The first wave of blisters

Before my last 13 mile walk I decided to get myself down to Boots and stock up on foot care products. The protection and prevention of many ailments that will surely occur with my feet is the biggest challenge that is about to face me. If my feet are not 100% then the mega trek is over.

Thus, as if by some twist of fate, my first blister appeared. Nice, tiny, round little sack of pain on the ball of my left foot.

I don’t seem to get blisters or pain on my heels, most likely because of the way I walk which is probably a good thing judging by the horror stories I’ve heard and seen. Good also that my right foot is evidently less prone to blisters than my left. You see, you find out all these little things about yourself when you really start to push yourself.

I really believe that it is only in breaking through personal barriers that you really and truthfully get to know your own body and in knowing that, you get to truly know yourself. Anyway – back to the balls of pain.

The balls of my feet need protecting, I know that now. It started with a small round lump and I immediately placed a special sole plaster over that section. The next day, a bigger blister appeared, this time I know it was caused by friction and this is something I need to work on to prevent and fix ‘in the field.’

When the blister has fluid in, it is not too hard to walk on but the problem occurs when it bursts and splits – just like mine had the opportunity to do. I was walking back slowly from town when I felt a sharp pain on the sole of my foot right in the middle. At first I thought the other plaster had come off, curled up, and I was walking on the sharp edge. Then it felt like I was walking on drawing pins so I limped to the next bench and stripped off my trainer and sock.

Low and behold, the blister had popped, but not only popped, it had split and every movement I made was dragging the loose outer skin across the newly exposed area causing it to bleed. Not good.

I dried it off, put on a plaster and carried on, pretty well after that. Although now, six hours later, just standing is hurting, so I need to take care of it again asap. But in getting a bad blister like that – I’m quite happy.

Why am I happy getting a painful blister that could become infected?

Because it is a lesson, a training exercise, it allows me to become wiser and more knowledgeable in how my body (my feet) deals with extreme use. It enable me to understand my weak points and how to better protect them next time.

I need to experience this pain to know what it feels like before it happens. I was sure I could feel a blister growing as I was walking. In using this foresight, I can use it to prevent the blisters from ever occurring or at least minimise the risk in getting one in the first place.

So as I stand here in pain (yes, I’m standing as I type on the kitchen work top) I’m happy that my first bad blister has appeared. Now, I can practice dressings and curing techniques. I can understand how my body reacts and how I can better equip it to be prepared the next time.

Yet, I also know that I will have many more during my training and many more during the actual walk itself. I know they are friction blisters and I know how these can be prevented, it’s just putting it into action on a trial and error basis at the moment.

And this after the shin splints! I’ll go into that pain in another post.

The Training Has Begun

…and the blisters have risen! I’m veering towards using trailrunners as opposed to boots. My Garmonts were perfect for Everest Base Camp but after walking 7 miles on tarmac the other day, my feet were ready to flame up and burn away. They make my feet too hot and obviously heavier than the trail running trainers.

I’m trying to get out and about when I can. The difficulty lies in having to ‘live life’. A training trek of 30 miles is an all day job and I just don’t have a full day off every week to get that done but I’m doing what I can.

A 90 minute. 6 mile trek, with elevation of 220 metres can be pulled off quite easily. An eight mile trek down a country road was good going to set the pace for the longer walk.

These are specific training treks. I don’t include a 1.5 mile walk to the shops, a training trek. Nor the 1.3 mile walk when cutting the grass – seriously, GPS clocked me at 1.3 miles cutting the grass! I’m talking here about specific treks with light gear (currently) as training walks.

I did a 12 mile walk last week on tarmac with a little off piste. I literally used my Garmin eTrek 30 GPS to take me away for 6 miles where I had a 5 minute break before returning on the same track. It felt good if a little lightheaded for want of water on the return leg!!

Did a 13 mile walk yesterday evening in 3hrs 10m, I think that is the pace I need to be on.

The pace is no problem it is the foot care that has suddenly become the issue – and the obvious impairment to be overcome before the grand walk itself. I was expecting to get blisters and foot damage but it is more than I expected. See the next post for my first blister challenge.