Blisters!!!

Two weeks ago, I got a blister on my right second toe. I couldn't believe it. I have not had a blister on my foot caused by running since I started running back in Watauga, Texas in 1985. I have to admit I did get a nasty blister at Philmont Scout Ranch. But, that was caused by not airing my socks out when we took our lunch break one day. So, when I pulled off my sock and saw the large blister I was a bit surprised. Partly because I didn't feel it when I was running and partly because I had not had one in such a long time. More importantly, I know how to avoid them.

As most of you know, blisters are caused by friction. In the case of running, the blisters form on your feet and toes because your socks are rubbing against the surface layer of your skin. Over time, this continued friction causes the top layer of skin to separate from the second layer of skin forming a blister. I have noticed that the few times I have had blisters from hiking my socks had simply gotten too wet from my feet's sweating even though I had wicking socks on at the time. The friction can also be caused by seams on your socks rubbing against your feet and toes as you run.

One of the warning signs of a blister forming is what most people call a "hot spot". You feel it where the blister is starting to form. It can be visually identified as redness on your skin. Once this starts to happen, fluid will form between the top two layers of skin to protect your skin from the continual rubbing. As the fluid builds up beneath the part of the skin being rubbed you will start to experience pressure and pain at that spot. I always seemed to develop blisters on and between my toes. You may experience them on the sole of your foot or your heel.

The common cause is your feet getting hot and sweaty thus causing your socks to adhere to your feet. Once this happens, your sock and foot rub against each other and the inside of your shoe. This causes the "hot spot". You should be able to feel this as you run. New shoes are a common cause of blisters forming. And, of course, they are also a common problem for runners especially those runners who participate in long running events such as half marathons, marathons and ultra marathons.

Since no one wants to get blisters, the question is how can you avoid them especially during these hot summer days. The key to preventing blisters is to reduce the friction on your skin in the first place. The best way to do this is to make sure you are wearing shoes that fit properly and socks made of a synthetic fabric that will wick the sweat from your feet. In addition, you can put petroleum jelly on problem spots prior to running or use foot powders to reduce the moisture. Some people use bandage strips or blister block adhesive tape which you can find in almost any sporting goods or specialty running store. Finally, you could try to put antiperspirant on your feet. I have heard that after spraying it on your feet for several days it helped to prevent blisters.

Once you are out on the road and you have used one of these various methods to prevent blisters, you need to be aware of any "hot spots" that may form during your run. If you feel them, it is important to stop and treat them right away to prevent the blister from developing. If you can, bring along an extra pair of socks and change socks before continuing. If you can't do this, your next best option is to apply moleskin over the sensitive area. I typically carry a small jar of petroleum jelly in my fanny pack on long runs and simply apply a little to the area to reduce friction.

Even if you do all of these things, you may still get a blister. If you do, the main goal is to keep the blister from getting bigger and avoiding infection. For small unbroken blisters it is best to leave them alone to heal on their own. This is because the best protection against infection is a blister's own skin. Eventually, they will form new layer of skin beneath the blister, and eventually the blistered skin dries up and peels away. However, if the blister is particularly large and painful you may want to drain it as long as you keep the top layer of skin intact and covering the blister.

The key to draining a blister is to make sure that you do not remove the top layer of skin. This will help to prevent infections. If you decide to drain the blister, make sure to clean the blister and the surrounding area with rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or antibiotic soap and water. Make sure you sterilize the pin or needle before puncturing the blister. You can do this by holding the pin or needle over a flame until the tip glows red and then allow it to cool. Once sterilized, you can then puncture the blister with a very small hole at the edge of the blister and drain the fluid by applying gentle pressure. Once your blister is drained, place antibiotic ointment on the blister and cover with a sterile bandage and let it heal. Most blisters heal on their own in a few days. But, if pressure or friction continues in the area, it could take two weeks or longer for the blister to go away.

I hope that none of you experience any blisters. But, if you do, I hope these simple tips will help you treat them properly. Keep your feet dry and comfortable and you will most likely never have to deal with blisters.

July 18 – 10.20 miles (1:35:04, 9:18 pace)
July 19 – 6.10 miles (55:18, 9:04 pace)
July 20 – 3.50 miles (28:31, 8:08 pace) – Speed work, 5k pace
July 23 – 6.10 miles (52:46, 8:39 pace)
July 24 – 10.10 miles (1:32:50, 9:11 pace)

Total Miles: 36.00 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 962.80 miles

Into the 21st Century for Me!

