Black Toes

Three of my toes came back from Scotland battered and dark purple (under my toenail polish). This was likely due to (a) failure to lace up my hiking shoes properly and/or (b) failure to cut my toenails before the first day of hiking. It may also have been exacerbated by (c) the ill-fitting pair of hiking shoes I wore the second day of the hike (which I switched about 5 miles into the walk and then threw out that night after they gave me bad blisters).

RunnerNYC said I would lose the blackened toenails in about a month. I, as a know-nothing know-it-all, begged to differ. The toenails were not black (said I), and I would escape the law of cause and effect by embarking on a program guaranteed to eliminate all pressure on the nails. Specifically, my feet would be shod only in sandals until my toes were fully healed.

I immediately put this excellent policy into effect. I carefully bandaged my toes for the first week or so to protect them. I ran only once (during a scrimmage soccer game 2 weekends ago) and was careful to wear the right sneakers laced up the right way. Other than that, I have only worn closed shoes on two occasions, during part of the day, when I needed to make presentations for work.

So today, just 20 days after my return, when I took off the most recent coat of polish, off came the middle toenail on my right foot. Ick. I couldn't quite bear to let it come off, so I left it in place to protect the naked skin beneath.

The only consolation I have is that so far, it is not at all painful. And the other two toenails (middle left toe and big left toe) are still hanging on. They don't seem loose - though I'm obviously not going to start tugging on them.

Boy, this sure has been a lesson to me. In the immortal words of my high school physics teacher (whenever someone gave a right answer), "Does anyone ever listen to RunnerNYC?"

BEFORE (September 9):



AFTER (September 29):


Of course, now that I KNOW that I've lost a toenail, I'm starting to feel something (sort of a tingling sensation) on that toe. Talk about psychosomatic!

I don't mind being wrong on occasion, and I don't mind giving others their due when they are right and I am not, but I really would have liked to be right on this one. Ugh.