Ironman racing brings one major problem … blisters!!!
I’ve trained with five different shoes, three different brands.
Ran with Vaseline between the toes. Tried different socks, two socks, no socks.
Read running books. Some say run on your toes. Some say don’t run on your toes.
Still each race brings blisters and usually the loss of 2+ toenails.
I think, I hope, that a solution will come from a process of elimination, so I keep trying different products, and pray that eventually something will work. Right!?
Now … with quiet excitement I have to share good news, but first let me paint a picture. A few weeks back my crazy training partner ran 100-miles in 30-hours. The course had 50 2-mile loops, and I arrived at loop 86. She was alert, happy, yet clearly exhausted. For support I would run with her till she crossed the finish-line. Quickly changed into running clothes, and took off to run 13 miles.
Here’s the problem … I forgot to douse my toes with Vaseline; a usual go-to product to hopefully eliminate blisters. After 4-miles blisters were growing on two toes. Then I remembered a Sport Shield sample sat in my gear bag. I never tried it before, still I made a quick pit stop. Applied some. Share some with a friend who had the same blistering problem, and off we went.
Here’s the quiet excitement, the good news… I didn’t think about my toes for the rest of the run. Any pain that brewed cooled down. Any blisters that were growing faded. By the end of 13-miles my toes felt great. And my friend who shared the Sport Shield said the same. Without hesitation I can say Sport Shield saved me from getting blisters and loosing toenails. So thankful.
Next test … using it during Ironman training.
Updates to follow.
Always tri. Never stop.
P.S. Sport Shield did not pay me for this review.