I am sure that most of the runners who read my blog fall into the category of the low-tech runner. Someone who simply has a pair of nice running shoes, maybe a tech t-shirt and shorts for their training runs. But, I would guess they are not running with a heart monitor or GPS unit strapped to their wrist. I have to admit that I was a late adopter of the technology trend. I felt it would take the joy out of my runs. I resisted for a long time. Finally, I had a chance to obtain a Garmin Forerunner 305 at a great price and couldn’t pass up the deal. Froggie Ted had finally entered the high tech world of running when his Garmin arrived 2 years ago December.

I have to admit when I got the Garmin in the mail I was a little intimidated. I read the manual and learned the basic functions and started using it for my runs. Early on I found that I really enjoyed the fact that I did not have to sit down and map out a run on the computer before heading out. I know all kinds of different routes around my area of varying lengths. With the Garmin unit I could just go out for a run and change my route and be able to know if I am hitting my distance goal for the run. It made getting out the door so much easier for me.

Two years of using this little gizmo has been interesting. I still don’t use all of the functions. I know that I can program it to tell me if I am falling below a goal pace. It can also set up interval training sessions that will set up exercise and rest intervals. It has a time/distance alert which triggers an alarm when you reach your goal. I am still using the simple basic function of distance, time and heart rate to assess my runs. There are probably a few readers out there who are more tech savvy than I and will tell me I am wasting a good piece of equipment on basic functions. But, it works for me. Maybe someday I will get up the courage to start playing with the other functions.

What I have found is that the Garmin unit is very helpful in allowing me to establish a safe, effective running pace for each of my training runs. I also find that it is very useful in helping me gauge how hard my training effort was and if I was scheduled for a recovery run whether or not the run was truly a recovery run. By having this device, I was forced to brush up on my heart rate training zones and also what heart rate level constitutes recovery from a hard work out. I did my studying some time ago and thought what I found out might be something that would interest other runners.

First, let’s talk about how you know you are sufficiently recovered after a hard work out or an interval during a run. Most adults have a resting heart rate of 72 beats per minute (bpm). A highly trained elite runner may be as low as 40 bpm. My resting heart rate tends to be around 66 bpm which my doctor thinks is very good. When I am done with a run or particular work out, I track my pulse every few minutes until it gets back down below 72 bpm. At this point in time, I feel sufficiently cooled down and can hit the showers. However, when I am doing intervals or repeats, I don’t start the next interval or repetition until my heart rate monitor shows that my heart rate has dropped to or below 120 bpm. This is how I do my Yasso 800s and my mile repeats when I am training for a marathon.

What we all need to know is that our maximal heart rate (MHR) declines with age from about 220 beats per minute in childhood to about 160 beats per minute at age 60. Your maximal heart rate is the is the highest pulse rate you can attain during an all-out effort, so by definition, it is impossible to exceed this limit. My advice and any web site you go to that tells you about heart rate zone training is to first calculate your maximal heart rate. It is a very simple formula -- 220 - Your Age. My maximal heart rate is 171. There have been studies that say that women should not use this formula as it is male based. They instead recommend women use the formula 0.88 x your age. If you really want to know your accurate maximal heart rate, you should undergo a stress-test administered by your doctor rather than by using the age-related formula.

There are four distinct heart rate training zones. They are all calculated by taking into consideration your MHR and your Resting Heart Rate (RHR). Each of these training zones affect your overall fitness in different ways. In my case, I use the zones make sure I am completing my work out at the level of effort that is necessary to achieve the results I am looking for that day. If I am doing repeats or tempo runs, I want to be in the aerobic or anaerobic zone. If I am doing just a normal run I stay within the aerobic zone or if it is for recovery I stay in the recovery zone. Let me describe each zone and what it does for you.

First let's look at the Recovery Zone. Recovery zone is typically where you are running with a heart rate between 60% to 70% of your MHR. This is typically known as Heart Rate Zone 2. It is the zone where your heart starts to feel the benefits of your work out. It is also the zone where you are developing your basic endurance and aerobic capacity. For those of you who are using your running to lose weight, in this zone your body uses stored body fat as the primary source of energy thus allowing you to maintain and/or lose weight. I typically do all of my easy or recovery runs at or below 70% of my MHR.

