels you to triathlon glory in a race. Doing it in training ...
  • nivaghnivagh Posts: 595
    Swim with your socks on :-)
  • mumu Posts: 24
    Just pop the little fella it will only hurt for a bit then Inject with erm benzine something or other ( I knew i would forget that stuff one day, its the stuff they use in surgical prosedures to clean wounds, the brown stuff you have seen in films


    Iodine would do it. I've heard stories from the MdS about having blisters under your toe nails and having to drill through them to release the pressure and inject iodine.
  • AndreAndre Posts: 103
    mu wrote:


    Iodine would do it. I've heard stories from the MdS about having blisters under your toe nails and having to drill through them to release the pressure and inject iodine.



    Ooh, I had that happen to me at this years Barcelona Marathon - only blister I got, actually. They didn't have to drill through the nail, they cut under the nail with a scapel instead. I lost the nail, in the end.



    Don't often get blisters these days, but I tend to run without socks - actually, I used to run track sessions without shoes on!
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I am firmly in the sock brigade..sod the extra seconds...
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    As a quick fix a healthy splodge of bodyglide (or vaseline, I suppose) at the points where the blisters occurred, teamed up with 'so incredibly good it is surely alien technology' Compeed will do the trick for race day, Gary.



    You'll barely notice your existing blisters. Personally, I'd be tempted to pop 'em before sticking the Compeed on, but I'd like to make it very clear that I didn't just advise you to do that, because it will get infected and you'll get gangrene and your legs will drop off. Probably.



    Longer term I think we're gravitating towards 2 options:



    1) Deal with it. Your feet will get tougher and you'll stop getting blisters.

    2) Socks. Trainer socks, old, stretched at the neck for ease of putting on and full of talcy goodness. Also gives you a good excuse to spill talc on the floor so you can see where your bike is.



    I reckon the socks must add about 5s to T2. From experience, feeling blisters form during a race slows me down a lot more than that. I'm also scared of ever repeating the experience that happened to me about 5 years ago in a sprint tri, where for some reason my runners decided to hate me. I got a blister all the way down my instep/arch area that took a month to heal, and one so deep on my ankle bone that I had to get medical help to clear up the subsequent infection....



    *EDIT* Forgot to say: stick the Compeed on the day before, it lasts about 5 days and is totally fine in the shower and indeed the pool. It'll be OK running across the car-park or whatever to get to your bike, too. Like I said, alien technology.
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    So, to clarify:



    Did we say train with socks and race without?



    Or are we just saying wear socks and add the seconds....?



    I'm not afraid of being a big Jessie lol oh dear me i am confused....



  • diddsdidds Posts: 655
    Bopomofo wrote:




    2) Socks. Trainer socks, old, stretched at the neck for ease of putting on and full of talcy goodness. Also gives you a good excuse to spill talc on the floor so you can see where your bike is.





    ... along with the other 200 triathletes who used the same talc spilling "accident" tactic... ;-)



    didds

  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    although its against my natural instincts, i'll be racing with sock on on Sunday (put on at T2), this is based on my abnormally low threshold of pain and that going on last Sundays performance, an extra few seconds at T2 may actually improve my run!
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    Iodine?! That stings like f***! Used that last time I shredded my feet on reef out surfing. Real scream out loud stuff.



    Works, tho [8|]
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    Pop it and clean it then moisturise - hard skin won't prevent blisters, if you get them still, then they can/will be deeper (unfortuantely i know this from experience and loosing a large chunk of skin on the ball of my foot). I then use spray plaster, quite a few layers (leave it to dry between each) then i put some tape over it and slap loads of vaseline/body glide over the tape. It is great for training and running worked for a half marathon for me- not sure the tape would stay on in the pool, put if you layered the spray plaster enough you would get by without the tape, particularly for a sprint.
  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    Compeed now applied.
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    It's like Blister Blue Peter in this thread. [8|]
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 335
    are we talking compeed as in coldsore stuff?
  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    Don't know about coldsore stuff......these things i've got are like plasters?!?!?!!?
  • brizzichickbrizzichick Posts: 166
    i got blisters last week on both heels and they popped....used compeed and it was fab [:)]..bandaids just didn't stay on when training...compeed worked...even in the pool..... still have remenents of blisters on one foot so will be using that this weekend....and will do the tri without socks....
  • Cheryl6162Cheryl6162 Posts: 356
    They are like a second skin and stick like sh*t to a blanket!



    Brilliant things and a good idea for anyone to put on before racing without socks as they will prevent the blister occurring in the first place
  • scott_burrowsscott_burrows Posts: 381
    wear socks for training.. no socks for competiting..



    Blisters are like medals.. to be celebrated after the event.. they give you a positive reminder of pain you've been through to complete the Tri.. or is just me??

  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    moonshine wrote:


    are we talking compeed as in coldsore stuff?



    Same manufacturer, different product.
  • mumu Posts: 24
    I tried using blister plasters on a long distance event last year. They didn't stick as well as they should have and they scrunched up and gave me bigger blisters. Think they were elastoplast though.

    I always train with socks, and race without, but I don't mind the blisters. Just pop them, keep them clean. If you don't pop them I find the pressure builds and they get bigger. I wouldn't recommend it, but I've sometimes ripped them during a race to release the blister fluid. I prefer that to the squiggy feeling of a full blister![:@]
  • MrSquishyMrSquishy Posts: 277
    mu wrote:
    I wouldn't recommend it, but I've sometimes ripped them during a race to release the blister fluid.

    Is that the real reason why you get given safety pins in your race registration pack? [:D]
  • GGBGGB Posts: 482
    For me its socks on the bike too - have terrible problems with my feet - (Burn't them when I was 7 and haven't been right since) - so T1 will be sock on for me ;) and if soaking wet then it will be a change again in T2 :(



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