Dang, it was hot

That was a long way to go in very hot weather. We should all feel very proud right now, even if we can't walk very far. I came home, showered, and went to lunch but found myself thinking I wanted to park as close to the entrance as possible because the fewer steps, the better. My feet are fine now, but during the run the bottoms of them got really tender and painful again. I think Mark is right, with this heat and humidity, there's no sock on Earth that will wick moisture that long. Other than that, all I had was tired legs. I'm sure that comes from not training like I need to. Hopefully that will stick with me on Monday so I'll run instead of wimping out again. I'd love to do a little recovery ride on the bike tomorrow, but we'll see. It will be a stationary one if it happens. That's for sure. I would like to just stay inside for the next week after today, but I know that thought is just a reaction to today.

I'm glad that one's over, just two more long Mississippi summer runs to go -- we can do this. We are marathoners!!

Three possible, really valid titles to this blog:

They are: (1) OMG; (2) How badly do you really want it? and (3) The meaning of friendship. My toe is markedly better, thanks to my running buddy Jill. I researched on the internet yesterday, and many valid sites (Jeff Galloway included) gave specific instructions on how to relieve the pressure with my toenail. I knew I wouldn't have the whatever to do it myself, so I took my paperclip to Jill's house yesterday afternoon. I didn't even have a drink first. The really hot paperclip thing worked. It worked great. One tip is that you really have to get it in the right spot. And we finally did. It didn't hurt at all, until she found the right spot. And then, only until the pressure drained out, it hurt really bad. After that, no pain. I've had very little pain at all since then, am already walking normally (was immediately, really), and am excited about life again. Now that's a good friend that will poke a hole in your toenail for you. She's my hero.

I'm going to find some of those toe cap things Suz mentioned, so hopefully I'll be ready to roll on Saturday. I cannot tell you what relief I felt when this worked -- not just because the pain left almost immediately, but my whole outlook on life, which seems to ebb and flow with running, just jumped up to the roof. I may not even lose my toenail since it's only on one side, but I don't even care. I'm just so excited to be pain free. I never thought I'd say I was excited to be back to feeling what little pain is left from my ankle injury. I lay in bed last night and said out loud: I am absolutely pain free, everywhere. That was nice.

The toe saga continues

I was able to run just over 3 miles this morning, and could have done more but didn't want to overdo it, not knowing how the toe would do. I could feel it, and it probably altered my gait somewhat, but I was not limping along. I have many friends now that are volunteering to supervise poking a hole in the nail to relieve the pressure, and I'd love to hear comments from you about whether this is smart or insane. All I know is, I have to finish my exam first because I'm going to need a drink or two to actually do it. The whole thought makes me cringe. Also, have any of you run with toe caps? The Fleet Feet girls mentioned those, but didn't have any in stock.

I'm going to start tivoing Law and Orders or something I'll watch while on the stationary bike at home. I've reread an article about how strenuous biking (not easy riding) will significantly help your running, and while I'm low on running mileage right now, I'll see if that will help me. I'm sick of being gimpy. I don't know how much of the 18 miles I'll be able to do. The old me would actually trudge through it, possibly hurting myself worse or hurting other things. But now, I'm seeing the distant goal and am trying to balance the need to train now with the need to get there healthy. So maybe I'll feel great on Saturday. I won't run again until then, most likely, so hopefully the toe will feel better by then. Please let me know of your opinions or experiences with this, what you did, did the poking hole thing work, etc.

Great run Saturday, but my toe hurts

I had a great run Saturday for the 8 miles. I felt great all the way, my ankle hardly bothered me at all, and I was able to run most of it (I think I walked parts of 3 hills and the water stations). But since last Wednesday, I've noticed an increasing problem with my big toe. It has been very sore the past couple of days, and has a bruise under one side of the toenail. I am very worried about it, not for the possibility of losing a nail, but because it hurts. It affects my walking gait, and I'm afraid it will affect my running gait. I have been running for years (of course not this much mileage) and have never had a problem like this. I've been in the proper shoes for years, taking care of my feet, etc., so this is out of the blue. I went to Fleet Feet yesterday and they think it happened because I ran last Wednesday in socks much thinner than I usually wear, and I slid around in my shoes. I kayaked Sunday, didn't run on Monday (partly because of the toe and also because I woke up with a serious headache), and hope to get on a bike today and see if I can ride without lifting my toes to the top of my shoes. You'd be amazed at what you use your toes for that you never notice until one hurts.

This is very frustrating because I am just getting over the ankle thing, about ready to run without a brace at all, and now this dang toe. And there's really nothing to do to get it to stop hurting, other than not do things that make it hurt. Unfortunately, that limits my training, but I hope to supplement it with biking this week and hope to be able to do the 18 on Saturday. I am going to run tomorrow and see how it feels. I'm a bit apprehensive about the 18 right now, but am going to do everything I can to get them done and not hurt myself. I don't even care if I lose the nail (I'd rather not, of course), I just want it to stop hurting. It aches pretty much all the time, wakes me up during the night, etc. This toe is consuming my life, and I don't like it one bit. I'll get over it, but I just needed to whine for a minute. There, I'm finished.

In other news, I'm taking a final exam for a class this week, just one more step closer to being finished with this advanced degree program (what was I thinking?). Only 3 more classes after this, and I'll be finished in December. Just in time to gear up for another marathon season with fewer stressors. :-)