Hello! Today we’re going to talk about all some of the bad decisions I make on a daily basis. I’m not an expert at much, but give me a problem and I can make it worse. It’s kinda my thing. So let’s discuss running with a broken toe and other bad ideas I’ve had lately…
Wait.
Before all the bad choices – I made a good one! I was a meal prepping machine Sunday night and made the Chorizo and Potato Tacos plus this frittata. I had a lot of leftover potatoes and threw them together with eggs, milk, salt/pepper and green onions. It came out really delicious!!
Bad decision #1… cutting my own bangs. When will I learn?!
Before:
After:
Bad decision #2: Owning an orange cat and wearing yoga pants.
I am constantly covered in cat hair and will never be able to hide the fact that I’m a cat lady weirdo.
Bad decision #3… running with a broken toe. (See my toe disaster post here.)
Disclaimer: I am here to be honest. And if we’re being honest runners RUN. Many long distance runners run… while sick, late for work, to avoid their problems, when they shouldn’t, because they’re addicted (or some other similar excuse). So I can pretend that I’m not running or I can tell you my experience.
Okay. I don’t really know if it’s broken. I didn’t get an x-ray or anything. But it’s still swollen over a week after slamming it into a coffee table so it’s pretty banged up either way. If it is broken there is nothing a doctor would be able to do for me, they don’t put a cast on a toe.
What I did: The RICE method = Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
Actually I didn’t do compression because that hurt. I did do the other steps though.
And Friday I tried something new to help my lil injured pinky toe… I got acupuncture. I am a fan of all medicine – Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern, Made-up. So I thought I would give this a whirl.
I went in and filled out the forms to the best of my ability…
Showed the doc my toe and cried about how I needed it fixed asap because I had to run a half marathon the next day. He poked me up full of needles and put some heat on the toe.
After 10 minutes he came back to check on me and poked my toe and it kind of cracked or something. And I think it realigned. We don’t think it was actually broken because he used that medal shaker thingy (that’s the proper medical term for it I think) and vibrated it on my toe. Since it didn’t really hurt my toe is probably just jammed or bruised really bad.
It didn’t hurt except for one needle for a second and was fairly relaxing. I plan on going back for more toe stuff and also for my thyroid issues (but I wanted that to be something he and I discussed on a different day since the toe was the priority).
I would 100% not run if I felt like it was an injury kind of pain. It felt bruised when I first ran on it, not a sharp pain that changed my gait. And I am trying to rest it by walking less and not doing anything else high impact. If my pinky toe doesn’t heal soon I’m probably just going to chop it off. Any takers? I bet you could make a pendant out of it or something.
I contemplated trying it last year when I was having some hip issues (over use?) but never did. I find it intriguing though.
Acupuncture is so neat. I have never had it done on myself, but we had a module about it in vet school. The dogs really seemed to enjoy it. They were using it mostly for pain relief from what I saw, but it was interesting to see how relaxed the dogs were while being poked with needles.
I haven’t but really want to try it out. I have nerve pain or something from breaking my wrist a few years ago and hope that would help.
I love acupuncture!! Acupuncture on my face helped to clear my sinuses completely, it was so great.
I love acupuncture!
I saw on your last post re The So Cal Marathon and I have run my first- the LA rock and Roll this Fall. I am an old lady (44)
My next is the Surf City and I plan to keep doing them. Love the blog.
What do you eat before the race and during?
Trying to work on fueling. Last race I didn’t fuel but should have I think
Thanks!
I get acupuncture all the time — including this morning — for whatever and for nothing.
BTW, I am now telling people that I use western medicine, eastern medicine, and California medicine (waving crystals, save the gay whales, hug a tree, surround myself with white lite, etc.). You’re welcome.
I’ve never had acupuncture but I used to get dry needling all the time when I worked at a Physical Therapy office. It was amazing and always helped my wonky muscles that were knotted up.
i broke my pinkie toe one and the only thing the doctor said to do was wear a boot and tape the pinkie toe to my other toe. boo on toe issues. i dont think i have the stomach to cut your toe off, but maybe you can get someone to accidentally cut off your toe like monica and chandler from friends 😉
The key to trimming your bangs is to start with a SMALL bit to take off lol. Totally LOL’d on your GIF.
Now I’m wondering if we have an acupuncture place around here. My heel has been bothering me for awhile and I think it’s just a tightness thing. I bet it would help!
I’m worried about DVTs coming out of that toe. I’m all for holistic care but sometimes you need a MD
Your blog is amazing! 🙂
I had a toe “issue” of my own, which lasted about a month. It was painful, but I didn’t skip a single run. I wore thick socks and found that it was manageable (or went numb) during my runs. I’ve been interested in trying acupuncture but have never tried it (maybe it’s my fear of needles that keeps me away).
Ha! Thanks 🙂
runners put up with some crazy aches and pains all in the name of doing something we love! i’ve never tried acupuncture — needles so aren’t my thing — but one of my bffs swears by it, so who knows.
I had a very similar toe situation over the summer after an unfortunate incident with a steel door, and it took about a whole month for the toe to stop hurting. For me, trying to wear heels really made it worse. So I wore toms to work everyday for a solid month (I’m a lawyer, so that was tricky). I’m sure it would get better quicker if you stay off it, but it will still get better anyway. Good luck!!
Acupuncture saved my ankle. I sprained it bad during one of those Warrior Dash races and was in the middle of training for my first marathon. It was basically a chronic peroneal tendonitis issue for 6 months. I eventually ran the marathon that fall and went for acupuncture a couple of months later. It healed me until I sprained the same ankle trail running. I went back for more acupuncture. I’ve been fine ever since except when I do really long runs.
I always thought acupuncture was quackery until I went to this place that basically everyone in my gym goes to. It still freaks me out, but man does it work wonders on my anxiety. Plus, they do this neuromuscular reintegration thing that totally loosens places in your body that are chronically tight. Unrelated: last spring, I turned my ankle during a trail run and wound up having knocked a bone out of place. My PT literally snapped it back in without telling me what he was about to do. Maybe that’s what happened to your toe? The bones in your foot are a crazy little puzzle!
I’ve heard great things about acupuncture. Glad your toe survived the half.
Yup, I go every weekend – something like realigning the “chi” in my legs.
Sounds like you had a rough Monday! Hope you start feeling better!
Acupuncture did WONDERS for headaches and anxiety. I recommend it 🙂