Blisters & Staying Cool
I've had 2 IM races where temperatures got pretty hot on the run, as high as 104. I've been able to stay relatively cool with ice, water and sponges. BUT... I find that the water pours right down my body into my socks and shoes. And then as I hear the swoosh sound from water logged runners the blisters begin to form. During cooler races where body temp regulation is not an issue I never blister.
Would love to know if there's something I'm missing or not doing that others are doing that keeps their feet dry (blister free) during these hot races?
0
Comments
This year I tried running barefoot in tri shoes with drainage (I used KSwiss KRuuz), but I had blister problems. Strangely when I wear my usual running socks (Balga) my feet got really wet but no blister issues.
This is one of those issues where 5 people will have 6 or 7 different answers I suspect...
Maybe wear sweat bands around your ankles?
I then take my shoes and socks off when going to the swim start.
When I put the socks back on the jelly lubricates my feet and repels water.
Meaning I don't get blisters regardless of how wet my shoes get.
I then take my shoes and socks off when going to the swim start.
When I put the socks back on the jelly lubricates my feet and repels water.
Meaning I don't get blisters regardless of how wet my shoes get.
Ditto to what Pete said...I put vaseline or bodyglide in my shoes....and lube up my feet (especially between toes)....I stilled had an awesome blister on my little toe (IM Louisville...Hot & Wet)...but didn't really have an issue with it impacting my running.
I experienced blisters at St George and Cozumel this year but not Wisc.
I took coach Rich's advise and put duct tape in my SN bag in while in St George and it worked like a charm. Placed the duct tape over the blister and didn't feel a thing the entire race. Forgot in for Mexico and boy did I pay the price. Tried putting medical tape on it from the medics but it just made it worse.
To be honest I think my feet got smoking hot while on the bike and the blister may have formed there.
For shorter races like the 70.3 I use as the others said but I put in directly on my feet before slipping into my shoes and it does wonders.
I've had the same problem, even in stand alone marathons, if the temp gets above 75F. Now I wear Balga socks (which are the best I've found) and put lots & lots of Body Glide on my toes and heel in T2. It takes an extra minute or so but it is well worth it for an IM. I got 2 small blisters @ IMWI this year, but they didn't slow me down on the run as I didn't even know I had them until after the race. For a HIM, I just go with the Balga socks. Oly or sprint, I race without socks. In any race, I avoid getting my feet wet as much as possible ... stay away from puddles at aid stations, bend over if I pour H2O on my head, avoid sprinklers. I may have to try the duct tape idea.
1. I apply some Body Glide on my feet in T2. Works great.
2. Stop pouring water, ice or whatever all over you during the race. There's absolutely nothing you can do during the race that will actually cool down your core. Applying a little bit of ice or water on your skin doesn't do a darn thing other than give you a very brief and fleeting moment of feeling cool (more placebo than anything). All it really does is make you wet. That could give you some feeling of skin coolness via the evaporative effect but in humid races all it does it make you more wet and that wetness ends up in your shoes. I read some stuff on ST from a guy who worked on human cooling systems for the US military in which he explained the physiology of it all and why pouring ice and water on one's self is akin to putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. I no longer pour water and ice on myself and it has actually made for much more enjoyable runs.
Thread going tangential here, but in response to Bob, Ice @ strategic locations with high blood flow will make a difference, e.g., near femoral artieris, around neck, on scalp, in hands. That ice will melt, but hopefully, one is wearing a tri suit with good grip on the thighs, and that will keep the water from flowing down the legs.
Al (and others),
I looked up the guy on ST. His name is Jeff Ehret and goes by jeff.ehret on ST. Search some of his posts about cooling. He does seem to be a proponent of the evaporative cooling effect (recommendations of the Desoto Skin Cooler products and such) which may work for some but I live in Humidity Hell so it's just not a realistic option as nothing evaporates here (quickly anyway).
Some copied and pasted quotes from Jeff...
However, the Army has done many studies that examined cooling targeted areas such as pressure points or major blood vessels and ateries. The reality is that there isn't enough mass flow of blood through that one small location to even make a dent in your core body temperature. It might feel like you're cooler but thats all in your head. Additionally, pouring water or putting ice next to it is only going to provide a momentary fix. It's not at all addressing your core body on a larger scale and never ever would you see a quick reduction in body temp. Furthermore, you're talking about cooling a nerve which doesn't have any effect on your core body temperature other than making your brain think you're cold. That in itself might be more dangerous then helpful because you won't notice the signs of heat stress.
