Would you rather run a race in 2 days in–

A worn down pair of shoes that makes your arches sore

or

A new pair of the same shoes that leaves you bloody?

Great choices, right?

Ok, backing up.   This is week is a mess of doctor’s appointments so I was keeping my running plan fluid but since Monday was appointment #1 I figured it would be a rest day.  Plus Monday workouts rarely work in my favor.   Except the late afternoon appointment went faster than I thought it would.  Driving home I realized I had enough time to change super quickly and get in a run outside before it got dark.   Since I still don’t feel 100% I figured any more ventures into running in the dark would wait until next week.    I changed as fast as I could and was out the door.

My right shoe had felt off on Sunday’s walk but I figured I was cold and just getting over my sickness so I was probably walking weird.   I didn’t think about it until I was about 5 minutes from my house.  You know the feeling when you have a sticker or a burr in your sock?  That’s what it felt like.  1/2 mile in, I stopped at the top of a hill to adjust my sock and check it out…holy crap- blood!

My sock was bloody and there was a large red spot on my new shoes.  Well, crap, that’s not good.   I sat for a moment and debated what to do.   I didn’t see a blister, just a tiny hole.  Hmm.  I put my shoe back on and ran another half mile.  I stopped and checked again,  Hey look, blood was now down the inside of my shoe.   Ok, I get it, time to call it.  I rerouted to home.

 

 
A 1.51 mile run is better than none right?  Except I didn’t like that.  So after a quick clean up, a sock change, I slapped on a band-aid and my old shoes and was out the door again.  I figured I had enough daylight for another 1.5 mile loop but I decided to run it backwards.   My foot felt ok so I added on a little more.  😃  2.19 miles for a total of 3.7 for the day.   I’m calling that a win in my book.  ✅  And that last 2.19 miles felt pretty good.   It was a great run mentally speaking.

  

What was not great was that 2 miles in old shoes was enough to make the arches of my feet start to ache.  Which was why I switched to the new shoes.  They are the same brand and model just a different color.   I have never had a blister problem in any shoe.  Any time I ever felt even the slightest hot spot it meant I needed new shoes or new socks.  A quick switch and the problem was solved.  So now what?

I have an 8.2 mile race on Saturday, I already knew it was going to be rough, being so undertrained and after a week of being sick.  I wasn’t anticipating pain with most of my steps though.  I don’t spend most of my time in the air like Usain Bolt.  😝  Do I wear the old shoes and suffer arch pain?  Do I wear the new shoes and hope for less bleeding?    I have an old pair of Mizuno’s but they made my knees and left calf hurt.  It’s why I switched to the Pure Flow’s.    I’ve even considered wearing my trail shoes.

So, in short- HELP!  Any tips on blisters?  Actually it still doesn’t look like a blister but that’s not the point.  Any suggestions on how to make the new shoes work?  Or should I run in the old ones?  So many questions!