I may have broken by back carrying down that GINORMOUS load of laundry to be washed. Am I the only person who waits until there is an Everest of sweaty running clothes, stanky socks, and other clothing to do a load? I was almost going to take a picture because my leaning tower of filth was comical, how I had been strategically placing shorts and tanks just so to avoid an avalanche. But I didn’t because it is kinda gross and I didn’t want an undie or something to peek out.
When I was growing up I was spoiled and my mom would do all the laundry…I miss you Mommy-O. If I had my own washer/dryer in my apartment I would be much better, it’s just really that I’m lazy and don’t like to go down all the flights of stairs (all two of them…lol), plus I never seem to have an abundance of quarters.
So guys, when you DO get that clean laundry all nice and done do you 1) go straight for your favorite shorts and shirts right off the bat (you know, the running shorts that DON’T ride at all, the top that makes your arms look oh so good) or 2) save them until the end of your laundry cycle, sort of like saving dessert for the last bit of your meal? I tend to go the saving it until the end route. When I know I’m in my fav staples I know it’s almost time to break my back carrying down dirty clothes mountain.
Enough of this because it’s boring. Being that I’ve also got a nice blister taking over the greater part of my right big toe, no better time to bring this up. Blisters, we all get ’em, some more than others. I’m pretty lucky and don’t get heinous ones all too often, and a part of that is because I make sure to always wear a GOOD pair of socks when I’m running and working out. Also, I don’t usually wear the kind of shoes in regular day life that cause blisters (read: I’m not a ‘shoe girl’…probably more because I’m fashionably defunked and thus never look cute enough in a pair of shoes to merit a blister).
But for people that DO get tons of blisters, those suckers can at times be H-E-Double hockey stick. Couple tips there:
*Avoidance: Like most things preventative measures are best here…you want a pair of running or workout specific socks. Chugging out some miles in a pair of K-Mart 6-pack count on discount isn’t a smart move. Plunk down the change for the real deal; I’m a little biased, but really like the Nike line, the Nike Cushion Noshows or Dri-Fit Noshows. I’ve also had good experiences with the Balga Line, and I know Asics and plenty other shoe lines have their counterparts out there. Double layer socks are one suggestions if you are really prone to getting blisters easily, the two layers rub against each other so that friction isn’t between your feet and the socks. Try a few, test them out, find a pair that works best for you.
*Shoe Savvy. Some shoes are going to give you blisters more than others; flip-flops, strappy sandals, basically the better it looks the more apt it is to give your feet trouble. There are products that you can buy to strategically pad the areas on your feet where the shoe will rub. Moleskin may sound old school but it works, and there are TONS of other new ‘techier’ materials out there. There are also blister blocking gels and glides.
*Pop goes the weasel. Some people are vehemently against popping a blister, they say it’ll lead to infection…yada yada yada. They can let it fester if that’s their thang but to me it’s not worth suffering with a big@$$ blister. Pop the sucker right off the bat and drain it. It will usually fill right up again, keep on popping and draining. You can put a band-aid or something on it to apply pressure to help keep it from filling up again, but usually you have to re-pop a few times. Be smart and don’t pop it with a rusty nail…obviously.
*Callous time. If you listen to those no-pop people what can sometimes happen is a callous can form OVER you blister. Then you’re really in for the hurt. If you have a callous over your blister it makes it harder to pop and drain, plus at that point that sucker is getting pretty big. My advice is to take a needle and dig down to the blister and drain the fluid.
Blisters suck. There are also plenty of blister aide products, band-aids, soothing gels, etc. to apply once you’ve got them. So, hope some of this jabber has helped…as for me, I’m off to put the Everest pile in the dryer and I’ve got some more popping and draining to do. 🙂
1) Do you do laundry pretty often or when you’re down to your last pair of skivvies? Are you a ‘use the fav clothing right away’ or ‘saving it for later’ type of person?
2) Are you blister prone?
3) Blisters or a mad case of chaffing…you have to go with one or the other?
Hmmmm…probably the chaffing, but that first shower is a b****!!
Haha I wait until I'm down to my last pair! Then on laundry day I literally have NOTHING to wear! And definitely fave clothing straight away- I've never been a 'best till last person'! 😛
Yep I'm pretty blister prone, but they're not generally toooo bad! Except one time I got the the gym and realised I had forgotten my socks, and still went ahead with my speedwork run! I actually still have the blister scars from that and it was MONTHS ago! 😛
oh man, i made the mistake of running sockless before too!! blister purgatory…that's not a mistake i'd like to ever repeat again!
