FIXING YOUR FEET E-zine
Volume 7, Issue 4, April 2007
John Vonhof, Footwork Publications
Copyright, April 2007, All rights reserved
THIS ISSUE IN SUMMARY
This issue has an editorial on the importance of getting your feet in
shape for summer – in one month, a foot care tip about blisters, and a
bad feet blister photo.
PURPOSE
The Fixing Your Feet E-zine is published monthly to inform and educate
athletes and non-athletes about proper foot care skills and techniques,
provide tips on foot care, review foot care products, and highlight
problems people have with their feet.
EDITORIAL: ONE MONTH TO GREAT FEET
Summer will be here shortly and with it comes opportunities to get outdoors, into the hills or onto the roads to explore. Whether walking, running, hiking, fastpacking, adventure racing, or doing a triathlon, we often spend spring getting in shape. If you are making an effort to get in shape for summer, I commend you and wish you success. Let me offer you another area to focus on.
We often workout at a gym, walk or run ever increasing miles, eat healthier – in short, do whatever it 
takes to get in shape for our sport. I encourage you to take a month, 30 days, and focus on your feet too.
Here is my suggested regiment for improving your foot health in 30 days. It is only qo steps. They are very simple and inexpensive. Some of these you will do daily, others once or twice.
1. Use a moisturizer to reduce calluses.
2. Use a callus file or pumice stone to smooth your harden skin and calluses.
3. Learn how to correctly trim and file your toenails.
4. Learn how to give yourself a foot massage.
5. Strengthen your ankles by focusing on balance and proprioception.
6. Strengthen your feet and toes with stretching and exercises.
7. Check your toenails for toenail fungus, and if you suspect you have it, see a specialist.
8. Check your insoles and replace them if they are flattened and worn.
9. Check your shoes for wear and replace them is they no longer provide support.
10. Make sure your shoes are the best ones for your feet, and they fit perfectly.
I welcome your opinion on this article. Send me an email.
FIXING YOUR FEET, 4th EDITION
The 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet can be ordered through my FixingYourFeet.com web site, ZombieRunner.com, or Amazon.com. Completely updated, it has three new chapters and lots of new sections. The new retail price is $18.95 but these days no one pays full price! So, whichever of the two sites below you choose, the price is comparable.
WRITE AN AMAZON REVIEW FOR A FREE COPY OF HAPPY FEET
Those of you with the 4th edition can get a free copy of my booklet, Happy Feet: Foot Care Advice for Walkers and Travelers. Click on Amazon or Barnes & Noble to go to the book’s page—and write a review of the 4th edition. Then send me an email telling me which site the review is on and your snail mail address. I will mail you a free copy of this 36-page booklet. Use it yourself, or give it to someone else. The booklet is described below and has a $5.00 value. Sorry, but because of postage, this offer is good only in the U.S and Canada.
SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER
This newsletter has passed the 2000 subscriber mark. Please take a moment and forward this issue to a friend or two and encourage them to subscribe.
FOOT CARE TIP
Ronald L. Berglund, a newsletter reader from Texas emailed me to point out that Meb Keflezighi, the Olympic silver medalist in Athens, dropped out of the London Marathon on Sunday at mile 10 with a blister. This is not earth shattering news except; it makes me wonder what he did wrong or what he changed. Med is an Olympic medalist and yet on this day, he was just another runner forced out of an event he had trained for – with a blister.
Several years ago I was on a hiking trip up in Mammoth Lakes in the California Sierras and saw Med running with a few other guys. You could tell he was setting the pace, and it was fast. I recall the elevation was near 7000 and 8000 feet.
The tip here is to always be aware of what you put on or around your feet. Maybe Meb chose not to wear socks, and a blister formed on his heel. A bad heel blister can be a game stopper. Maybe he wore different socks or even a different pair of shoes.
Something caused a blister to form and grow to the point where Meb made the choice to quit. I’d bet money that he knew it would only get worse and possibly affect a future race. I’d also bet he knew he could not place in the money, and that fueled his decision to DNF.
Each of us, whatever our status as an athlete, may come to the same decision point where something goes wrong and we need to drop out. In the meantime, learn all you can about the right footwear (socks and shoes), the right lubricant or powder, and the right fit. That is key to not quitting because of your feet.
BAD FEET PHOTOS
This month I want to share a photo of a simple heel blister. I believe this photo came from one of the aid stations I worked at the Western States Endurance Run. It shows the blister’s roof, the top layer of skin, 
torn off and shredded. The opens the raw skin underneath to all the rubbing and pressure of the sock and the shoe. Every movement of the foot in the shoe can be painful. This might have been avoided with care. An Engo Performance Patch in the heel counter or a strip of tape around the heel could have prevented the blister from forming in the first place. But, blisters start as hot spots and don’t grow this size in a minute. Once a hot spot was felt, a patch should have been applied, a dab of lubricant rubbed on, or the sock straightened out – in other words, take away the problem. As you can tell, I like to look at blisters and theorize about how they formed, what could have prevented them, and how to patch them.
Previous photos and their stories can be found in past issues of this newsletter (since July 2005). For photos before then, check here.
Just think; your feet could be featured in this e-zine for everyone to see! Submit your photo or short story by email or snail mail. Stories should be no longer than 250 words. Send them to me by email.
MY HAPPY FEET BLOG FEATURED
If you like to stay informed about foot care issues and information – on a more regular basis than this monthly newsletter, check out my blog, Happy Feet: Expert Foot Care Advice for People Who Love Their Feet. This is different from this ezine. The Happy Feet blog will have a new short topic every other day.
READER FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS
Reader feedback to this E-zine and its articles is welcome and encouraged. Please email any foot care ideas or tips that you have tried and would like to share with others, or ideas for an article for the e-zine.
HAPPY FEET BOOKLET
My booklet, Happy Feet! Foot Care Advice for Walkers and Travelers is in stock and ready for the walkers in your life. This booklet is 3.75 x 8.5 and 36 pages in length. In an easy read format, it gives advice on biomechanics and gait, buying footwear, fit, lacing, insole and toenail tips, skin care, powders and lubricants, blister care, sprains, foot care kits, and more. It’s still on sale at 20% off for $4.00. Click here to read more.
GOT A STORY TO SHARE?
I am always on the look out for stories to share about their adventures with some type of connection to feet. If you have something to share, please send me an email.
PRIVACY INFORMATION
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ARCHIVED BACK ISSUES
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CONTACT INFORMATION
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