tip toes

there was a nasty rumor last summer that there was a fungus among us. this rumor was dispelled quickly by a very knowledgeable medical expert. however, i couldn't help but be alarmed when darkness took over one of my longish toes. the "black toe" can be a result of small shoes, but usually it's due to running hills. not only was it a bit painful, i was panicked by the thought of exposing this eyesore to world during the summer open-toe shoe season. so, what's an aars to do?

coach g gave some great advice: lube up the toes every time you run. recommended sources of lubrication include vitamin e oil, vaseline, or body glide. i had always heard of boys greasing up their nipples and such to avoid chaffing, but it never occured to me to grease up the toes. to my delight, it works. AND, my cuticles have never looked better.

also, as i count the days until i can stock up on shoes at the mad art fair in july, i came across another interesting piece of advice. they say (whoever they are) that you should never run twice in the same pair of shoes, rather alternate between two pairs. what's not entirely clear to me is if you should have two different styles of shoes or two pairs of the same ones. i recently met a 7-time marathon runner and she said she has two pairs of the same shoes. on one set she writes "MWF" and alternates each day.

all of this is a long way of saying you can buy multiple pairs of shoes at and not feel at all guilty about it!

must, must run today before we hit 92 degrees this weekend and this glorious weather is a thing of the past.