Sara Wittmeyer’s Blog

Suffering through an injury, even if it’s not severe enough to sideline you can be extremely frustrating because you know its preventing you from running at your full potential. My latest thing is blisters. My big toes have blisters on the sides that rub against my shoes. My other toes have blisters on the tips and in between.

I’ve tried Vaseline, blister patches, band-aids, double socks, new shoes, larger shoes, and finally, I think I’ve realized the problem. A couple weeks ago, the blisters were causing me so much grief that I went to the shoe store in town and asked for advice. The folks at Tryathletics are very knowledgeable and seemed to think a larger shoe would fix my problem.

I did a 12 mile run that day and the blisters were worse than ever. The run however, gave a me a lot of time to think about the problem and what could be causing it. All of the sudden it was obvious – I’ve been wearing gym shoes with inserts and a carbon plate since breaking my foot. All of this extra stuff in my shoe is not allowing enough room for my foot. It’s tight in every area except in the front basket. This is allowing my toes to move around creating friction and blisters.

The thing is, I think it’s ultimately just something I’m going to deal with… at least until the marathon is over. After the marathon, I plan to visit my doctor and discuss options – including removing the pin.

In the meantime, I‘m going to soak my feet, do a couple home surgeries, and pray I don‘t lose anymore toenails. I have a feeling one of my goals this summer will be how to hide my unsightly feet from critical eyes and those with weak stomachs.

In one month, I will be celebrating after completing my first marathon. I have envisioned this moment hundreds of times while training. Nothing gets you through the last few miles of a long run, like visualizing yourself coming down the homestretch and lunging across the finish line. I imagine myself smiling with a sense of satisfaction. 

Schedule of each day’s mileage

Mentally I began preparing for the race at the beginning of March 2009. After receiving my foot diagnosis, I remember crying to my doctor and explaining that I was a runner. Fixing my foot so I could walk again was not enough. I needed to run. After hearing my case, Dr. T asked, “You do marathons?” I had to say no because although I had trained for them something had always gotten in the way of my actually following through to the finish line. Faced with the reality that maybe my time had passed, I pledged if the surgery was successful (the surgery success rate is about 95%), I would tackle the 26.2 monster that had always alluded me. 

Fast forward to September. It was time to pick a marathon and time to start training. Two factors determined my course selection: it had to be prior to Feb 9 (the anniversary of the day I broke my foot) and it needed to be near a beach. Miami was the perfect fit. 

I adopted Hal Higdon’s plan, which now dictates my life. I made a large board with each days miles so I would be held accountable. I call the board Valerie because of the magazine cut out of Valerie Bertinelli prominently placed at the end of week 6. (pictured)