My Feet Hurt (AKA: I Have My First Running Injury)
I love shoes. I'm a girl. I can't help it. It's in my genetics. Being as it's now sandal season, I love shoes even more. Especially cute orange sandals (like the pair I just bought - CUTE!) with pretty painted toe-nails. Pedicures are my guilty pleasure. Right now my toes are au-natural with white tips (AKA: French). And they do look nice. Most days. Just not today.
My half-marathon is two weeks from tomorrow - June 14th. Today was my last looooong run before R-day (run day). Eight miles. The good part? It was in the 50's when I left. The bad part? I had to run alone. Eight long, lonely miles all by myself because my running partner wasn't around. (Can you hear Deirks Bentley singing, 'It's a long trip alone...'?) And because I ran alone, bad things happened.
You see, I have no problem shopping for adorable sandals to go with outfits. I love browsing shoe shops and the mall looking for that can't-pass-up-pair. But running shoes??? Ugh. Boring. They're NOT cute. And they're NOT fun to shop for. And because I have this weird nerve thing in my left foot that makes my toes go numb anytime I run over six miles, I need to have special stabilizer shoes that you can't just grab at the local Nike outlet. Which means, I have to go to a special running store. With the 3-yr old. Get on the treadmill. Have them watch me run, then pick out a pair I'll probably have to special order. How fun is that??? Shop for un-cute shoes and then not even get to leave the store with them? Ack!
So in my wisdom, I have pushed off going running shoe shopping. And today I'm paying the price. My left foot has been semi-numb all day from my nine mile run (yeah, you read that right. NINE miles, not eight. Without my running partner I ran more than I was supposed to because she wasn't there telling me when to stop.) And because that pretty French pedicure was just a little longer than it should have been, when I whipped off my sock I found a bloody stump where one nail had gouged another toe and ripped it to shreds. Fun, huh? The only good part about the whole fiasco is I spent a lot of time thinking and working through plot issues in the current WIP while I was running, but still...my feet hurt.
My latest splurge:
So what's your guilty pleasure?
My half-marathon is two weeks from tomorrow - June 14th. Today was my last looooong run before R-day (run day). Eight miles. The good part? It was in the 50's when I left. The bad part? I had to run alone. Eight long, lonely miles all by myself because my running partner wasn't around. (Can you hear Deirks Bentley singing, 'It's a long trip alone...'?) And because I ran alone, bad things happened.
You see, I have no problem shopping for adorable sandals to go with outfits. I love browsing shoe shops and the mall looking for that can't-pass-up-pair. But running shoes??? Ugh. Boring. They're NOT cute. And they're NOT fun to shop for. And because I have this weird nerve thing in my left foot that makes my toes go numb anytime I run over six miles, I need to have special stabilizer shoes that you can't just grab at the local Nike outlet. Which means, I have to go to a special running store. With the 3-yr old. Get on the treadmill. Have them watch me run, then pick out a pair I'll probably have to special order. How fun is that??? Shop for un-cute shoes and then not even get to leave the store with them? Ack!
So in my wisdom, I have pushed off going running shoe shopping. And today I'm paying the price. My left foot has been semi-numb all day from my nine mile run (yeah, you read that right. NINE miles, not eight. Without my running partner I ran more than I was supposed to because she wasn't there telling me when to stop.) And because that pretty French pedicure was just a little longer than it should have been, when I whipped off my sock I found a bloody stump where one nail had gouged another toe and ripped it to shreds. Fun, huh? The only good part about the whole fiasco is I spent a lot of time thinking and working through plot issues in the current WIP while I was running, but still...my feet hurt.
My latest splurge:
So what's your guilty pleasure?Labels: Running
posted by Elisabeth Naughton at 3:13 PM
7Comments:
Yuck. That doesn't sound like fun, but I admire you for running through the pain. I wonder if this blog is a metaphor for writing. You're in for the long haul, and there's a lot about it that ain't pretty.
We're going out to eat tonight, and I told my husband we need to stop and look for running shoes. I've been to four stores recently, but because I'm so small, it's hard to find shoes to fit. What I should do is buy two pairs the next time I find one I like.
Good luck on the marathon. You go!
I wonder if this blog is a metaphor for writing. You're in for the long haul, and there's a lot about it that ain't pretty.
So true, Edie!!! I think about writing a lot when I'm running - not just the plotting of books and time to think, but the act of running and how it's like writing. Hard work, frustrating, sometimes painful, but so worth it in the end. Thanks for reminding me of that!!
Yuck-o on the bloody stump. My sister picked up running ten years ago and trims her toenails down to the last millimeter. I think she gave up on pedicures quite a while back because now she has freaky runner's feet. Ten years ago she wore a size six shoe. Now she wears a seven and a half.
Then there's my obsessive marathon man patient whose toes practically point sideways from running. (I didn't see them. His wife told me.)
Keep it up! :)
LOL at the 'keep it up!' comment at the end of your message, Kendra. After all that, you're making me rethink the whole running thing...
I didn't have a devil emoticon to use.
Oh look! I've corrupted you with emoticons!
Bwahahahah...
What running takes away in pretty feet, it gives back in shapely legs to go with the pretty shoes. :} Manicures can cure ugly runner feet - at least that is what I tell myself.
The perfect pair of running shoes make all the difference - hope you find time to grab a great pair - I recently found a pair of Saucony that make me feel like I am riding on air.
Amy
www.runnerslounge.com
blog.runnerslounge.com
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