I was grinding away on the treadmill not too long ago when I noticed a hot spot on the bottom of one foot that wasn't anywhere near any of the usual suspects (outside of the big toe, outside of the heel). It wasn't bad enough to quit so I just set it aside and pushed on.
When I finished, it was pretty tender, so I checked it out. Sure enough, there was a small blister right in the middle of the arch - a spot that had never given me any trouble before. I couldn't figure out why I got a blister *there,* doing a workout I'd done fifty times before (10K at 10mm pace).
I finally cracked the code when I got home and dumped out my gym bag. We have two long-haired cats (a 12yo Maine Coon and a 9yo Longhairedsomething (picture not available)) and a Golden Retriever, so we fight a constant and probably ultimately doomed battle against pet hair. I wear New Balance compression socks, which have more spandex across the middle third of the sock to provide additional arch support. When I turned the sock inside out to throw it in the washer, I realized that the extra spandex had acted like velcro in the wash and had picked up a compressed ball of pet hair about the size of a chickpea... right where I had gotten my blister.
How I failed to notice this when I put my shoes on, I don't know, but now part of my pre-race prep is making sure my socks are free of hairballs.
When I finished, it was pretty tender, so I checked it out. Sure enough, there was a small blister right in the middle of the arch - a spot that had never given me any trouble before. I couldn't figure out why I got a blister *there,* doing a workout I'd done fifty times before (10K at 10mm pace).
I finally cracked the code when I got home and dumped out my gym bag. We have two long-haired cats (a 12yo Maine Coon and a 9yo Longhairedsomething (picture not available)) and a Golden Retriever, so we fight a constant and probably ultimately doomed battle against pet hair. I wear New Balance compression socks, which have more spandex across the middle third of the sock to provide additional arch support. When I turned the sock inside out to throw it in the washer, I realized that the extra spandex had acted like velcro in the wash and had picked up a compressed ball of pet hair about the size of a chickpea... right where I had gotten my blister.
How I failed to notice this when I put my shoes on, I don't know, but now part of my pre-race prep is making sure my socks are free of hairballs.
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