Large cracks on the foot are call fissures.

Many of you who have followed my posts have read some of my posts whining and complaining about my right foot. Well for the last two weeks I have not been able to run barefoot at all, let alone walk barefoot.

Extremely frustrating. Many of the comments that have been forward to me about this problem has been to pee on my feet. Still not ready to do that as it stinks up the shower. Yea I tried it once. However I did find that many dermatoligist have been prescribing 20 to 40% UREA in a lotion format. So I trek down to the local Wallgreens and find a bottle of  lotion that contains UREA.

The Result – in two days I am running.

In addition to this I am scrubbing my feet with an activated charcoal soap with a scrub brush after each barefoot excursion, and each night. I apply the lotion in the morning and in the evening.

Regards,

Michael Carroll

Looking better than they ever have - but still nursing some cracks. Super glued the crack and it held for a number of weeks but it split just a few days ago.

I pulled out a bucket of old shoes the other day and found my last pair of running shoes that I ran in. A pair of Solomon trail shoes. The first thing that I noticed was how beat they were. This morning as I stepped out of the shower applied some ASSOS chamois butter to my feet. Yes I know the last post I wrote about was USANA hand cream, and now I am using butt cream? Ok when you stop laughing, I have a point to make. I was pondering how I have treated my feet. Yes, I thought, quite close to those pair of Solomon running shoes. No wonder I have been fighting cracks and dry skin.

I continue to experiment with creams to use on my feet. Not really out of curiosity, but more out of the fact that I ran out of the USANA cream. So Rich Hurd my good friend and tri-freak was happy to lend me a container of butt butter. “Here try this he said” and I said Ok. “But if you don’t like it, bring it back” I heard him say as I ran off down the street. The main ingredient is Almond Oil. Cool I thought.

The cream took a bit of getting used to, as the feel is much different than the USANA cream. I am digging it and only have one reservation. That is the smell. It was the first thing my wife said to me when I came to bed after applying it for the first time. “I am not sure I like that stuff, it smells” she said, I said “yea I know.”

The other thing I was pondering was my trip to my friend Molly Simpson who has been my massage therapist. The last time I saw her I was training for my first attempt at running the St. George Marathon barefoot. As many of you know my first attempt ended in an injury that took quite a bit of time to heal. The good thing is that She set me up on a blind date with the former Michelle Cheney, who is now Michelle Carroll, YES! So I was wondering what she might have to say as I have not been to see her as a client for more than a year.

I asked her to let me know any differences that she could sense, or feel in my body, and in my feet since we last met. Also you should know that I was embarrassed when we used to meet each week because of how bad my right foot looked. My foot was looking good so no embarrassment. So here was here assessment. “Your body fat must be down to about 2% or so” she said. I immediately felt the sides of my belly. “Ok, but maybe not my mid section” I said laughing. Now this is what surprised me. “Your bones have shifted and moved, and are much bigger.” I thought she would have commented on the muscle structure, but she did not, just the bones. Cool I thought.

I went for a run the next day on a new trail that I had not seen before. I felt strong and fast. My confidence in my feet and legs and lungs and body continues to grow. In May an ultra 50K is going to be run in Camp Williams and I am contemplating running it as a birthday present. I will have just turned 42 years old.

Michael Carroll

My feet would hurt around the outside edges of the ball and heel. This would be especially true if I ran a rough surface course barefoot. This was also why the calluses were building up. The only thing that helped was my wash, and olive oil soak.

One of the other issues that has plagued me, especially as my mileage has increased, is raw inner thighs. I tried many different things and settled on a combination of olive oil and vaseline. Put on olive oil, and then vasiline, and take some in the hydro pack. So one day I ran out of both of these products. I was desperate, as I was going on a long run, and I knew the consequences of no leg lube. I was at my mothers house and was asking if she had any resources that I could use. She did not. However she said “would some hand cream work?” I said “don’t know, but I will give it a try.” She gave me a half used tube of “USANA Sense Splash! hand cream.

As you might expect the tube was quite convenient, it worked, although it would wear off, and I carried with me to re-apply about every 6 miles or so. The cream at seemed to be a bit sticky as I first put it on and my thighs rubbed together, but as I would run it would prevent my raw inner thighs.

So back to the feet. I was neglecting my feet and they were getting bad, so much so that it was a bit uncomfotable to walk. I pulled out the tube of hand therapy lotion and slathered it on my feet. By the way I am not one for lotions. Most lotions that I have tried on my hands make me want to crawl out of my skin within minutes of application. I do admit that I like to wash my hands after application of the lotion to my feet as it is still a bit unnatural feeling, but I do not want to crawl out of my skin even if I do not get to wash my hands.

Now here is the revelation. My feet have been getting nice and soft, and I am doing tough runs with much greater ease. The calluseses and constant cracks are gone, no pain arround the edges (even after a tough surface run), and I am not sanding my feet — don’t need to. YES!

So here is the formula:

• Wash after each run
• Apply USANA Sense Hand Cream
• Massage feet and work cream into edges of foot especially the zones that are prone to crack
• Apply cream at night if needed

That is it.

Happy Running

Michael Carroll