Subject: RE: Alice Foeller's Badass Beginners & Enders - OPEN I competed in the third and final race of my 5K series yesterday. I'm pretty pleased with my performance. But...last Tuesday, which was only a few days before the race, I had the big toenail on my left foot ripped off with a pair of pliers. I had gone into the doc to have it removed, finally, as a result of trauma during the 2018 triathlon season. I don't remember what happened to it; I was hoping it would heal or fall off on its own. Never happened and it finally had to go. I was totally unprepared for the way the nail was removed. I think everyone for three blocks heard my scream! And the doctor wondered why it took me so long to come in and have something done about it. Gee, I wonder?!
So...back to the race...not being able to wear shoes yet, I ran it in my Teva surf 'n' turf sandals. I must have looked pretty funny, and the first mile was pretty slow. I'd only planned to slow walk it so I could collect my finishers medal for the series. Interestingly, my toe stopped hurting after a bit, and I managed a pretty respectable 15:20 pace for my second mile. However, by the time I hit the third mile, my feet and legs were feeling the effects of running in improper footwear, and I slowed down a bit. I finished with a pretty respectable 16:20 pace or something like that. Good enough for fourth--but not last!--in my age group. Also, I realized as I crossed the finish line that I hadn't even thought about my knee. I don't know if it was because I was distracted by my toe, or if it was because it just didn't bother me. I didn't even need to ice it.
As for the weight loss others have mentioned...I, too, have become a bit "fluffy," in part because of my health issues and also pandemic-induced inactivity. Losing weight is a lot harder for me now than it was in 2014 when I lost 130 pounds. I seemed to have had more motivation then. Also, cooking healthy meals was easier when I had a kitchen. I'm mostly off the grid now, splitting my time between living in an RV and a tiny cabin. Swinging by the deli is so much easier than dealing with cooking over a single burner and washing dishes without running water. The deli is what got me in trouble in the first place! |