A Little Deformed, A Lot Determined

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy and morning time together to share coffee. I am also grateful for what running has brought and continues to bring to our lives.

After a difficult and depleting long training run last Saturday, a real challenge in the heat and humidity, yesterday's was one both Darcy and I felt very satisfied about. We enjoyed a stretch of trail that was fairly quiet and offered good immersion in nature as well as some welcome shade for several miles.

We ran about 16 miles over the course of three hours, a good distance for this point in our training season. I felt strong and surprisingly energetic, even at the end. It affirmed for me the weight loss I have maintained and the varied training I have been doing in recent weeks. It also got Darcy back on track with his goals and I am grateful for that.

These were my feet after the run, happy to be done and enjoying a little freedom:


My right foot is a little deformed because of a bunion and the beginnings of capsulitis of the second toe. I was worried earlier in the year that these variables could impact my running comfort or worse.

The ten pounds or so I have taken off have proven crucial here though. The bunion has barely bothered me and the other condition is rarely noticeable. For that, I am truly grateful. And also determined to keep the weight off, for the sake of my feet and my running future.

I appreciate too that when first thinking about deformations and my body, it is my right foot's bunion that comes to mind. Not my flat chest. I don't consider that a deformation. I consider the scars and changed terrain as the right choices I made nearly ten years ago. I love the freedom of running flat, unencumbered by running bras and chafing potential.

My foot is a little deformed, my chest is a lot flat. All in all, I am left a lot determined to keep running, stride by stride, day by day.

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