The sun was out at 7 am, but I remained in bed. I couldn’t generate the enthusiasm to hit the pavement alone. A sat up in bed, pulled off the Band-Aid from my blister. It looked like it might be a little early for a run, but I knew that I was in need of one.
After coffee, oatmeal, and a little motivating reading, meaning the “blogs”, I was starting the feel like it was time. The problem of the blister remained however. I have had blister issues in the past. I remembered using a product called Blister Block when I was first breaking in my orthotics while trying to train for my 2nd marathon. The orthotics are now retired, but I had several packages of the Blister Block left in my first aid supplies. It was worth a try.
I applied one to the top of my blister and, remembering that they tend to roll off from the friction, secured it with paper tape. YaYa and I loaded his bicycle in the van and drove to the trail.
We traveled down the path together with YaYa leading the way on his bike. I ran on the dirt shoulder of the trail when I could. My foot felt relatively okay, with the blister making itself known very little in the first mile or so. I was encouraged, and began seeing me covering 8 or possibly 10 miles. In the back of my head, I knew that I was dreaming. Then YaYa and I came to the sign noting that the trail was closed ahead.
There were detour signs leading into the neighboring streets. It wasn’t as ideal as my previous plan. YaYa would have to be reigned in close during this part. The detour quickly took us from dirt to road and my foot began to become more and more aware of the blister. The nervousness of having YaYa on his bike with the cars was also overwhelming me. We turned around shortly after beginning the detour.
On the way back, I could really feel my blister. My foot hurt so much that I stopped to see if the Blister Block was peeling and pulling away the top layer of skin with it. I was surprised to find it still intact. I felt better and before long my awareness of the blister faded.
As we neared the start, disappointment for the run ending was over taking me. We went past the bridge and continued on the other side of the trail. YaYa, who was not familiar with this part of the trail, went on ahead of me. I came around a corner to find him lying on the ground. He was wailing and his knee was oozing blood.
I helped YaYa move over to the side where I checked him out. He was skinned up but everything else was okay. The poor guy was shook up and scared to get back on his bike. I had him take some deep breaths. I assured him that he would not fall again, and kept him within an arms length the whole way back. Now moving with shorter strides, my blister yelped with each step that I took.
I just happened to have parked my van next to my favorite running store because the parking lot by the community park was full. Obviously, the current out of the box insoles are not working for my feet. It was time for Plan C. YaYa and I detour to the running store for something different. I hope they work.