Another spell of hard labour on the exercise bike. It’s probably doing me good – torturing some different leg muscles and giving these blisters a chance to escape. However… despite producing the required bucket and a half of sweat, it doesn’t make me feel quite as holy as when I return from a run, almost glowing in the dark and vibrating with satisfaction.
Blister Bulletin: the one on the left foot is giving up the fight. It’s now a battle-hardened, but almost defeated, deep scarlet graze. The other one is still making up its mind. It’s in two minds about whether to hang around and be a nuisance, just for the hell of it, or whether to make a dash for it now and avoid the humiliation of a prolonged surrender.
All being well I will try to run tomorrow and see what happens. It seems unnecessary to stick religiously to the scheduled 4-8-5 when there are exceptional circumstances. I’ll aim for an initial 3 miles, with the option of extending that if I feel it’s right. I’m still keen to get the 18 miler done at the weekend. If I could get through that unscathed, I’d be delighted – and amazed.
A run tomorrow will also give me the chance to try out my new shoes. On Monday I called into Easy Runner in Bristol. I’d convinced myself that these blisters were caused by shoes which were too constricted. The advice I got was that there was nothing wrong with the size (I brought the shoes with me), though some remarks were made about my running style that gave me cause for thought. Apparently I land too far forward – on my toes rather than on my heels. Perhaps this is what’s causing the blisters?
I was given a plausible diagnosis of what was wrong with the shoes I’ve been using (Asics Nimbus IIs and IIIs), and told that I needed a much more stable, flatter sole that would distribute the weight better. I tried on about four hundred pairs of shoes and eventually went for some Brooks Addiction 4s which were described as “the exact opposite” of the Asics. I’m not at all sure that the exact opposite of my shoes can be another pair of shoes. Surely a dolphin, or a motorway bridge are more dissimilar? Life is so puzzling sometimes. Despite these unanswered questions, I decided to buy them, and to therefore take another decisive step towards my ultimate goal – to have Gloucestershire’s largest private collection of athletic footwear.
The wisdom, or otherwise, of this purchase might reveal itself tomorrow if I get back on the road.
