Friday, April 06, 2007

I decided to pass on the run Wednesday morning - the pressure of the blankets against my toe hurt all night - I took that as an indication that it wasn't ready to run on. I patiently waited till yesterday morning instead. I went out with Rick and Barb for 4.5 miles, wearing my new smartwool socks - medium cushion. They felt great! My Garmin worked fine (this is important later in the story). I went back out last night, at the track, in about 70 degree weather. I ran about 3.5 miles with Jenny. This time my toe hurt - I was wearing the other pair of smartwool socks - ultralight cushioning. After I pulled my sock off and looked, I found a big crack across the new skin. No wonder it hurt! I'm trying eight tomorrow in the medium cushion again. In the picture from the previous post, only part of the blister is exposed - it went up the inside of my toe and over the top of the toe too. All of that skin is now gone, exposing shiny new skin. I didn't intentionally remove the skin - when a blister is that big, and filled with enough fluid so it is extended a half inch, the skin is very stretched out and doesn't re-adhere very well. It was moving around and coming loose with the band-aid, so I gave up and took it off after a couple of days. I'm sure it'll be fine soon.

I have tried the Blistershield powder. I screwed it up though. I put Aquaphor over the exposed toe beds, then stuck my foot into the powder filled sock. I ended up with powder-caked toes. I will try it again without the Aquaphor. Don't ask me why I did that, because I have no real idea - other than that I always put Aquaphor on my toes. Which is silly, since it obviously is not preventing blisters anyway!

On another note, I'm feeling a little frustrated this morning with my Garmin. I turned it on in the car last night (which I have done before without a problem). Last night it was a mistake. Apparently, it got very confused and even though I turned if off and back on, could not find the signal. Eric and Steve both had a signal on theirs, so it was just mine. Then it asked me if I was 100s of miles from my last run - no. I was three miles from my last run. It asked me to confirm the date - and I inadvertently indicated that the date was wrong. Whoops. I finally gave up and turned it off. Of course, when I was done running and turned it back on it worked. Even so, this is not the frustrating part, this is just the back story.

I plugged it into the computer when I got home - Riley was using the computer and was signed on as the user. I went off to bed, and when Riley went to bed he shut the computer off, as usual. No biggie. I'm sure the Garmin Training Center was up and the "okay" message about receiving runs was displaying. This morning I turned the computer on, and as usual, the GTC popped up. This time I got an error message - it said my user profile did not match, and what did I want to do? Here is my second mistake - I said, use the one in the watch. It promptly reloaded the entire history. That seemed okay, till I looked back - it wrote over the top of all the old runs, causing me to lose all my notes - about routes, who I ran with, weather and heart rates. That was bad enough, but it also lost all graphs and maps for all but the last couple of weeks. I am really bummed. I've emailed Garmin asking if there is any recovery. I have no idea why the profile changed (I looked at the watch - it had reverted to the standard). Take this as a warning - if you get that error message, check out the watch settings before you choose! So yep, I'm frustrated. It's not the end of the world, but I really liked having my graphs and maps from some of the big runs - Orcas, Capital Peak and Pigtails. Bummer.

On a happier note, the preschool is on spring break, so my only work today is to go to a meeting this afternoon. That is a nice start to the Easter weekend. Eric and I will be visiting his Dad and my parents this weekend - I think without either of the boys with us. I guess we've moved into that stage of life where we will be childless on some of the holidays. Remember when your kids were little and you would arrive at the Grandparents - and it was like you didn't even exist - the eyes zoomed right past you and focused on the little ones? You felt the breeze as Grandma rushed past you to dispense hugs and kisses to your children, and you would hesitantly remind your parents that you were there too...because you got the feeling that you only existed to transport their grandchildren into their presence? (Of course, many of you are a bit younger than me and may still be experiencing this. And then, many of you are older and may be guilty of actually doing it yourself!) It'll be interesting to see what happens when we walk in the door, no children in tow...will they look past us? Will they be confused? Or will they be happy that we came anyway? We'll find out...

MM#402, signing off from the sunny Pacific Northwest, where the boys have grown to young men and the parents now travel alone.

18 comments:

D said...

Oh goodness, I certainly can relate (as a grandparent) now. I have to remind myself not to neglect my daughter because the first thought, the first reaction, the first anything tends to be my little prince (G-son). Take care of those feet - and Happy Easter.

Wes said...

I believe that the Garmin saves your data in a profile specific file. So, if you are on a new profile, the old one SHOULD still be on your PC. I'll do a little research for you and let you know for sure, but I may be blowing smoke.... figuratively speaking of course ;-)

Wes said...

Michelle, look in this folder on your PC to see if you have any profile directories there. Feel free to contact me directly if you need any help:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Garmin\Training Centre\

Tony C said...

michelle, I also had a few blisters from this past weekend. Not as bad as yours however. I did have a big blister but the skin did not peel away - it's still hanging on. I don't get rid of the skin until it starts to peel away on its own. If it gets bad like yours, there is some tape you can get from a feed store. They use it on horses for shin splints I think. Anyway, it is light weight, stretchy and sticks well. once you put on some ointment, wrap your toe with this and then you will be able to run fairly pain free. I used it in the middle of a 24 hour run after getting a painful blister right smack in the middle of running 112 miles. After applying the tape, didn't feel it for the next 56 miles.