The second zone is known as the Aerobic Zone and it is where you are running with a heart rate of 70% to 80% of your MHR. This is the zone where you are training and developing your body's cardiovascular system. To truly improve your running, you need to be able to efficiently transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles. Training in this zone allows you to develop and improve your cardio-respitory capacity. It is also the zone most commonly known as your "target heart rate zone" and Heart Rate Zone 3. I try to do all of my hard workouts like mile repeats, tempo runs or intervals at this level. When I do this consistently, I find that I become fitter and stronger in my running. Studies say that as you increase your cardio-respitory capacity, your body burns less glucose and more stored fat as fuel thereby working more efficiently.

The third zone known as the Anaerobic Zone is where you are running with a heart rate of 80% to 90% of your MHR. It is also referred to as Heart Rate Zone 4. As you know when you run, you build up lactic acid in your muscles. This lactic acid is the byproduct of your body breaking down glycogen for use as fuel for your muscles. When you are running in this zone, you are developing your lactic acid system and it is where you will want to train if you want to improve your performance. There is a point where your body simply cannot remove lactic acid from your muscles fast enough. This makes training in this zone hard. When I run in this zone, my legs feel tired and I find that my breathing is heavy. According to what I have read, the key benefit of training in this zone is that you are training your body to tolerate lactic acid for a longer period of time. This is especially good for distance runners like marathoners. I find that the only time I am up in this zone is during speed work session or when I am really pushing it in a race.

The final zone (Heart Rate Zone 5) is the Red Line Zone which is where you are running with a heart rate of 90% to 100% of MHR. I don't know of any runners who can train in this zone for more than a few minutes at a time. I have never actually had my heart rate rise to this level during any of my work outs. I think this zone is more for sprinters and shorter distance runners as it is the zone where you will develop your fast twitch muscle fibers and helps to develop your speed. I don't recommend training at this level unless you are very fit. When you run in this zone, your lactic acid develops very quickly and you fatigue much sooner. If you want to try it, you should do it during an interval session or when you are doing some sprinting work at the track.

There is so much information about heart rate zones and how to train using them. I am by no means an expert on the subject. But, you should know that heart rates vary based on the given intensity you are working at and reductions in heart rate for a given intensity is usually due to improvements in your fitness. However, it could also be caused by other factors. When running in the heat of the summer being dehydrated can increase your heart rate by up to 7.5%. The temperature and relative humidity level can increase your heart rate by 10 beats/minute. If you are running at altitude you may find that your heart rate can increase by 10 to 20%, even if you have taken the time to acclimatize. And finally, simple biological variation can mean the heart rate varies from day to day by 2 to 4 beats/minute. Take this into consideration before embarking on any of your runs.

I have been dabbling in the heart rate zone training for the past two years. It has definitely improved my fitness level and my speed out there on the roads. This is great. But, I have realized that I actually can feel the zone I am in on most runs. What is nice about this is that when I am racing, I know whether or not I am going to be able to maintain the pace I have set or if I will have to ratchet it back to allow me to finish the race. By recognizing the clues from my body, I am confident when I head out the door that I am ready for any run whether it is a simple recovery run or 6 x 1 mile repeat session. You may find using one of these gadget will allow you to become more in tune with your body as well.

July 11 – 10.20 miles (1:33:40, 9:11 pace)
July 12 – 6.20 miles (57:03, 9:12 pace)
July 13 – 3.50 miles (29:55, 8:33 pace) – Speed work, Mile repeats
July 15 – 6.10 miles (48:40, 7:59 pace) – Tempo Run
July 16 – 6.20 miles (54:38, 8:57 pace)
July 17 – 10.10 miles (1:38:51, 9:47 pace)

Total Miles: 42.30 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 926.80 miles

Running with a Purpose

As most of you who read this blog know, I am Jewish. As a Jew I subscribe to the belief that we are all placed on this planet for a reason. No, you don't always know what that reason is and you should not expect to know. I do know that I was raised to help others who are less fortunate than me. As I studied the basic tenets of Judaism, I learned about the concept of tikkun olam. The basic definition of tikkun olam is "repair the world". The concept of repairing the world has come to mean so many things and has been interpreted in many different ways by Jewish people. I tend to define it as a requirement to strive to help those who can't help themselves.

