The Hazards of Running

After the half marathon, I've slowly gotten back into a running routine. Last week I had two good runs - 4 and 5 miles each. And I kicked off this week with a six mile run on Tuesday and I'm feeling good. My quad is back in shape and my mind is in the right place (sometimes its your mind that prevents you from running, not your body...you just have to tell yourself, I can do it! I was reading a running magazine the other day and some people have a mantra they repeat over and over in their head when they hit a rough patch during a run and the one I liked the most was a quote from Star Wars - "Do or Do Not. There is no 'try'." Spoken by the Great Jedi Master Yoda.)

Running, as everyone knows has great health benefits. It can help keep your weight down, keep you looking and feeling young, tone your muscles, as well as reduce stress (gotta love those endorphines). However, running is not without its, sometimes annoying, side effects. There are the shin splints, which I experienced training for my first half. Then there are the occasional quad injuries and the painful blisters (I'm lucky in that I rarely get blisters). And then there is the tragic blow to the pedicure.



I believe I am a true runner now, as I have officially lost my first toenail and I contribute it 100% to running. But I have a dilemma - is it appropriate to paint nail polish on the skin where the toenail should be so that my pedicure looks consistent? Or is it better to just have 9 bright red toenails and one oddball? What's a girl to do?