Running mamas: when will my blisters go away?

[lorijds]

I've started and stopped running programs many times in my life, but for some reason this time it's stuck and I've been bit hard by the running bug.  Which is great, since I'm up to 12 miles on my long run (6 weeks before the half marathon I'm training for), and I put in between 18-28 miles a week, depending upon weather, work, and family activities.

I bought my shoes at a running store at which the clerk took 30 minutes assessing my gait and then helping me try on different shoes.  The shoes I bought fit like a glove.  I've had them for 10 weeks now.

Since my long run distance has crept up over the 6 mile mark, I've started getting blisters on the medial aspect of my great toes.  At first I thought the culprit was my socks, and I bought nice running socks, which did seem to help for a little while.  And I put on bandaids every time I run a long run.  

My last three long runs (10.5, 11, and 12), my blisters have gotten huge.  They are about the size of a nickel by the end of the run, and they are tight.  They hurt when I run, but not enough to stop running, just enough to take my mind off any other bodily ache or pain I might be having!

How do I manage these blisters?  I've never popped them before, but the latest ones were so tight, and they were interfering with my ability to wear any of my other shoes, so I drained them (cleaned a needle with alcohol, cleaned each blister with alcohol, and then poked two holes in each and drained them).  

Like I said, I cover the blister prone area with a soft bandaid.  My socks are good socks.  I develop small blisters in the same area when I run shorter distance, though I didn't develop these small blisters until I started running the longer distances.  The blisters seem to partially heal during the week between my long runs.

Am I doing something wrong?  Could it be my shoes (which I love love love, I hope it's not my shoes)?  Is there some sort of product or preparation I could be doing with my toes between or before runs, to help prevent or minimize the blisters?  Will they just go away in time, as the skin on my toes toughens?  

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Lori

[mommajb]

Hopefully others will chime in...
It might be the shoes but if they are working out in other ways I would check the socks, try body glide and hope for callouses. People often have a preference for thin or thick socks but what you really want is a wicking sock so your feet stays as dry as possible. I have couple of pairs from the running store. They were pricy but work great. Body glide can also help prevent the chafing that starts the blister. Another thought is the terrain - if you recently added downhills perhaps your gait is affected and the cause is here?

ETA Oops. I see you have the socks covered.

[sewaneecook]

I've had blister issues off and on.  Sometimes it is the shoes, if the toe box is too tight blisters can result.  Sometimes it's simply mileage.  I tend to get blisters when I run over 15 miles on a long run.  When I have tender areas, I add body glide before going running.  After running, keep the blisters uncovered so that the skin hardens during the week rather than keeping it covered and soft.  If the blisters keep filling back up, use a sterilized needle to thread a needle and thread through it and tie the thread in a loop around the blister so that the hole allows drainage, rather than reforming a blister.  What brand of shoe do you use?  I have a fairly wide toe area and Saucony are great for this.  One other thing that can help is putting mole skin over the blister area before a run.  The Dollar General brand is the most sticky I've found and doesn't rub off mid run (sometimes it's a bit too sticky!).  The mole skin works better than bandaids for me.  Good luck, blisters can be awful running partners.  Have a fun half ... it's my favorite distance!

[my mountain]

I had this early on and it was because I was running on my tip toes...  You also might try taping a few together and see if that helps.  I have problems with my toes falling asleep and found taping the three middel ones together fixed that.  I'm also trying to do a half marathon April 22nd, still trying to get my miles up.  My husband works second shift and I have a hard time getting miles in during the week.

[lorijds]

Thanks for all the ideas.  The skin on the blisters seems to be getting tougher, and my milage was a little less this week, with my long run only being 7 miles.  I left the blisters uncovered most of the time, and this does seem to be helping.  I forgot to put bandaids on before my 6 miler this morning, and I didn't develop any blisters at all.

I feel like my toe box is perhaps a little small.  I have two toes on my left foot whose nails look bruised.  Part of my problem I think is that my left foot is slightly larger than my right.  Everything else fits so well on both feet, but I might look at a shoe with a larger toe box next time around;  thanks for that suggestion.  I'll try the glide and mole skin on my next long run.

Thanks for all the thoughts, ladies!  I appreciate it!

[lorijds]

Apparently all that I needed was time.  I'm no longer running with bandaids, and I no longer have blisters.  Thanks for all the suggestions!