SOCKS,SOCKS, and more SOCKS

It has gotten hot here in Ohio, and all of a sudden too I might add. So I have had no real adjustment period for my body to acclimate itself to the change. One thing I hadn't counted on needing to adjust to was the fact that my feet were like they were on fire.  I hadn't noticed this phenomenon last year, but I have been forced to run at different times than I normally would so the issue has presented itself.  Not only that, my feet are getting so hot that it is becoming a distraction during my runs.  Something that I definitely don't need as I train for my marathon this fall and various other smaller races throughout the summer.

This being noted, and knowing that it is only going to get hotter I came to the conclusion that I needed to get to the bottom of this before it ruins my whole summer of running.  The first cause of my hot foot issue I thought was that I have been running in a more minimal style of shoe and that my foot was absorbing more of the road heat.  There is nothing I can do about absorption of road heat so on to the next part of this equation. My socks: Were they the main cause?  Did they contribute to the problem?  Was there a better sock out there. I had to find out, and I needed to find out fast.

After a stopping by a few other blogs that I follow I came to the conclusion that there were better socks out there, and they could help me with my problem. I have been using regular cotton style socks which were supposed to be for running. They worked fine throughout the cool months, but were now becoming an issue.  They state that they wick moisture to keep your feet cool and dry during activity.  This is true to an extent, but the sheer volume of material just adds to problem. While they provide plenty of cushion and support for my foot, they also add  insulating heat retention.  Besides they were causing my foot to be cramped in my Brooks Green Silence.

Of the plethora of sock company and styles out there I settled on three to start with. They were the  Injinji - The original performance Toesock, Drymax - Hyper thin running sock, and WrightSock - Running II. All of the socks models I purchased were thinner than my normal socks, with some form of moisture wicking builtinto the fabric.  Each offer something different as far as features are concerned; two are dual layer socks, one has individual toe sleeves (think gloves for your feet), and breathable vents to maintain cooler foot temperatures (yea!).  I am not sure which of these feature will make a difference, but I sure am gonna have fun trying to figure it out.