The ache from the T. Wells Half Marathon lasted 2 days! On Monday I could hardly move. For some reason I thought that going for a very gentle jog might help. At first it was a bit of a hobble but I stopped regularly to stretch and my legs gradually loosened up. I ran for a total of 4-5km but never lengthened by stride to more than a trot.
I thought that the jog had helped but I sat down for a while and when I started to move I’m sure I was stiffer than before! I guess there is no escaping the consequences of a half marathon!
On Tuesday the ache was still with me. I decided to top it up with a trip to the gym. I ran through my resistance training program (for the first time in two weeks). It was a good session which left my upper body with an ache to match that of my lower body’s.
Wednesday the ache finally abated and I was ready to go out into Hyde Park and give my legs a really good work out. I did the perimeter route but split it into 4 fast runs with a 2-minute recovery period between each (each run was about 1 mile long). The run felt great and on each leg I managed to crank up the pace up to a near sprint.
During Wednesday’s run I could feel tender spots on my foot where my socks had rubbed during the half marathon. Afterwards I checked my feet and found two massive blisters! How had I not noticed them before?! I was left with a dilemma… to pop or not? I conducted an experiment so that I would know what to do in the future; I popped one and left the other untouched. I’ve found that the un-popped one hurt less over the next couple of days, but it seems to have healed slower… further testing is necessary (or perhaps someone can leave a comment telling me what’s best)!
I probably don’t run as hard or as much as you but I would drain them with a sterilised needle, then rub them with methylated spirits. This helps your feet heal and toughen up.
I always do this when I get running blisters. I did this the other day with a small one and by the next day had totally forgotten it was there. Just looked now and its gone.
Bushwalkers do this. It’s good for when you get a blister or two on day one and still have a week of walking to go!
Your blog is very inspiring!