This post is rated Sprinters, Olympians and Ironman.

Are you scratching your head? Well, are you somewhat curious on why I titled this post “Feet?”

We are talking exercise and have been now for a good while. I want to emphasize the importance of your feet. Without your feet, you would not be where you at this very moment, LITERALLY!

When it comes to your feet, you cannot afford to fret! I would argue that your feet are the most important part of your continued success as an athlete. So now that we are on the same page with regard to the importance of  your feet, its time to get into the main content of this post.

First, make sure you have the right socks or NOT…Did you know that it is not necessary to wear socks when running for 30 minutes or less? Maybe that’s my theory, but I’m telling you it will save you at least 15 seconds in a triathlon race! Ok all kidding aside, socks are the only thing separating your precious feet from your shoes. We’ll address shoes in a later post, but for now let’s stick to socks.

Forget the cotton…cotton keeps your feet hot in the warm weather and cold in the cool weather. Compression is a great idea, particularly for longer runs. Ankle cut socks are good for shorter runs and quarter length are great for cycling.

Socks are often overlooked or underemphasized when it comes to endurance training. I am here to tell you that after 8 years as a endurance athlete, I have lost my fair share of toenails and have had more blisters than I want to tell you about.

Please take the time to carefully select your socks, even if you have been running for years. I do not want you to learn this lesson the hard way, as I did….see below (OUCH!)

YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE MY FOOT! CONSEQUENCE OF POOR FOOT CARE.