My left foot

I have now finished the course of antibiotics and unfortunately don't seem to have made much progress with the toe rot.
Admittedly this time last week it was bright red and throbbing. Now it's bright green and achy. This might actually be progress for a more medically minded person, but for me it's just moving from one unpleasant state to another.
The most worrying thing about it is how my toe seems to have aged, leaving the rest of my body behind. The skin looks old and withered, the nail looks - well, I won't go into too much detail, in case you're reading this while eating. I now admit to a slightly irrational fear that my whole toe might just drop off through old age, leaving me permanently unbalanced.  As if runners' feet weren't disgusting enough, I have to go and catch something which turns my toe into the Picture of Dorian Gray.

There may however be a major upside to the toe infection though - speed! Still smugly triumphant after Tuesday's speedfest, I managed to knock another 30 seconds off my mile time yesterday morning, bringing my mile average down by 42 secs overall. The house is just not big enough for my ego right now.

I can't decide whether it's the lush new Brooks trainers, the pre-run Powerbar shots or the green pus in my toe. Perhaps green pus is my superpower, a bit like when Spiderman gets bitten by the exotic spider? I have not yet been able to shoot a web of green pus out of my big toe, so this would appear to be a limited superpower, but increasingly fast mile times are a huge bonus. If nothing else, it means I get home for breakfast a lot quicker!

I can only hope that this is a permanent positive curve I'm on and not just a freak week. At this rate, I'll be able to shave at least a minute or two off my half marathon time in Manhattan next month. And maybe, just maybe, even shave some minutes off that marathon time in September.

A girl can dream

LON