The basic story from Lurianic Kabbalah is:

God contracted the divine self to make room for creation. Divine light became contained in special vessels, or kelim, some of which shattered and scattered. While most of the light returned to its divine source, some light attached itself to the broken shards. These shards constitute evil and are the basis for the material world; their trapped sparks of light give them power.

The first man, Adam, was intended to restore the divine sparks through mystical exercises, but his sin interfered. As a result, good and evil remained thoroughly mixed in the created world, and human souls (previously contained within Adam's) also became imprisoned within the shards.

The "repair," that is needed, therefore, is two-fold: the gathering of light and of souls, to be achieved by human beings through the contemplative performance of religious acts. The goal of such repair, which can only be effected by humans, is to separate what is holy from the created world, thus depriving the physical world of its very existence—and causing all things return to a world before disaster within the Godhead and before human sin, thus ending history.

What does this have to do with running? It is simple really. I have found that the running community is a very giving and altruistic group of people. When you sign up for a race have you ever noticed how many of them are raising money for some local charity. If you go on the internet you will find thousands of races who take their name or mission from the charities they are raising money to support. I know so many runners like myself who find motivation and inspiration by running a race to help support a greater cause. Isn't this one of the ways that we as runners can help with tikkun olam?

If you go back and read my race report from my running of the Boston Marathon last year you will see how I felt about running for a charity. I can say without any reservation that I was able to train effectively and set a PR because of the fact that I was running for a higher purpose. You may disagree. But, I know that there was something else out there that helped me on that given day that I can't explain. I can only say that it was my most satisfying running experience in all of my years of running.

All of this brings me to a new running organization that was created to help others. It is Jrunners. They were " recently founded in Brooklyn by three 30-ish Brooklynites, Steven Friedman, Matt Katz and Saul Rosenblum, family men and professionals who love to run. What they love even more is running for good causes—so when a neighbor contracted ALS, a severe degenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, they put together a non-profit organization to bring Jewish runners together to raise money for charity. Their tag line is “We Run for Those Who Can’t!” and their first race is for the benefit of that ALS family." As far as I know, this is the first Jewish running club created just to raise money for others. It is the perfect example of taking your passion to a higher level and performing an act of gemilut hasadim (acts of kindness). Plus the race they have set up looks like something I would love to try some time.

I am planning to run for a charity again in the future. Until then, I am going to support my friends and family who run to help repair our world. If you are a runner, I hope you will choose to run for a higher purpose. If you aren't a runner, take the time to support those runners who are running for a cause that is dear to your heart. We as runners should continue to work together to improve society through our running for those causes that move us.

Here are my training totals:

July 4 – 11.00 miles (1:39:41, 8:45 pace)
July 5 – 6.20 miles (53:33, 8:38 pace)
July 6 – 3.50 miles (29:50, 8:31 pace) – Speed work, Mile repeats
July 8 – 6.10 miles (48:55, 8:01 pace) – Tempo Run
July 9 – 6.20 miles (54:54, 8:51 pace)
July 10 – 10.20 miles (1:33:03, 9:07 pace)

Total Miles: 43.20 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 884.50 miles

A Brief Political Diatribe

I know that those of you who follow my blog come to it to read about running. But, sometimes there are more important things on my mind than running. Truth be told these are just the sort of things that run through my mind while I am out on my long runs. If you don't want to read on, feel free to skip this post and return to the blog later where you will again find information on running. But, I just cannot keep silent any longer with regard to the BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Chalk it up to my son's attending Tulane in the fall or my hippie sensibilities coming to the surface. I just feel strongly that our government has not done enough to find ways to fix the problem and to punish a company who clearly has show disregard for the environment in the past.

Let me share with you some of the side stories that have not come to the surface with regard to our government and their response to the crisis. Have any of you heard about the Jones Act of 1920? The Jones Act is a maritime law that was created to promote U.S. shipping interests. The law prevents foreign crews and foreign ships from transporting goods between U.S. ports. Unfortunately, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander for the oil spill cannot seem to get the waivers of this act needed to allow foreign skimmers to come into the gulf to help clean up the spill. The law as it is currently being interpreted in the Deepwater Horizon case considers the "ports" to be where the oil is collected offshore. This is severely hampering the foreign skimmers from coming into the gulf even though they are ready willing and able to do just that. It is not uncommon for this act to be suspended in the case of a natural disaster. In fact, President Bush suspended the act after Hurricane Katrina to allow international support to help with the rebuilding efforts.

