Wednesday, October 17, 2007

WORST. POST. EVER.

As I've mentioned on here before I've been doing a lot of running lately. On Saturday night I officially signed up to run the Philadelphia Marathon which is a month from tomorrow. The past three weekends I've had long runs of 18 miles, 20 miles, and 16 miles. Four years ago I ran it on 12 weeks training and now that I look back at it, I can't live with the time I ran. I did 4 hours 6 minutes. I know I can do under 3 and a half hours now that I've been running all year.

Anyway, after that 18 miler my big toenail turned black and basically came off the base. The 20 miler didn't help and the 16 miler sealed the deal. It was a goner. I had to pull my toenail off.

This is where this post is going to take a horrible turn for the worse*. I advise the squeamish to just stop reading.



Don't say I didn't warn you.


From left to right - ok nail, black nail, ok nail, black nail, about to be goner, gonna be black nail and gonna be goner eventually, ok nail, gonna be black nail, black nail, ok nail



The nail could easily lift away from the base.


VERY easily.



So I pulled and trimed around the edges.



I did this, but this really makes me ill looking at it.


Goodbye nail! Hope you grow back again sometime!


* Please note that no pain was felt during the making of this blog post.

19 comments:

Chuck said...

Good Lord man....you sure weren't joking with that warning. I've heard of that happening but I've never, until now, actually seen it.

Thanks.

Melissa said...

Um, James and I were actually considering a marathon next year but after seeing that, SCREW THAT HOMEY! My toenails are waaay too cute to put them through that.

Anonymous said...

Ick. I seriously doubt whether or not long distance running is beneficial to you, seeing as how it causes you to become toenail-less. Sandals are now a risky footwear option for you.

K said...

Oh man... i wish I had listened when you warned the squeamish to not proceed. GROSS! *shudder*

Is it the mileage or your shoes that do that to you? See, I knew there was a silver lining to only being able to run 3 miles!

Anonymous said...

Dude, I've run two marathons (Chicago and NYC) and each time I've lost toe nails. First they turn that beautiful black, then they wiggle a bit and hang on like a loose tooth, then the next thing you know you're putting on a sock and you've got a toe nugget floating around in there. You know it doesn't hurt, so keep training!

BTW, in that first pic, are you sure they aren't Titso's feet? Cause if not, you've got girl feet.

Christina said...

Don't people also crap their pants during marathons?

Just don't post a picture of that, okay?

dizzy von damn! said...

this happened to my friend after the LA marathon. she would just put polish on her toe when she wanted to wear sandals so it didn't look "too" weird.

Paul said...

gross

Holly {ArtistMotherTeacher} said...

Yikes. I couldn't stop looking but I wish I would have. That made my toes curl, my breath draw in and a icky felling surface in my stomach. I lost a nail in the first grade due to an unfortunate accident with a restroom door.

I agree with FunnyBone. I thought those were possibly Kym's feet at first. No offense Kym! I didn't see the hairy toe.

Melissa said...

I accidentally double clicked on the fifth photo and BAM! Giant, disgusting toe on my screen. I literally gasped. Thanks.

Lisa said...

Timogirlfeet:

I agree with Funny Bone and Pixie. In that first picture your feet look very lovely and femine. When you wear mandles do you get approached by guys with foot fetishes?

I was not grossed out by your pictures because my husband's toenails have been falling off for years. Usually when he plays a lot of golf or baseball. But I have to say, you have some very hairy toes. Your toes are obviously not the "hairless" body part youve named your passwords after. :)

Anonymous said...

There are two things that make me horrified and sick: 1) bones popping out of the sking when broken and 2) finger/toe nails falling off and turning colors.

I think I need a moment to myself to regroup after this blog entry.

Oh great One said...

I read your warning. I know I should have stopped but it was like you were daring me. I had to look. My skin crawled with each picture. See! I just glanced over while I paused typing and there it was again! EW!

Is there anything you can do to stop losing your toe nails?

Anonymous said...

Dude, that was awesome. I even clicked on a few pics for the enlarged/zoom version. Make sure you do a follow up post on that other toe that's about to be a goner. And I agree with the previous commenters: You have girly feet.


*This is the most I've commented on your blog in a week! You should write "bad" posts more often. ;)

JQ said...

That happened to me once. When I pulled my nail from my toe it looked like cheese pizza when you take the cheese off. Didn't taste like it though...

Lisa said...

Timotoe:
Oh, and you should totally mail the tonail to one of your brothers.

Lisa Armsweat said...

Impressive! And horrible! I am captivated.

My Mom had her big toenails removed about 20 years ago b/c she had ingrown toenails that were so bad they curved drastically into her toe and one of them was almost in a perfect circle through her skin. It was amazing that they took the toenails and the skin that grew over in their place now kind of look like a rough-surfaced, regular toenails. But they are SHAM toenails-- just skin! Even though I am fascinated by the grossness of it, my Mom prefers to hide her feet and never wear open-toed shoes. What, is she embarrassed by her nail-less toes?! Why?!

You'll get a nail back, though, because it wasn't removed way down under the bed by a surgeon. Good luck as it grows back-- I had fun growing back a fingernail one time. It's cool to see nail creeping slowly back up over that flat skin-part.

Oh great One said...

The thought of your dying toe nails has stuck with my Tim my man. Here is something I found on WebMD...

Step 4. Dress for success
Though clothes do not make the runner, there is no substitute for the right running shoe, Maharam tells WebMD. "There should be about a thumbnail's length between the longest toe and the end of the shoe. Without this much space, you can lose your toe nails," he cautions. Your best bet is to go to a specialty shop to buy running-specific shoes because the staff will better trained at fitting them. Replace your running shoes every 350 to 500 miles because they lose shock absorption and other protective qualities with use. What's more, "make sure you choose synthetic socks," Maharam says. "Unlike cotton, synthetic material wicks away moisture and fluid; preventing blisters and the wearing away of your feet."

I didn't know that. Maybe it'll help save a toe nail or two???

egan said...

Crikey, that's a painful post. I have that same problem with that same toenail. I don't get the left big toe. It's a real bitch. I can't believe you showed pictures, but I must admit I love it.