Ugly Feet

I have never had uglier feet than I do now.

I’ve had a black toenail on my right foot for what feels like f-o-r-e-v-e-r. If that wasn’t bad enough, after New Balance last Sunday, my left pinkie toe was practically covered by one giant bloody blister that scared the living hell out of me after the race. To add icing on the cake, I also discovered a tiny blister on my right foot last night.

For weeks now, I have had my toenails painted in rich, dark red pedicure in an attempt to conceal its sheer ugliness. And, all this while, I’ve been happily wearing my Havaianas, flipflops, and other open-toed sandals wherever I go blissfully thinking that I’ve been fooling everyone around me. I was wrong.

Two nights ago, I was reading my Running Horoscope at Lonerunner’s blog and, much to my horror, this is what it said:

Taurus 20 Apr-20 May

Symbol: Bull

Element: Earth

Stop wearing Sandals/Flip-flops, your dead toenails from your last long run are never sexy.

Harharhar, I had a long good laugh! In fact, I was practically hitting my head on the laptop while rolling on the bedroom floor laughing. Lonerunner (or his manghuhula) hit the nail on the head for that one!

But, when the laughter died away, feelings of insecurity came clawing its way into my head and down to my toes, which curled up in embarrassment. Should I stop wearing flipflops? Is it really that bad? Lonerunner, does your manghuhula really think my feet aren’t sexy?

Last night, I removed the pedicure with acetone and stared at my ugly feet in all its naked glory. Yes, my toes were hideous, but must I be ashamed of it? I realized that I should be proud to show off such tiny little survivors, or better yet, warriors that just fought their way through 25km of rough roads. So, what’s your problem if they aren’t white? So what if they aren’t perfect? They still do their job, right?

So, from now on, let it be known that whoever stares at The Bull Runner’s battered and blistered feet with disgust will get a kick in the face and hear these words: ”So I’ve got ugly feet. Who cares? I am a runner.”

To the Pinoy Ultra Runners—who may have uglier feet than I do by Sunday—I wish you the best of luck in your Pinatubo 55km run tomorrow. Stay safe and, as always, have fun!

Posted on 11.21.08 to 1 Bullish Insights. Tags: feet, Lonerunner, Personal. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 24 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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24 Responses to “Ugly Feet”

you think that’s ugly, you should see mine, spitting image of david diaz after beng whooped by manny pacquiao.

i thnk I’m half an inch taller now, sa kapal ng kalyo.

mikey said on Nov 21 08 at 2:30 PM Reply
hey tbr! let me join the club, i have ugly feet and dead toenails too that i think are bagay in heritage na. hehe! and oh, to add insult to injury, I am not a Taurian and my running horoscope courtesy of yes the lonerunner tells me that i overdid my carbo loading. talk about being a loser – tabachoy na, ugly feet pa. waaaahhh!!!

kulitrunner said on Nov 21 08 at 3:05 PM Reply
dear jaymie,

you are not alone… i got ugly feet too! i think that’s the price we have to pay… what is important is that we love and enjoy what we are doing, whether with ugly or uglier feet hahaha…

take care!

annalenemb said on Nov 21 08 at 4:08 PM Reply
you should be proud of it because that is the “badge of honor” or the “medal of valor” among “hardcore” runners. you should see my toenail(s) after i finished the bulldog 50k ultra trail run last august, they became black & blue because of those steep downhill trails. i should have tightened my shoes some more. welcome to the “hardcore/warrior” group!

kingofpots said on Nov 21 08 at 4:22 PM Reply
Mmmm that’s just part of the experience. The longer you go the uglier your feet get. And yes, I concur, ultra runners have uglier feet. I saw a bunch of them last weekend at a race and my own feet won’t make me forget. It’s why I wear crocs now and Keen sandals.

rick said on Nov 21 08 at 4:25 PM Reply
I’ve never ever had problems with my nails even after high mileage weeks, long runs, nor fast races.

Maybe because I always tighten my shoelace before running. This way my toes would never move nor rub inside my shoes.

zixednatz said on Nov 21 08 at 4:26 PM Reply
Its okay, we’re on the same club. Dapat sabihin natin, ano’ng paki n’yo, runner ako, kaya n’yo ba ‘to? Takbo pa tayo, baka madagdagan pa, ha ha ha!

run unltd. said on Nov 21 08 at 5:15 PM Reply
Let us not forget also having perennial singlet even while topless (tanned from running too long under the sun), and even permanent sock lines!

Maybe you should buy bigger shoes? Maybe half inch larger? I’m usually 10.5 but for running, I wear 11 US.

Whatver our complaints, it’s nothing compared to what Brian Boyle went through. I saw him on Ellen the other night. Google him and you’ll know why. Everything else I complain about now (especially since I’m cursing my training and constant fatigue, so near the marathon date) is peanuts compared to what he went through.