Ahahahaha I am the exact same when it comes to laundry! I literally have no clothes and have to do about 7-8 loads of laundry before everything is clean! I just tackled mine on Sunday and laughed at the fact that 90% were running clothes. I don't buy real people clothes anymore.
I'm with you on the Nike socks. I love them. But do you find that as you wash them the elastic starts to weaken and little mini elastic thingies start to break and poke out? That's the one thing that drives me nutso.
I get blisters once in a while. I used to get them all the time when I was wearing the wrong shoes. Shoes make a HUGE difference. I have really narrow feet so I was told I have to get narrow (AA) runners. Not many come in a narrow width so I usually have to stick to Asics. They hug my feet a lot better and prevent blisters most of the time.
Blisters and chafing both suck. Luckily I don't get chafing too often either. Don't make me choose between the two! I'm not going to lie though – I kinda like popping blisters! Gross, right?
HAHA….u're one of 'those' people who love popping things! lol…my mom is like that and this may be TMI but she likes popping zits too. lol. i hear u on the socks thing tho, it pains me to see the socks get all stretched out but before that time they are awesome!! and as for real people clothes, it's so funny cuz i honestly never buy them either and live in gymwear, i actually only threw in 'regular people clothes' on my post to carry on the facade that i do at some point wear them. but who am i kidding? 😉
haha. You are so funny. This is gross! But hilarious :). Ugh I would totally pop. Hate to admit it but it's true.
On the laundry, I don't wait, I just go to the good stuff :). But…it pretty much never gets put away…my room is a disaster area.
your laundry story is hilarious. I do the SAME thing. First…I hate doing laundry because I have to walk down the stairs and across the yard to get to the laundry room. Then my dog howls like a baby thinking I am never coming back so I can HEAR her while I putting my laundry in and cringe in embarrassment. The only thing that makes her happy is when I get back and dump the warm laundry on the floor she hides in it and does not come out for hours. And I am praising everything for the peace and quiet…haha! nevermind that my freshly clean clothes now have dog hairs in them. Oh and I DEFINITELY wait to wear my good stuff. So funny…never even thought about why I do that.
I get blisters all the time. In the same exact place. I am glad you said that about popping it. My dad was here for my marathon and would not let me pop it. Now it just looks gross and nasty and probably would have looked much better had I just popped it. But he is a nurse so I have to listen to him sometimes. 😉 I would go with blisters though. I was a pitcher through college for my softball team and always had to deal with blisters. I mostly do not notice them any more. sad…haha.
have a wonderful day!
p.s. 2 days in a row of the ab workout. I am loving it.
Sometimes I think we're the same person..lol. In college (when I had to do my own laundry), I definitely waited until I was out of clean clothes to do laundry. I'm pretty sure I wore some sports bras more than once before laundry time too. I'd have a pile of dirty clothes in my room and dreaded the day I'd have to haul them all down the stairs to the laundry room.
Now that I live with Dave, I am once again spoiled in the laundry department because he LIKES to do laundry! He does it every day. At first I felt bad for not helping with it, but he says it relaxes him. Crazy. I'm not complaining. If I did the laundry, he'd be disgusted I'm sure because we'd have a heap of dirty clothes before I touched it.
ya margs, sorry i am a grossy no two ways about it and sometimes i should just not share all the things that pop into my mind. 😛
julia…aww, ur poor little doggie is prolly afraid the dryer will eat you like a pair of socks! hehe…sometime no matter our age our parents can trump our decisions…don't argue with the man! 😉 SUPER happy to hear u're liking that ab routine! 🙂
txgirl, i'm gonna have to agree that u must be my twin separated at birth! how u wound up in texas tho is beyond me, u're just way more hardcore than i could ever be with the heat…hehe. so it sounds like i need to meet a cool guy who have an affection for laundry, that cranky hammy seems to be good for quite a few things…hehe. power to us lazy girls! 🙂
Pingback: What I’m Doing This Wednesday… | The Arty RunnerChick
Pingback: The Blister Atop My Runner Toe: Getting the RIGHT socks and shoes to spare your feet extra suffering (Injinji Giveaway) |