Blisssssss-ters!!

My well pedicured toes no longer exist :( With the crazy marathon work schedule of 10 days straight, being on my feet, and trying my best to somehow manage the training schedule - I've ended up with ugly toes. The hot pink nail polish has worn off and my toes have calluses and blisters all over. In between my toes and on the soles and tips of my toes, they have taken over my once pedicured feet. I know this sounds very unattractive and probably isn't goddess-like, but it's the truth - I'm officially a long distance runner! The only thing I'm missing and dreading is runner's toe (aka Black toe). This is very common in female runners b/c we have the tendency to wear our shoes on the tighter side and prefer to have our toenails look pretty w/ a little bit of length for a french manicure. I'm very thankful I have yet to experience a runner's toe since training, and I pray for strength and good health in my mind, body, and toes! ... A few years ago, I accidentally had a leg of a chair smash down on my big toe. Excruciating pain! It was an 8 on a scale of 1-10. This resulted in a black big toe for the entire summer :( So what happens to a black toe? It falls off as a new nail bed grows underneath. Not so attractive when you live in California, and the idea of wearing shoes and socks in the middle of summer makes you look like an odd-ball.

So, back to the blisters and calluses ... It's been a work in progress, but with the longer my runs are on the weekend and the more miles I run each week they keep on forming in different places. Today I taped up the callus areas w/ Dr. Scholl's Moleskin tape. The tape is suppose to provide comfort from callus and corn pain. I was in the foot care aisle at Target (across from the eye care products that I always check out) and saw this  tape. I wanted to experiment w/ the tape to keep the exacerbating rough areas from causing pains during the run. It worked for the most part, but after 10 miles I managed to form another huge blister on my big toe :( Maybe I should tape up all my toes? Or maybe I should try those crazy glove-like running socks? ... I just need to accept the fact that as long as I run long distances my toes will look a little tattered. What an excuse to get a pedicure once a week! :)