Sock burning

I missed the annual sock burning at the Spring Equinox, which is celebrated annually at the nearby Republic of Eastport, a breakaway republic which formerly was part of Annapolis in the United States. It happens every year, but for some reason this year the event seems to have gotten onto the wire services as their "Wacky News Item of the Day".

I've never done so well without socks, since I have sweaty nasty feet. And I need really good arch supports, so the traditional old Docksiders with bare feet are out of the question for me, even for sailing. If I run anything more than ten miles, I have to be extraordinarily careful about lubricating my feet (baby oil gel) and watching my electrolyte replenishment carefully (to avoid soft tissue swelling) and wearing exclusively thin Coolmax socks and wearing underneath them ultra-thin liner socks (aka white nylon knee-highs from Walmart, rolled down), or I'm a Blister Queen.

Doing the toe lubrication and sock thing seems to take an endless amount of time in transition during triathlons, but I think of it as a time investment in avoiding blisters that will save me time late on the course and help maintain my training over the long term. I wish that I were one of those tough-skinned people who was able to cycle and run sans socks, but alas, I am not.

In fact, some tales of the effects of running in wet shoes remind me that the consequences of acute blister pain in your feet is never good. I need to add "dry socks in a ziplock" to my list of items for my transition and special needs bags. When you need them, you need them.

But I do have plenty of old mismatched socks that definitely should be burned. . . .