I went for a run tonight at a local park (I like running in the grass,) and stepped on 'something' that stung me. Probably a honey bee, as I was running through some white clover. Foot was on fire for a few minutes, but the pain quickly subsided. Since I'm not alergic to bee stings, I kept running (didn't want to to waste a perfectly good run!) Overall, a very nice run this evening. What have you stepped on (or in) that you wish you hadn't?
Although it was squishy between my toes and still warm, I'd have to say the dog poop. And the wiggly worm that wrapped itself around my pinky toe. Other than that, I've stepped on everything in your poll except a couple making out and a snake, although on one run, I did hurdle a snake at the last moment avoiding squishing it.
1. Chewing gum! It does NOT come off easily! 2. Burning cigarette butt! The worst SURFACE I have ever walked on was in Grenada at a botanical garden. The paths were covered in broken nutmeg shells. I could barely stand to walk on it. I was sure I was going to end up with cuts on my feet, but they ended up fine. Just sore!
I had glass in my heel one time, but it was so little and it didn't bleed at all. I'm careful though now.
I've run thousands of miles safely, but came across a new hazard: the truncated domes on sidewalks at crosswalks. Of course the domes are no problem. It's the screws that are used to install them. One was protruding about 5/8" and my heel caught the edge of it, as I was stopping for traffic. Actually, I didn't notice anything was wrong until I crossed the street. It felt like something was stuck on the bottom of my foot. The screw had torn my heel, and a couple of skin flaps were folded over causing the sensation of something underfoot. No blood. Nudged the flaps back in place. Ran 1.5 miles home. Cleaned it. Bandaged it. Went back out and finished my run. Am quite cautious around those disability bumps.
Road kill has been the worse so far. I ran through some possum guts, squirrels, various small things like birds. Running on worms and hear them squish and pop is something else as well. In the beginning of summer when it rains earth worms tend to flood out to the pavement, and there a thousands of them, you can run around them.
Dog poop is nasty! Stepped in a fresh pile of horse poop once trail running. It was rather nice since it was wet and cold out and I found something warm....
In six years: Glass shard: Twice. Goatheads (also known as puncture vine): Innumerable times. Cactus burrs: Three or four times. The above problems are why I wear a Nathan brand water bottle fanny pack that has a pocket large enough to contain (a) a basic first aid kit, (b) needle nose pliers with serrated jaws, (c) tweezers, and (d) one of those little magnifying lenses that comes in an "eyeglass repair kit" (these 52 year old eyes don't see those little pokey things as well as they used to). Yeah, yeah, the above qualifies me as "lunatic", but as the bumper sticker says, I don't suffer from insanity (or barefoot running), I enjoy every minute of it! TrailDancer Albuquerque, Chile Republic of New Mexico
I've actually never been too worried about glass, though a recent trip to the town just north of mine has made me think I've been a bit sheltered in that regard. Every time I have encountered glass and stepped on it, nothing bad happened, and every time was an accident. Goat Heads, on the other hand, are the bane of my existence. Even when I wore actual shoes the tetrahedral balls of spikes managed to be a nuisance, and that has only increased since I've removed the footwear. I tend to avoid running through fields in my area as a result of their abundance. Several months ago and stepped off the road into what looked like a plain dirt patch to give a car some space, and immediately had to stop because more than ten goatheads had decided to hitch a ride on each foot. Goatheads are the only real concern that I have as far as drawing blood while on the road.
