Middle Toe is Asking Me to Free Willy

My physical therapist, Eric, made me take two weeks off from running, suggested I buy new running shoes, and put me on a multi-vitamin for dudes. Yuck to the first, cha-ching to the second, and "Lordy, my pee is neon," to the third.

So, at the stroke of the fortnight, I hit the tarmac pretty hard last week, logging 35 miles in my brand new shoes. It was bliss to finally get off the stair-climber and move through actual space with not one smidgen of pain in my toe. Then, today happened.

 

I was out for one of my favorite neighborhood loops. About four miles in and in a matter of three seconds, my middle toe got reallly hot and then the next instant it was pulsating with lightning bolts of black magic torture. I dropped to the ground, took off my shoe and sock and started the ol' deep tissue foot massage. Sometimes this works like a charm, but when I got back up to continue on my merry way, the toe hissed back, "No deal!"

For some bizarre reason, when I'm walking in my shoes, my toe continues to twinge. But when I walk or run barefoot or in my Vibrams, there is no issue whatsoever. So, there I was, about 4 miles from home, having to either walk in the cold with an annoying toe-twinge, but well dressed in my cool new shoes, or... run lopsided on the hard, damp, muddy, pavement with only one shoe like some kind of Quasimodo. It goes without saying, which one I chose. And the weird thing is, I was totally stoked that it would be great practice for my overly-hyped first annual barefoot snow run that still hasn't happened due to this winter's snow drought. 

My sock was a life-saving technology today.

My sock is dead. But this man will live to tell another tale.


It's a mother-fracker on my achilles doing any distance in the Vibrams. I'll really have to work my way up to it gradually since there are only 16 weeks until the year's first big race-- Triple T. I think I'll have to use the injury as an opportunity to adopt a more stair-based training regimen while I slowly transition to becoming a barefoot runner.

Also, on the topic of unnecessary exposure to cold, I have a cool opportunity to do a polar plunge for Special Olympics next weekend. My goal is to raise another $999,999,975 by next Saturday, February 4. Any it$y bit$y amount helps, if that's your thang. Or if you need to cool off from this winter heat, come on out!! Click the link to donate and get into heaven free.