Check him out here – http://www.triathletemag.com/Departments/Features/2007_Features/Kona_Q___A__Brian_Boyle.htm

Btw, watched you present at the Running Aid. Great presentation. My wife learned a lot from you. Thanks!

Wency said on Nov 21 08 at 6:05 PM Reply
TBR, sali din ako sa club, sobrang “nget” din ng feet ko, hindi na bagay ang havaianas ko sa sa paa ko, pang havanas na lang ang paa ko, hehehe. black and blue na nga, may crack pa, hay naku.

itsmysocalledlife said on Nov 21 08 at 8:00 PM Reply
Hahhaha… Blame my mang-huhula for it! Parang nga may curse sya eh.

lonerunner said on Nov 21 08 at 9:59 PM Reply
yup…for us taureans.. the manghuhula really hit it on the nail…
i wonder if he would still be able to predict well after seeing my ugly toenails..half-dead, half-alive in all kinds of shapes, curves and angles…. i did not put polish bec it would really even emphasize the sorry state of my toenails …i almost got mary janes to hide those toes but i really have difficulty finding my size… so al-fresco tsinelas it is and will be … bahala na lang mamatay sa inggit ang makakita !!!! hahahaa… o di kaya, pasensya na lang ang himatayin sa takot sa nakita nya !!! actually, many notice it esp salesladies when i shop for shoes, but noone has dared ask why or what happened to my toes … takot talaga sila magtanong !!!!

allyn said on Nov 22 08 at 12:31 AM Reply
Hah hah . . . let the non-runners stare as long as they want. I’d rather have dead toenails but live longer than have lovely toenails but live shorter.

Nora, the golden girl said on Nov 22 08 at 10:15 AM Reply
would you mind to take a picture of your feet? hehehe

highaltitude said on Nov 22 08 at 9:06 PM Reply
i can so relate with you, although i got mine from biking and not from running. i just removed the acetone after my run this morning and am deciding which bright color to hide the bruise (also on my right big toe) with next!

cherry said on Nov 23 08 at 9:39 AM Reply
Battered and worn out feet – sign of a runner.

That’s why I look forward to my quarterly footspa date with my wife.
This is to reward my feet for a job well done with a pampering it deserves.

marvs said on Nov 23 08 at 10:44 AM Reply
I think you still have nicer toes than i have. =) I can count more dead toenails than nice, pink ones. I can also say for a fact that you can kill a toenail before it even grows out! =)

moljcy said on Nov 23 08 at 11:10 AM Reply
manang, maganda pa rin ang paa ko hanggang ngayon in fairness. kakagaling ko lang ng foot spa eh. hehehe

marga said on Nov 23 08 at 4:59 PM Reply
Lets start the ugly feet group… you should put ice on the toe not on the cake… great to have met your little ones today and I can see mommies genes as they could not resist but race the 2km?!? what’s up with that?!?

foreignrunner said on Nov 23 08 at 10:19 PM Reply
Jaymie,

Checkout these videos on Runners World about Black Toenails & Blisters. Apparently you can lace your shoes differently and prevent these from happening. I have been employing this lacing technique for my running shoes (except for Tris).

Preventing Black Toe Nails
http://www.runnersworld.com/video/1%2c8052%2cs6-4-0-4%2c00.html

Preventing Blisters
http://www.runnersworld.com/video/1,8052,s6-4-0-4,00.html

Ricecooker said on Nov 24 08 at 7:59 AM Reply
If you look at my cute feet . most of toes and joints are covered in band aid or tape.
This is to avoid chaffing, blisters and dead toe nails. But hey be proud of your toes those are battle scars of a great runner.
Take care
Raul Patrick Concepcion

runningshield - patrick concepcion said on Nov 24 08 at 9:19 AM Reply
Jaymie,

I used my aqua jogbelt to run the entire week after NB race, why?!? My big right toe nail died and the toe was it was so painful I could not don my running shoes!!!! I am happy to hear that I am not alone with the experience tho, unlike you, I do not have the courage to take off the polish. Black toe nails wont go well with my 4in peep toe stilettos for work.

Better the black toe nail than not being able to run. Battlescars kunwari, hahaha!

Ting said on Nov 24 08 at 10:50 AM Reply
at least black toenails only than serious injury…lucky me not a single toenail has died since i started running and i don’t look forward to having one but if you’ll tell me that the trade off would be running as fast as you hhmmm…pwede

Mary715 said on Nov 25 08 at 4:03 PM Reply
thank god for adam lambert and american idol, now my dead toenails looks so “current”!

mikey said on May 31 09 at 10:25 AM Reply