A Minor Setback

[Veronica]

At least I hope it's minor.

It looks like I did not lace my shoes tight enough for the run on Sunday and I have owies on both of my second toes. The left one looks like a blood blister and doesn't hurt at all. The right one looks like a bruise under my toe nail and hurts.

I had planned on doing a 12 mile run today. That's not going to happen. On the bright side I get to do a long bike ride instead.

V.

[Urlea]

Bummer about the sores on your feet. I hope they heal quickly!

You're doing the right thing by taking it easy though as hard as that may be.

Enjoy your "rest" day.

[kelownagirl]

Oh too bad - hope they disappear soon. Did you wear socks?

[Veronica]

Yep, I wore socks. I can't imagine not wearing socks. I know people do...

V.

[teigyr]

Ouch!

Your shoes are new, right? (I remember something about replacing shoes that were four years old or so) Are they sized up? I started getting drama with my second toes and it turns out my shoes needed to be larger. It took a while for the toe thing to manifest itself too.

Awesome finish on your tri I'm drinking a Red Bull as I type this....

really, I am

[Veronica]

Yeah, they are kind of new, but I did a nine mile run in them two weeks ago, with no problems.

I did get resized when I bought them too since I swear my feet are growing as I get older.

Right now, it's pain I can tolerate. But I don't want it to get worse before the HIM. I did have a nice bike ride. I didn't get to do the route I wanted because of road construction, but it was still nice. I've missed riding my bike.

V.

[maillotpois]

Lots of runners lose toenails in training and events. You might want to look on the Runners World forum for info on this (perhaps there is also mention here - maybe look for "black toe" or something.)

My marathoner friends were always losing toenails. (It was kind of a sick badge of honor). When I did the last marathon I lost both big ones as well, but I chalked that up to being on coumadin at the time.

[kelownagirl]

Yep, I wore socks. I can't imagine not wearing socks. I know people do...

V.

My practically-pro triathlete friend is trying convince me not to wear socks. I tried biking without today and that was fine, but I'm not sure about running.

[emily_in_nc]

I got black toenail of my left big toe and partially of the right from a single run in too-short shoes two summers ago. Took nearly a year for the toenails to grow out completely and be normal again, though they never fell off completely. It was painful at first, then stopped being painful and just looked like hell. I now buy running/walking/hiking shoes 1/2 size larger than my "street" shoe size and have not had a recurrence.

Fortunately the second toe toenail will grow out a lot faster than the big toenail does! You just might need a half-size larger shoe, tho, V. None of your toes should touch in front when you are pointed downhill. Are your second toes longer than your big toe, by chance?

Emily

[tygab]

yeah, I had the toenail issue with my 2nd toes on each foot, when prepping for my half marathon. posted here, was told to get bigger shoes by the smart people here, so I did when I was at home in IL visiting my parents where I think the best *running* store I know of exists (they ship too). Got new shoes, put in my sole inserts and all my running pains are gone (well, minus the normal ones!!).

Sadly though my 2nd toenails are still nasty. This is currently obscured by electric blue polish.

[Bron]

I've heard of putting vaseline on your toes to stop chafing; has anyone actually tried this.

My toenails are also painted to cover the fact that they look so horrible (left foot red, right foot green) - the insole on my cross-country ski boot is to blame. I expect it to have grown out just in time to start the next race season and wreck the toenail again.

[HillSlugger]

My toenails are also painted to cover the fact that they look so horrible (left foot red, right foot green)

Is that so you can remember which is which?

[beccaB]

I lost a toenail when I was running. Just kept getting looser till there wasn't one. Didn't hurt either. Weird.

[colby]

At least I hope it's minor.

It looks like I did not lace my shoes tight enough for the run on Sunday and I have owies on both of my second toes. The left one looks like a blood blister and doesn't hurt at all. The right one looks like a bruise under my toe nail and hurts.

I had planned on doing a 12 mile run today. That's not going to happen. On the bright side I get to do a long bike ride instead.

V.

I wasn't online much last week, but wanted to extend my belated sympathies... I had the dreaded blister/bruise under my toenail on my big toe after IM and it is officially toast now. Thankfully still attached. The good news, the pain did go away, almost 100%, only there sometimes (kind of like ingrown toenail pain, but less).

I've had the same thing happen to my second toes (which are longer than my first toes), too, a couple of times after marathons. I was actually surprised it was my big toe that I messed up this time, I expected to mess up the second toes. They grow in pretty quickly. Once that pain subsides, you'll be back in business.

Heck, you could be back in business by now... it's been 5 days already