Operation Duct Tape
“The good thing about duct tape is it won’t come off until you want it to.”
Liar, liar, LIAR! The person who said this obviously has feet that don’t sweat. Well, let me tell you. Mine do. It isn’t pretty, but that’s what happens, kids.
I have a friend who, when drunk or even partially inebriated, likes to swoon over how beautiful her feet are. We have plenty in common, but in this we are polar opposites. My feet are ugly. They have structural issues. I have hammer toes. My baby toes curl under the toes next to them so that with each step I take, I am stepping on my own toes. Once I investigated getting them fixed. The dude was going to shave the bones and then stick pins in my toes to allow the tendons to get used to being straight again. Pins that would be pulled out two weeks later. Um, no thanks.
I am pretty used to my toes now. On a day to day basis, they are who I am. But, now that I am running more and for longer distances, I remember why I sought out the foot surgeon in the first place. As well as the painful pressure on my baby toes, it makes for lovely blister conditions. So, on Saturday I decided it was time to get even more serious about blister prevention.
Enter duct tape. “If you can’t duc it, f**k it” right? I read up a bit on taping techniques and went to work on my dogs. It took a couple tries, but I got my toes suitably strapped and tucked into my socks. I was surprised at how little it bothered me, when usually my toes are sensitive to anything stuck between them.
Three miles into the run isn’t the most opportune time to think it might have been good to throw the stick of BodyGlide into the car just in case Plan A fails. But, smart ideas don’t always have good timing. By about 25 minutes into the run, I could feel the slippery balls of tape squidging under my feet. I had to stop, remove my shoes and socks, dump the wet wads of tape out of them, and get running again. This also meant I did the last 7 miles without any blister protection. I think I got off easy with only two blisters.
Now, where was that chapter on tape adherents to keep the tape stuck to your feet?
Saturday’s run
Distance:10.0 miles
Time: 1:35:53
Pace: 9:35 min/mile
Today’s run
Distance: 3.2 miles
Time: 29:40
Pace: 9:16 min/mile
Friday, 18th May 2007 at 6:45
[...] 18th, 2007 at 6:40 am (Cross-training) Readers who are not new to the blog, or to me, know the troubles I have with my feet. They are sore, sweaty, curly-toed beasts. They blister and ache, but I have vowed to accept them [...]
Friday, 6th July 2007 at 19:14
[...] who are not new to the blog, or to me, know the troubles I have with my feet. They are sore, sweaty, curly-toed beasts. They blister and ache, but I have vowed to accept them [...]
Tuesday, 9th October 2007 at 14:10
[...] of my lovely hammer toes (thanks mom!). But, not too much room because then my feet slide around and I get blisters. It’s a very tricky balance to achieve. After trying three or four other candidates, the [...]