*Warning! Toe picture ahead!!
I have always counted myself lucky that I haven't been prone to black toe nails that have a tendency to fall off. I've made it through two Ironman races, four stand alone marathons and several half marathons with no incident. I figured I would be a prime candidate for nail loss because my toe nails grow upwards. I'm always poking holes in socks and I've even poked holes in my runners. I think wearing running shoes with plenty of space in the toe box has helped me out in the past though.
After the Goofy Challenge I congratulated myself that I came out relatively unscathed. I had a small blister on my right big toe, but otherwise I was in good shape. One thing that seemed a little weird was that one of my toe nails looked a little bit darker than the rest...
On the weekend I was trimming my nails and I realized there was something dark underneath my nail. I took my nail scissors to try and clean it out. I soon realized that I was able to dig around way more than I should!! Ew, my toe nail was not nearly as attached to the nail bed as it should be!!
I immediately put the scissors down and tweeted and Facebooked my disgust (as any good running blogger is likely to do I imagine).
Would losing a nail make me a real runner? I'm not going to lie, I really hope that this little nail hangs in there!
Have you lost any toe nails?
Anybody doing that much running is a "real" runner. The fact that some portions of your anatomy can't take has nothing to do with it. I expect to see a photo documentary on the life cycle of a loose toenail.
ReplyDeleteI have lost my big toenail (right foot) twice. Once after a 30k and once after a half. Grew back both times though.
ReplyDeleteI have lost my big toenail (right foot) twice. Once after a 30k and once after a half. Grew back both times though.
ReplyDeleteI haven't lost any toenails, but I have had quite a few that look similar to the one pictured, and definitely were not fully attached. When I started running, I had a few that were pretty much always like that, until I realized I needed a bigger shoe size. It still happens now and then, even since getting into the right size shoe.
ReplyDeleteIt's still attached at the bottom. My guess is it will stay attached unless you drop a frying pan or something on it. ;) At least, that's my experience with very similar looking toenails.
PS: You're a real runner whether the toenail sticks around or not.
I haven't lost any yet but after Goofy, I came home with my first grey one...I hesitate to call it black because it looks, well, grey. It's kind of a waiting game now to see what happens with it. But I told hubby "I was bound to get a dark nail sooner or later. I suppose with how often I race, I should just call it a badge of honour to have gotten one after Goofy"
ReplyDeleteI lost 3 toenails last summer. When my youngest son saw the state of my feet he recoiled in horror while yelling out "EW! Why are your toes moldy?!". LOL My feet are fine now though. For the time being. I hope that yours hangs in there.
ReplyDeleteYour going to gross out but I don't really have toenails on many of my toes. I'm thinking all the running made you a runner, though. Not the toenail loss. :-)
ReplyDeleteYea I lose more toenails because I'm just really clumsy about stubbing my toe or dropping things on my feet. I don't think I've ever actually lost a toenail from running granted I've never run a full marathon, only half's, sometimes 3 a month though. It probably depends on a lot of things like diet and they type of shoes and socks you wear etc. And I'd say anyone who has run a marathon (especially the goofy challenge) IS a real runner, a full on athlete!
ReplyDelete