I'm making oven-roasted Lipton Onion Soup potatoes for dinner, with salmon, which is marinating in (real) sherry, soy sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar (out of ginger). I think I will cook it in foil on the grill. It's so hot out. Never made salmon before...

That chicken soup sure sounds good. My two soup specialties are Cream of Wild Rice and Bean with Tomatoes, Chiles and Ham.

Waiting for tech support from Cingular to call me to see why I can't call my home area code from my cell phone of a different area code, when I am in the home area code, and get a message saying it's a call to which long distance charges apply, please dial 1, but I can't do that either. I have a Nationwide plan- this just started for no reason two weeks ago...

I just learned today that correct electrolyte replacement will reduce/eliminate black toenails and blisters on a really long run.

My post to the ultra list earlier today:

I just read Karl King's article about the relationship between electrolyte status and foot problems.

I ran Croom 50k in April 2004 and subsequently lost both big toenails. (So no chance to lose them at Wickham Park 2004) Quarter-sized blisters on my big toes, and a row of smaller blisters at the base of other toes after both runs.

Wickham Park 2005, lost both big toenails. Same blistering as above.

Wickham Park 2006, one teeny blister, all nails intact!

Now, I've been taking Succeed S! Caps as long as I've been running, ( but you know how it goes- you miss a dose, or forget for a while, or skip one because you just ate or drank something...) but Wickham Park 2006 was the first time I set a timer on my watch and took an S! Cap every 30 minutes no matter what for the entire 10 hours I was on the course. Nothing else changed- same shoes, socks, foot prep, etc.

Could it really be that simple?

Nanci

Karl's reply:

Nanci,

For years I ran ultras and had the usual half dozen toenails in various
stages of blackness and repair. You all know how that goes. Then I got
the electrolytes dialed in and the black toenails healed over a few months.
That was the end of my black toenails.

This subject came up when Kevin Sayers and I were doing a practice climb up
the south side of Hope Pass on the LT100 course. To back up my claim of no
black toenails, I took off my shoes and socks and told Kevin, "If anybody
asks, you're my witness - no black toenails."

Maybe I've been lucky, but if so, it has lasted for years of running.
The only thing I changed was getting the electrolytes right. Same socks
(Ultimax ), same type of shoes, same types of terrain.

For those who want the technical side of this, please see:

http://www.succeedscaps.com/blisters.html

Karl King (FI in S Caps, NFI in Ultimax, just like their fit and durability)