Some ultra runners have mastered the art of using duct tape which is supposed to be the best thing you can use (really - it's not just another one of those "man" things).

Also, I've purchased the John Vonhof book, "Fixing Your Feet." It's a great help and discusses both of these options as well as others for blisters. There's much more in the book too of course. You can subscribe to his E-zine as well or just look at it online at http://tinyurl.com/22487t

Also,

Blister article:
http://tinyurl.com/yvvctc

Sorry, I can't help you with those electronic gizmos. My advice would be to throw it away and I don't think that's an option you'd care to consider ;-)

Have fun with the family this weekend. *tc

maniac hippo said...

There was never a question that you're a real ultrarunner, but if there was, the endless preoccupation with your feet would put it to rest.

Your comment about traveling alone sounds so wistful. I hate to tell you kiddo, but it's not true. You and Eric are developing a posse, you'll never be alone.

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter - enjoy your time off and hope the toe heals soon!

Janice said...

Sorry to hear about your Garmin woes. Oddly enough, my last run outdoors (Tuesday) was dated incorrectly by Garmin. It was giving me Sunday's date. I didn't want to take the time to figure out how to fix it, so I just left it as is. I'll see what date pops up tomorrow. As you can tell by my post, I'm not really aware of how to use Garmin well. With a long weekend, I may spend time getting to know it better.

On the whole grandparent thing, I know what it feels like to go unnoticed. My girls are age 6 & 8. The grandparents barely speak to me, but are keenly interested in my girls. I actually think my parents like my husband better than me:) And he is a great guy! They're coming to dinner tomorrow. We'll see how much conversation we have that's NOT about my girls.

Sarah said...

Sorry about your Garmin info! I don't upload my stats so I haven't had that problem. But it has definitely gotten wonky on me. If it keeps acting up, be sure to contact their cust. service before the warranty is up. My first one died, but fortunately it was still under warranty. They sent a brand new one (complete will all the accessories) and this one has been working great for a few years now. (knock wood) : )

Unknown said...

I agree with TC about the Garmin. Toss it in the garbage where those things belong. Of course, I kind of like it when I am running with people with Garmins and I can ask them like a little kid how far we have gone and how fast we have been traveling. Are we there yet?

Taunya said...

I hope you can recover your personal run information. I wouldn't think they would overwrite the file. I'm having problems with my garmin too (it's like I live in the bermuda triangle--it does not get it right.

Maybe I will do my 7 on Sunday without it....but then I love the thing.

Chad said...

Good luck with the Garmin - I think Wes is right - hopefully your old data is not lost - just under a different profile. I like the Garmin but there are things about it that make want to see how hard I could throw it against the wall.

Sounds like you are really getting the mileage in, despite the blister - keep after it - hopefully the foot pain will soon be behind you!

Anonymous said...

I fear the image of that toe is going to give me nightmares. Ouch!

I've been thinking a Garmin would simplify my running but I guess that's not always so. Guess I'll stick with my trusty running watch for a while longer.

Congratulations on the second star.

Joe said...

Fun post, Michelle. The whole grandparent thing is very real. You'll get used to the new roles...help your folks along with it! I have both a teenager at home AND three grandkids that visit AND my wife's folks still in town...so we handle all variations of the whole dance!!

Glad the new socks seem to help...I'm sure you are anxious to find a solution then stick with it.

My solution to the Garmin?? I write the essential stats on my running log and don't count on the Garmin to remember stuff.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Darrell said...

I just had a conversation with my wife after complaining about trying to keep track of my miles on todays run. She was close to getting me one, now I wonder if I really want/need one after all.

We are right there with you on the grandkid thing. It seems like the parents are happy to finally see us, their kids, again now that the gkids are getting older. The gkids and the gparents have developed relationships that don't require us a the middle men any longer. That part is rewarding to see. Enjoy the family time, no matter the combination. I'm sure you will.

Anne said...

I've never tried Aquaphor on my toes to prevent blisters. I wrap my toes in medical tape.

We're going to have that childess visit to the grandparents this fall. Do let us know how it goes.

Anonymous said...

Since we don't have kids, we are virtually ignored by the in-laws. Since the grandchildren arrived (about 5 years ago), they have only come to our house once. (Seriously!) :) So, I hope you get a little appreciation when you arrive. ;)

The Aquaphor-Blistershield combination sounds like a nightmare. I'm curious to hear how it works out alone. Good luck with your healing.

susie said...

I can totally relate and looking foward to my own g-children one day. Take care of those feet!

Dori said...

I read in HerSports about the "Fixing Your Feet" book, and was going to tell you about it, but GotLegs beat me to it. It includes "175 ways to prevent blisters." I love my SmartWool socks and usually don't run in anything else. They can get a little thick, but in the summer I run in the light ones. I never get blisters, but can't swear it's because of the socks.

So sorry about your Garmin data. I can imagine how you feel about losing your notes. As an old programmer, you of course know you should do back ups. :-) Yeah, I don't do them either. There's a website of power users, which might help you.
http://garminf.com/ They also have a Yahoo group; the link is on the home page.