Blistering speed...ouch!

Robbi

Robbi

Barefooters
Dec 1, 2011
131
133
43
Cape Town, South Africa
#1
Well, I've been driving down to 5:30/km for the last while, but it's come at a price! All of a sudden (or was it really? Maybe not...?) I have blisters! After my last run I could feel my outer right foot taking a bit of strain, but as it turns out the left foot is the worse one. A blister running up over the side edge of my foot, to about 2cm above the landing surface!

I also have two more predictable deep tissue blisters that I can't really feel right in the landing zone, which make sense, but this one riding up the side of my foot has got me puzzled. I can feel my physical attitude shift as I drop below a 5:30 pace, so I'm doing something different/wrong that I'm going to need to work on.

Any advice from you speedsters out there?
 
#2
Robbi said:
Well, I've been driving down to 5:30/km for the last while, but it's come at a price! All of a sudden (or was it really? Maybe not...?) I have blisters! After my last run I could feel my outer right foot taking a bit of strain, but as it turns out the left foot is the worse one. A blister running up over the side edge of my foot, to about 2cm above the landing surface!

I also have two more predictable deep tissue blisters that I can't really feel right in the landing zone, which make sense, but this one riding up the side of my foot has got me puzzled. I can feel my physical attitude shift as I drop below a 5:30 pace, so I'm doing something different/wrong that I'm going to need to work on.

Any advice from you speedsters out there?
Click to expand...

I am not speedy but his is what I think, it sounds to me like you're grinding your feet on landing while trying to propel yourself at at faster pace. Has this happened at slower paces?
 
#3
It sounds as though your speedwork needs to be slightly reduced so you get the timing a little more precise. As Dama says you are probably grinding that foot a little with each stride.
Try thinking a little less about speed and more about landing lightly and running smoothly.

You'll get it soon enough!
 
#4
This hasn't happened before, no - it's definitely something new. It feels to me like I'm more up on my toes as I get faster, and I'm not sure if that's normal or if I'm 'lapsing' into bad form. What is the experience of running say at 30 sec faster times from 6:30 down to sub-5? Is there a gradual attitude change that you experience? I'm looking for cues that I can act on to determine if I need to correct something, but trying not to get the forebrain involved so much that a hash it all up.

Thanks!
 
#5
Robbi said:
This hasn't happened before, no - it's definitely something new. It feels to me like I'm more up on my toes as I get faster, and I'm not sure if that's normal or if I'm 'lapsing' into bad form. What is the experience of running say at 30 sec faster times from 6:30 down to sub-5? Is there a gradual attitude change that you experience? I'm looking for cues that I can act on to determine if I need to correct something, but trying not to get the forebrain involved so much that a hash it all up.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I don't know about others but for me my stride length increases according to speed in other words speed dictates stride length in my case but my cadence remains the same. My natural cadence is around 200/205 spm.
But we are all diferent and I don't know if I helped you in anyway-so there you have it:happy:
 
#6
I was just reading LastPlaceJason's book, The Barefoot Running Book, where he diagnoses blisters on the side of the foot as being caused by not landing under centre of gravity. This sounds like over striding and then having to gain more traction on the outside edge as you heave your body forward while the foot is still planting.

So slowing down and focusing on letting your stride open up behind you may help. Chi Running has some good drills for this, as well as hip openers and looseners (to facilitate leg swing to the rear).
 
#7
Robbi said:
A blister running up over the side edge of my foot, to about 2cm above the landing surface!
Click to expand...

I don't understand that at all. Do you mean 2cm toward the top of your foot when you write 'above'? That's pretty weird.

What is your turnover rate when you run naturally? Dama is in good company with her ~200-range, that's where you want to be at your pace, imo. Lower than that and you're possibly reaching out with your legs, overstriding, and bringing your body's weight up over your feet after they've already touched down. And that'll exaggerate whatever idiosyncracies there are in your foot landing. And possibly result in blisters. If that makes sense....
 
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#8
BFwillie_g said:
I don't understand that at all. Do you mean 2cm toward the top of your foot when you write 'above'? That's pretty weird.

What is your turnover rate when you run naturally? Dama is in good company with her ~200-range, that's where you want to be at your pace, imo. Lower than that and you're possibly reaching out with your legs, overstriding, and bringing your body's weight up over your feet after they've already touched down. And that'll exaggerate whatever idiosyncracies there are in your foot landing. And possibly result in blisters. If that makes sense....
Click to expand...

so where the heck have you being? we miss you in here didn't you know?;)
 
#9
BFwillie_g said:
I don't understand that at all. Do you mean 2cm toward the top of your foot when you write 'above'? That's pretty weird.....
Click to expand...
I can imagine that happening with enough over stride and supination on landing - pressure finds release towards the top edge and supination helps it along. I think i get milder versions of this partly because of reduced ankle mobility at the moment. The op's case is extreme but I can imagine where it's coming from (sadly!)
 
#12
BFwillie_g said:
but two full cm ... that's way up there. Also, come to think of it, what and where exactly is the 'landing surface'?
Click to expand...
Yes, 2cm is a lot - but it may not in fact be that much (photos, pleez!)

I'm assuming "landing surface" would typically be anywhere up to side edge 3mm up from floor level) of 5th metatarsal in extreme case, usually with swift redistribution across 4,3,2 etc during landing. If OP is over striding and foot is contacting heavily supinated, then there's a lot of twist/drag to accommodate on the way through. This pressure and blister fluid has to go somewhere and depending on gait it might get forced outside rather than inside.

I'm also assuming S2G here. A minshoe might cause other trouble too. Shooting in the dark though, frankly, and so not claiming any confidence.
 
#14
BFwillie_g said:
I don't understand that at all. Do you mean 2cm toward the top of your foot when you write 'above'? That's pretty weird.

What is your turnover rate when you run naturally? Dama is in good company with her ~200-range, that's where you want to be at your pace, imo. Lower than that and you're possibly reaching out with your legs, overstriding, and bringing your body's weight up over your feet after they've already touched down. And that'll exaggerate whatever idiosyncracies there are in your foot landing. And possibly result in blisters. If that makes sense....
Click to expand...

OK, so I think I understand what may have happened. I went through the logs, and I've ofetn (for stretches) run considerably faster than the fastest pace on that run, like low 4's. And yes, the blister is totally weird, so I looked at what had changed, and then it hit me - I've just recently altered my route! There is a short section of old brick cobbling which swings left sharply, and some of the cobbling is a bit buckled right there. I'm pretty sure I must have hit a brick with the side of my foot - I would have been leaning left, putting more pressure on the outside edge of the left foot, creating an ideal circumstance for something like that. It really is the only thing that makes sense.

My turnover is right around 200 as well, at 6:00/km I tend to hit about 195 and on up from there. The blister is feeling better, so I'll take the feets out this evening and see how it goes...hopefully just a false alarm!
 
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#16
Is that average pace or fastest pace during the run?
 
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