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Onward Bound

Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes life is awesome. Sometimes it a little bit of both. Either way, you have to keep going. I'll be running, laughing, crying and sharing it all here.

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    Sunday, August 28, 2005

    I am not a jogger...

    What makes a real runner? It's a question many of us have asked ourselves in recent months as we train for our upcoming races. The concept is artisticly tied into many of your blog titles. (runner wanna be; i am not a runner; not born to run etc...) And the answer is so individual that only the runner herself (or himself) can find the answer.

    For me, the answer became clear in the shower after my 8 mile run this morning. I have a black toe nail. There it is. That first physical sign that I have taken the step from "jogger" to hard core I'm-training-for-a-26.2-mile-run runner. I don't even know what a black toe nail is, or what causes it or if it's even something that needs medical attention. The truth is, I've never really paid attention to runners who talk about these types of things because I thought I would never reach that level. But it happened.

    If I am really honest with you, and I have no reason not to be, the toenail is actually a dark gray color, so not yet officially black. But it's definately not your every day jogger's toenail. Oh no. It's something more.

    And it kind of makes me want to go back to that guy who was mowing his lawn today, and who said to me, "Nice day for a jog," and tell him, "I, sir, am not a jogger. I ran 8 miles, albeit slowly, at a pace most would consider a jog, but I am not a jogger at all. I have a black toe nail."

    16 Comments:

    At 12:36 PM, August 28, 2005, Blogger Riona said...

    You're funny! I'm inspired. "No, sir, I may be wearing an aircast and it may well be four weeks since I dragged my lazy Irish ass off the couch, but I, sir, am a runner! Ask Stephanie."

    Is it appropriate to congratulate someone on a blackened toenail?

     
    At 12:58 PM, August 28, 2005, Blogger brent said...

    i can almost guarantee you that you grey toenail will be black very very soon! :) and that the next step will be for it to fall off. hehe! :-)
    the bad news is it takes about 8 months for the newbie nail to grow in. the good news is that once i switched to new running shoes, my toenail (or lack thereof) never really bothered me. it is the mark of a runner fo shizzle.

     
    At 1:29 PM, August 28, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
    At 1:31 PM, August 28, 2005, Blogger Running Chick said...

    Yep, your hazing is almost complete.

    Once you cross that 26.2 miles to the finish line, the initiation will be complete.

    Welcome sister!

     
    At 1:45 PM, August 28, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     
    At 9:18 PM, August 28, 2005, Blogger a.maria said...

    damn girl, you ARE a runner. very officially, not to be question, you flaunt that toe with pride!!! (i know i would!!)

    i feel slightly odd saying "good job on the black toe", however.... good job on the black toe! heh.

     
    At 9:23 PM, August 28, 2005, Blogger Noames said...

    Woohoo! And also: Hee!

    That's such a great feeling (although I'm not sure I envy the black toenail--that sounds painful!) More goodness (and pain/badges of honor) to come!

     
    At 9:36 AM, August 29, 2005, Blogger HouseRunner said...

    I think it's time to wear flip flops to celebrate! I aspire to be that cool.

     
    At 5:12 PM, August 29, 2005, Blogger Danny said...

    When I first started running I used to say "I'm going for a jog". I'm not sure when (or how) it happened, but after a while I started saying "I'm going for a run". I think that's when I became a runner.

    Congratulations.

     
    At 7:11 PM, August 29, 2005, Blogger Noames said...

    By the way. I forgot to answer your question about the dog running 10 miles. Yes, she did run the whole 10 with us, although we ran pretty slow and walked a bit (not just because of the dog). Her owner takes her out on runs often, so I think she's conditioned at this point, but she'd never gone 10 miles before. Her previous best was 8 miles. But she (owner) says it's obvious when the dog is tired, so she (owner again) knows if they have to stop.

     
    At 5:51 PM, August 30, 2005, Blogger Scott in Washington said...

    Which toe is it Stephanie? You should get a medal or an award - the bronze toe club or something.

     
    At 7:30 PM, August 30, 2005, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I have crossed some kind of mental "I am a runner" threshold in that I have bought a book about running!!
    LBTEPA

     
    At 7:33 PM, August 30, 2005, Blogger Rae said...

    Way to go! My husband has been sporting one for while now (I think his shoes are actually a little too small). Make sure you take lots of pictures for your training scrapbook!

     
    At 8:34 PM, August 30, 2005, Blogger jeanne said...

    ewwwww. I haven't got a black toenail yet! I'm going to go obsess about that now.

    Wow, we're a WEIRD group of people!
    :)

     
    At 12:31 PM, August 31, 2005, Blogger not veronica said...

    Huh -- I've got myself a couple of white toenails ... wonder what that makes me?

     
    At 6:00 AM, September 09, 2005, Blogger Jack said...

    Welcome to the black toenail club! I wanted to be smart and say "you have toenails?", but actually I still have 3 so I don't qualify either;-)

     

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