Toe Troubles

When I ran to work on Friday, I noticed some serious discomfort from my right foot. I thought it was the sock rubbing against one of my toes, which does happen occasionally. It's not particularly serious but can be quite uncomfortable. However, once I got into work and got the chance to have a look at my foot, I could see it was something else. The top of my second toes was bright red and swollen and the toenail look a rather sickly milky white and seemed just about to come off completely. A quick google seemed to indicate a fungal infection, though I have since changed my mind and think it's a bacterial infection.

It was a lot word on Saturday, so much so that I really questioned if I should go running with this. But you know me, if in any doubt, I go for a run. The first mile was rather uncomfortable with some throbbing pain emanating from the area but then the endorphins kicked in and the rest of the run was fine. In fact, it was definitely one of my better runs recently - I saw a runner ahead of me after a couple of miles which gave me teh incentive to chase him down rather than keep plotting along. That was somewhat fun, even if I barely broke 8-minute miles, which renders teh term "chase" rather relative.

I also did a few hill sprints up our drive way at the end. That was pre-planned, not a result of feeling particularly energised.

Then the toe returned with a fury, enough to make me wonder if I'd have to visit a doctor for it. I eventually did what you're not supposed to do. There was a blister on top of my toe, right at the nail, and eventually I took a needle to it and drained it. Apparently there is a real danger of an infection when you do that but it has felt much better ever since, and on Sunday it also started to look better, so I guess I did the right thing.

What didn't go right at all on Sunday, however, was my run. I had planned a long-ish run, as you do on Sundays, but these days my long runs aren't particularly long anyway, so nothing to worry about you'd think. A was planning to go via Kilternan and set off at a very easy pace. However, after a few miles it became apparent that it wasn't all going to plan so I changed it to a shorter loop through Rathmichael. That was barely longer than 11 miles and shouldn't have been a problem but I only just about made it home, crawling at snails pace and was totally and utterly spent afterwards.

Thank God for chocolate cake!

What the fuck is going on here?

• I was probably depleted, as I had waited out the rain and left it late, and still had not eaten breakfast by then.
• I ran on cushioned shoes. Most people do, but for me that just seems to suck the energy out of my stride. I think I need to run on seriously non-cushioned shoes to be somewhat efficient.
• The hill repeats from the day before might have sucked the power out of the hamstrings.
• I might be overtrained again. I find that hard to believe because I have done so little training, but it feels a bit like that.

Now what?

23 Aug

4.97 miles, 42:19, 8:30 pace, HR 145

24 Aug

10.23 miles, 1:29:09, 8:42 pace, HR 145

25 Aug

4 miles, 32:29, 8:07 pace, HR 143

   4 x 12 sec hill sprints afterwards

26 Aug

11.41 miles, 1:42:12, 8:57 pace, HR 148