Saturday, November 5, 2011

On this date....Nov.5th, 2011

Mark it on your calendars folks, because I know I will. I lost a toenail today. I know, I know it sounds gross, yucky, and you have to wonder to yourselves why I would even want to share that information to the public-at-large.

But for me, the loss of this tiny toenail signifies a major milestone for me as a runner. First of all, it signifies that I have been running enough to actually cause significant impact to my feet. Secondly, I join a special class of runners who go through this on a regular basis.

Now keep in mind I have no desire to actually lose toenails. I love going for pedicures and having them look pretty with a funky, cool nail polish. I'm a girlie-girl at heart. And there is part of me that is wondering if I'm giving up part of myself for another. The answer to this is obviously yes and I'm very OK with that. I can still be a girlie-girl and have less than stellar looking feet. I'm comfortable with the person who is becoming more athletic and still retaining my need for high-fashion, high heels, and drooling over the latest edition of Vogue magazine.

Of course, this also brings me back to this time last year when I was thinking seriously about getting back into running. I swore up and down I would NEVER run longer than 10 km. That there was no way I would EVER enter more than a 10 km race. That even CONSIDERING a 30 km race was simply crazy-talk. Now one of my goals for 2012 is to complete a 50 km race in September.

The fact is, when you enjoy something and truly embrace it the more trivial consequences of your activity slide away. OK, so I have 9 out of 10 possible toenails. But I've still got 90% of them to cover in that funky purple nail polish that I love so much!