Below are two photos of the toes on my left foot (click to enlarge at your own risk). Two of the nails are blackening. The middle toe is a real mess. It's painful to the touch, and the tip (in front of the nail, as seen in the second photo) is very hard and calloused. It's also very sore under the hard area. The pain and discomfort seem to kick in late in my long runs, then become very uncomfortable (swollen, throbbing and very painful) for the next day or so, before settling down. This has me a bit worried going into the marathon. I'm planning on wearing my Brooks Launch shoes, which are the pair I wore during my 21-mile pacing job a few weeks ago. That was when I first started having the toe problems. Hopefully my taper period will help things settle down a bit. Otherwise, I could be in for a long day when I toe the line on May 15th (Get it? "Toe" the line? Wow, comedy gold. I'm giving you that one for free.)
Hi Colin,
ReplyDeleteOuch and ouch!! I hate it when my toes hurt when running. Thankfully the last time I had issues with my toes was in February during my second half marathon. I never did really understand what happened. I hope that your toe troubles go away and that it will not hurt your marathon plans:) Take care!
Thanks Julie. I'm sorry you had to see that. I won't be auditioning for foot model jobs any time soon.
ReplyDeleteToes felt fine after today's 8-miler, so I'm hoping for the best.
Have you tried some Body Glide on the toes prior to running? My wife found that it helps.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar issue, but found that it was caused by pushing off with my toes at the end of my stride. I have been retraining myself to simply pick up my foot at the end of the stride instead of pushing off, and it seems to prevent this. (I hope one of these two, or both, help you.)
Adam, I haven't yet tried anything on them, but I'll give Body Glide a shot. I think you're onto something regarding the pushing off. I've also been trying to lift my feet at the end of strides, too. When I get tired, I get lazy (thus the pain late in the long runs, maybe?). Thanks for the suggestions, I do appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteBody Glide or Vaseline might help. Definitely worth trying. I had this once and it was caused by my shoes. The pushing off sounds like a very likely cause. Hope it gets well soon.
ReplyDeleteyeah, body glide helps me too. So, +1 for that. they look pretty painful.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it HAS been the cool thing to do to post pictures of feet on the blog. Grosses my wife out. I think I may just call her in here quick.. :)
You inspired me, Adam. I wanted to post the pics but held off until I saw yours and someone else's on another blog, so then I felt left out. I'm hoping butt cheek injuries don't become common.
ReplyDelete