Spring Breakers!

This is the time of year that my family celebrates spring break and heads to Puerto Vallarta! However, my toenails have been looking barbarian and I wanted to do something to make them more presentable. My increased mileage has made a mess of them. Now, I have nails sluff off in the shower, and other nails that are a dark shade of purple, and the corner of my big toes are chipped off. I also have one nail that grows very thick. I’ll talk more about that later in this post.

Can you tell which one is just a nail bed?

I got a pedicure before heading south of the boarder. I usually don’t get pedis because I am afraid of catching someone else’s fungus. But, this time I went to a spa salon in West Seattle with a good reputation. I asked the pedicurist to trim my nails short, and not scrub off any calluses. I felt a little silly about my requests but that’s a runner’s life, I suppose. She noticed one nail was very loose and held it tight while she filed it. Yikes!

I think she did a terrific job. I love the color. It is very spring-like.

 

Toes relaxing in the pool!

Toes favorite place--in the sand.

 

As I become an ultra-runner, am I doomed to have ugly toe nails? What can I do for them? My podiatrist says I need to make sure my toes aren’t hitting the end of my shoes. I already buy shoes a half size larger to prevent that from happening. Well, he explained if the shoe isn’t laced on tight enough then I am just giving my feet more room to slide forward and slam into the end of the shoe.

So, I’ve tried lacing them up differently or pulling the laces tight at the last few holes. Those methods hurt my ankles when I ran. The podiatrist said to try tongue pads.  I had never heard of them, but I ordered them from Amazon.com. The pads stick to the tongue of the shoe and give just enough bulk to hold your foot back in your shoe. I did notice an improvement when I was running half-marathons last year.

 

Here is a different way to lace shoes at the top to tighten them to keep your foot from sliding forward.

This is a tongue pad in my left trial running shoe. I usually have the most problems with my left toenails.

The thickening of my one toenail is a response to pressure according to my podiatrist. Even the tongue pad hasn’t solved this problem. It may be the way I hold that toe when I run that is putting pressure on it. The podiatrist’s prescription is just to grind it down and make it thinner. I’ve purchased my own grinder and it works well.

I purchased this grinder on Amazon.com. I am now fully equipped to give manis and pedis!


My podiatrist said you can also relieve pressure by not lacing up through the eyeholes on your shoes near your toes. I like this tip. I feel very comfortable running like this.

These shoes don't have laces in the bottom holes. It doesn't seem to make a difference on the durability of the shoe. I've run a few hundred miles in my Asics like this without the shoe falling apart.

 

If you have any helpful hints for keeping toenails looking brand new, let me know!

Post Script: Two days after this blog post, I went for a 10-mile run and that loose nail decided to depart from my toe.

Just the nailbed remains.