Race Day Essentials - Vol. 1
I am going to do a series of race day essentials. At least the things that are essential for me. Some may work for you and others may not. I suggest you glean what you need from these posts and leave the rest alone. I’ll start with foot care.
Until I started running longer distances - 6 or more miles, I didn’t have a problem with blisters. However, I think the combination of running shoes that are a bit too wide with long distances wreaked havoc on my feet.
I have bunions and thought buying a wide running shoe would be a good idea - Not. In any event, I’ve had to rest my feet because my blisters were out of control. Luckily I am in pretty good condition so even though I’ve only been running once or twice a week, I am still feeling great. But it became obvious to me that I needed something for race day when even after a week of rest and trying different shoes my blisters flared up.
I got the recommendation to use 2nd Skin on twitter and I am extremely pleased with the results. I’ve run 8 miles and 4 miles with nary a blister raising its ugly head. I purchased the 2nd skin blister kit which includes moist squares to cover the sensitive blister, a knit topical covering that is similar to a bandage and most importantly for me, pressure padding. I used all three on my 8 mile run and had a ton of cushioning. I treated my blisters by draining them with a small pinprick made by a needle so I didn’t have any exposed sensitive skin (luckily). I think the moist squares are best for that but I put it on the first time out.
I plan on wearing the entire three pieces when I run my half-marathon but on short runs the pressure pad is enough. I am probably going to have to purchase another pack before my race because with 2 blisters there are really only enough moist squares for three applications. I also have never seen this brand in stores so if you plan on using it you will have to order online. I found the best price on Amazon, about $6 or $7 and I have free shipping with Amazon Prime.
It is pricey but totally worth it! I’d like to be able to celebrate and enjoy the victory dinner without painful blisters and using 2nd Skin will enable me to do so. Now, I don’t suggest using 2nd skin on race day if you are not prone to blisters. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t try anything new on race day. I plan on running with my new runners, my arm sleeves and the top I plan on wearing before race day (I will be discussion all of these). This way I can identify any potential issues and not discover them on the day I can’t do anything about it.
Now, if you have been prone to blisters, I highly recommend 2nd Skin. They are totally worth the price and hopefully combined with my new shoes blisters will be a thing of the past!
Until I started running longer distances - 6 or more miles, I didn’t have a problem with blisters. However, I think the combination of running shoes that are a bit too wide with long distances wreaked havoc on my feet.
I have bunions and thought buying a wide running shoe would be a good idea - Not. In any event, I’ve had to rest my feet because my blisters were out of control. Luckily I am in pretty good condition so even though I’ve only been running once or twice a week, I am still feeling great. But it became obvious to me that I needed something for race day when even after a week of rest and trying different shoes my blisters flared up.
I got the recommendation to use 2nd Skin on twitter and I am extremely pleased with the results. I’ve run 8 miles and 4 miles with nary a blister raising its ugly head. I purchased the 2nd skin blister kit which includes moist squares to cover the sensitive blister, a knit topical covering that is similar to a bandage and most importantly for me, pressure padding. I used all three on my 8 mile run and had a ton of cushioning. I treated my blisters by draining them with a small pinprick made by a needle so I didn’t have any exposed sensitive skin (luckily). I think the moist squares are best for that but I put it on the first time out.
I plan on wearing the entire three pieces when I run my half-marathon but on short runs the pressure pad is enough. I am probably going to have to purchase another pack before my race because with 2 blisters there are really only enough moist squares for three applications. I also have never seen this brand in stores so if you plan on using it you will have to order online. I found the best price on Amazon, about $6 or $7 and I have free shipping with Amazon Prime.
It is pricey but totally worth it! I’d like to be able to celebrate and enjoy the victory dinner without painful blisters and using 2nd Skin will enable me to do so. Now, I don’t suggest using 2nd skin on race day if you are not prone to blisters. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t try anything new on race day. I plan on running with my new runners, my arm sleeves and the top I plan on wearing before race day (I will be discussion all of these). This way I can identify any potential issues and not discover them on the day I can’t do anything about it.
Now, if you have been prone to blisters, I highly recommend 2nd Skin. They are totally worth the price and hopefully combined with my new shoes blisters will be a thing of the past!
Comments
A thought for the next time you purchase running shoes. If you constantly have blister issues with longer distances, your running shoes might not be big enough. When I purchased my shoes, the employee asked me what I was training for. When I said half-marathons and up, he suggested I go up an additional half-size. Your feet will swell on longer runs so shoes that don't cause issues for 10K and below, might not work when you do really long runs.
My running shoes are a full-size larger than my regular shoe size! Just a though!