All in Stride

I am almost always painfully aware of any irritation, chafing, or blister on my part of my body while on a run.  Naturally, my feet are especially sensitive.  Oddly, however, on my last two runs, I was completely oblivious to the growing pain on my heel until the moment I stopped running.

I wore the wrong socks during Thursday's track workout.  Or rather, I forgot that these socks don't work with the shoes I packed in my gym bag.  They slipped down my heel and left it exposed for my shoe to rub raw.  I didn't notice it until then end of my cool-down run when I heading into my office building.  For the most part, it was severe enough to cause me more than a little discomfort, but this morning, even though I wore the right socks this time, I put a bandaid on my heel and was good to go.  

Or so I thought.  I don't think I was even a mile into my run when I felt something hitting my other foot.  I looked down and saw that the bandaid had nearly come off and was flapping around.  I pulled it off and kept running.  After all, it didn't seem to hurt, and my sock was staying in place.  When we finished our 6-miler, I looked down at my foot to check on my blister, and it was a gross sight.  I'll spare you the details, only to say that the back of my sock was no longer blue.  As I walked back to my car I realized I was limping a bit, and when I got in my car I couldn't take it anymore.  I took off my shoes and socks, threw them in the back, and drove home barefoot.  

When I walked in house, my husband cringed a bit and said it looked bad.  I shrugged it off and headed into the shower to rinse off the mud on my legs and the blood on my foot.  The sting of the water caused me to wince - I probably even swore some.  When I came out and hobbled over to the kitchen to put some neosporin on, my husband said it sounded like it hurt.  But in the same breath he admired how I don't let the pain bother me.  I paused for a moment.  In general I'd disagree.  I have the lowest pain threshold of just about anyone I know.  I am a wimp.  But I guess I'm different when it comes to running.  I may not tolerate agonizing pain when I'm running, but I will ignore a lot more than when I'm not running.  Maybe it's the distraction of running or maybe it's because my brain expects some level of discomfort.  Either way, I find it a lot easier to just take it all in stride.  Battle wounds and all.

Miles: 6
Time: 54:00
Pace: 9:00