The Jones Act isn't the only problem. We can't even get enough of our own domestic skimmers to the gulf due to the The Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This act requires regions to have minimum levels of equipment such as booms and skimmers, making it difficult for every oil-fighting resource to be directed to the Gulf of Mexico. It seems to me that our administration is not pulling out all the stops to get the right equipment to the gulf to start the clean up process while BP is still figuring out how to stop the gusher. As of last week, no Jones Act waivers had been granted. The administration also has not chosen to override the Oil Pollution Act. Based on these facts, it is my opinion that our government has created too many administrative hurdles and barriers that are allowing the crisis to deepen further and allow people's livelihoods, fish, birds, animals and entire ecosystems to be destroyed.

I would think that this administration would do everything in its power to try and prevent this crisis from becoming Obama's "Katrina". While I disagree with most of the right wing pundits who say that our government's response was slow, I do think that they are not doing enough to force BP to find a way to stop this leak. Remember that BP is the same company who in 2005 suffered a major explosion in its Texas City refinery killing 15 and injuring 170. They were fined $87 million for their negligence. BP is also the same company who in 2006 was fined $20 million for a leak of approximately 4,800 barrels of oil into Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, due to a corroded stretch of pipeline. BP knew about the corroded pipe four years earlier but did nothing about it. It is obvious that BP has a total disregard for the environment and the safety of its associates. Apparently, the fines were not large enough to force BP to change its methods of operation.

Currently, the Obama administration and congress are debating whether or not to take away BP’s control of its U.S. oil and natural gas wells and bar them from doing business with the federal government as punishment for the oil spill. In my opinion there is nothing to debate. BP has been convicted 3 times since 2000 of environmental violations. Now they are responsible for what will be known as the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history. Yet as of today, I can still find nothing that states what the Administration and Congress are going to do. I suspect that we will continue to see Congressional hearings where a lot of blow hard politicians pontificate in front of the cameras to make us believe they are actually doing something. In the end, they will probably not punish BP in the way they should be punished. As of this date, 96,302 claims have been opened against BP, from which more than $148.7 million have been disbursed. It seems a small drop in the bucket compared with the clean-up estimates rising to $3 billion and BP doesn’t seem to be stepping up to foot the bill.

Sadly, the effects of this spill will be felt for decades. Tar balls and oil slicks are now showing up in Lake Pontchitrain as Hurricane Alex pushes the Deepwater Horizon's oil into its waters. Families in the Gulf Region cannot enjoy their normal summer activities. There is no avoiding the fact that as the oil continues to leak we will see entire ecosystems destroyed in the region. I have seen many reports on the loss of wildlife. One of the more credible sources stated that approximately 30 mammals and 600 to 1,200 birds have been killed as a result of the spill with dolphins and pelicans being hit hardest. It has been more than 70 days since the rig burned and the crisis began and we are no closer to a solution.

I encourage all of you who read this blog to write your congressman, senator or our President and tell them how you feel about this crisis. Look at what our “leaders” are doing. They are putting forth bills to crack down on oil drilling equipment and the granting of subpoena powers to disaster investigators. Wow! Now that is important. It is akin to closing the barn door after all the animals have escaped. Obama, instead of trying to solve the problem and help the region, saw the crises as a chance to gain support for his energy bill and pushed, in a speech, for passage of the Cap and Trade (tax) bill. Again, is this what needed to be done? We need real leaders to step up and make those who were responsible for this disaster accountable for their actions and punish them accordingly. It won’t bring back the region any faster. But, it may make other corporations pay a little more attention to their associate’s safety and our environment.

Here are my training totals:
July 1 – 4.20 miles (39:33, 9:25 pace)
July 2 – 4.10 miles (36:42, 8:57 pace
July 3 – 9.30 miles (1:21:27, 8:45 pace)

Total Miles: 17.60 miles
2010 YTD Miles: 841.30 miles