Today I went to see a qualified sports injury specialist. He took a look at my variegated toes and said: “Forget about running a marathon. In fact, forget about running.”
After returning home I checked a couple of websites and discovered there’s a name for the source of the problem: “Morton’s Toe”. It means the second toes are longer than the big toes. A common problem: many runners have it. I called a podiatrist and will be seeing him tomorrow to find out what the options are. I want some proper advice.
At least the guy I saw today didn’t charge me. He was quite a character. Ex-Bristol Rovers footballer. He threw in some advice on how to avoid blisters in future. “Get a bucket”, he said. Piss in it. Soak yer feet in yer piss for ‘alf an hour. You’ll have no more trouble with blisters. My grandad – bare-knuckle boxing champion of Bristol. How do you think he kept his fists hard?”
I had a funny feeling I knew what was coming here.
“Soaked ‘is ‘ands in a bucket o’ piss. You can do a lot of things with piss yer know. It’s the ammonia.”
“I see…”
Five mile run this evening. After my 11:30 mile splits on Sunday I ran tonight’s at 11:00 just to see the difference. I did the 5 miles in exactly 55 minutes, and felt pretty comfortable about it but wondered if I could sustain it for 13 miles. Sunday’s half marathon in Fleet would seem a good place to try.
Assuming that I get some better news tomorrow, that is.