My advice??? if you're dealing with some real nasty temps then i'd go with something like the skin coolers from Desoto. They use ice packs which is something of a simpler version of what we provide with to the Army but designed for tri use. Ice packs don't last terribly long but long enough for all but the longest tri races (plus you could switch them out). I'd also dump as much water over those garments at an aide station as you can. Evaporative cooling is very beneficial and is definitely your friend here.... this may not be as effective in high humidity environments but it will still help. Above all else...... hydrate hydrate hydrate!
if you think of cooling in just certain spots it's not very effective (it's more mental than anything)... the reason is that if you cool blood at say your femoral artery or your armpit or your neck, that cold blood has to recirculate through your whole body and it has very minimal effect aside from the local place where you're cooling it. However, if you cool blood at your core, that blood will circulate out to your extremities much more efficiently. Hence my reasoning for suggesting something like the skin coolers from DeSoto with the ice pack holders. It's not perfect but it should work. Combine that with evaporative cooling (dumping water on yourself or a garment) and you get a system that could work pretty well.
The neck bandana thing is kind of like putting a damp cloth on your head when you feel sick... does it make you feel better... sure it does but it's not addressing your core body temp very much. But hey during a race if it makes you feel better (even mentally) then it's a useful item and i'd probably use one myself.... my point was more physiologically than mentally...
In our ever present quest to field cooling systems for the average infantry soldier on the ground who is very weight constrained, we've examine many different systems and technologies. None of them are effective enough at a physiological level and yet practical (i.e. you're not lugging around 10lbs of batteries, etc). The military has examined hand cooling in a manner much more complicated than you described. What they found was that your hand basically needs to be in a vaccum environment to bring your blood vessels to the surface to have any appreciable cooling effect. There are some commercial products out there that do this...i think one is called Avacore. It's defnitely not race portable though. We've examined targeted cooling on specific parts of the body (groin, kidneys, back of neck, etc) but again you can't get enough cooling into such a tiny surface area when combining the mass flow rate of blood past it.
So would your concept work? as others have said it would but only for a placebo effect. But it's important to note that the placebo effect is sometimes enough. If you think you're cool and comfortably (even if your body truly isn't) then it might be enough to keep you going. Really this placebo effect could work as long as the environment you're in isn't so extreme such that you "think" you're ok but your body really is at risk of heat casualty.
Thanks for the input everyone. I guess I should've been more clear. I never get blisters around my toes or edges of my feet. It's only when my feet are drenched from trying to stay cool that the soul of my foot turns into one large blister. I run in Asics Numbus and they serve my feet well.
The post has went tangential here... : ) @Bob I'm a man of science and I appreciate all that it brings. It may be correct what you've presented. But personally I can't deny the anecdotal affect of putting cool water on my head and in my suit. It at least makes me feel better, and when I feel better I'm able to leave a lot less on the course.
The biggest take home I've got from this post is to experiment with a lubricant and try pouring water on my head bent forward so less splashes onto my feet.
Thanks again... we'll test this summer!
Some good ideas here. I've had the same problem -- silver dollar sized blisters on both feet at IM RI 70.3. It's just so friggin' hot at that race! I was soaked, my shoes were squishing. I didn't care. The heat was far worse than the blisters. I knew they were there but since they weren't from hotspots, they didn't bother me.
Ice under the hat is my favorite, but then that does melt and roll right down the body. More research is needed!!!!!!
Not really an option for triathlons though unless you want to spend an extra five minutes in transition putting on those socks.
the good thing about the body glide method is you can do it the night before and not take any time during the race. Just put your socks on and go.
Not a guarantee of success but maybe helping a bit with any blisters caused by rubbing...
Putting on the iniji socks takes about litterally 30 seconds longer than regular socks. It's all what you get used to and practice doing.
Perhaps, if your feet and hands are dry and warm, and you haven't just finished a swim and/or bike, and you are not in a hurry because the race clock is ticking. I have had trouble doing things as simple as taking my helmet off in transition. The loss of fine motor control and reduced ability to think straight that I experience in races makes me a little skeptical of this.
Agreed. Hence why I posted what I did and it was from experience.
I, like a dumbass, took a pair of those Injinji socks to a tri once and spent about two minutes trying to get one sock on my wet foot and finally said f**k it and just ran sockless. Those things are a bitch to put on wet feet.