My toenails are not "black" and they are not falling off, but I do have three that are discolored or bruised. Are my shoes too small? What else might cause this?
2013 races
Santa Anita Derby Day 5k - 6 Apr 21:20
La Jolla HM - 28 Apr 1:40:33
Laguna Hills Memorial Day 10k - 27 May
Camp Pendleton Mud Run 10k - 1 June
Hot Day Meat Chaser
Do they hurt while you're running, or at all?
No. They don't hurt, but maybe I do feel it a bit. I have about 80 miles on these shoes and I just noticed it this week.
Most likely your shoes are too small. As a general rule for running shoes, you want about 1/2 inch between the end of the shoe and the end of your longest toe. That's normally about a thumbnail's length. Your foot will never move backwards in the shoe.
You also want enough room in the toebox for your toes to move laterally a little. Not sloshing around, but enough room for foot expansion.
I get that all the time and my shoes are not too small. With me, after a while, the nail falls off. But another nail has usually grown under before that happens. There is no pain, it's just not pretty. But who cares? I wouldn't worry about it unless you feel a certain discomfort.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
Yes, I thought I had that. My running shoes are a full size bigger than my regular shoes. Perhaps I need to go 1.5 bigger?
Express it.
I'm sporting one right now...a memento from the Davis HM. No pain here either. I just figured it comes with the territory, right?
We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder.We always have the choice.
Jack, could be that you tied it too loose or maybe your socks..
U Run 10K - 24 Feb (47:21)
2XU HM - 31 Mar (1:48:44)
JP Morgan 5.6K - 18 Apr (30:14)
Sundown HM - 31 May
Bali HM - 16 Jun
King of the Road 16.8K - 11 Aug
Newton 32K - 20 Oct
Chief Unicorn Officer
That used to happen to me when my shoes were too small, but it's possible you could be wearing the right size and maybe the toe box just isn't shaped right for your foot. I can wear my correct size in Nike Free's, but the way that particular shoe fits just doesn't work for me and gives me a blood blister on my big toe. So maybe next time you're looking for shoes try a different brand or model with a differently shaped toe box.
Mile 5:49 - 5K 20:08 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54
It happens. I tried bigger shoes, different shoes, different socks etc but eventually I just accepted having ugly feet. After dealing with a real injury, black toenails are really not a big deal to me.
I have this now on 2 toenails on my left foot. It started after my most recent pair of Asics. I assume it's just a slightly more narrow toe box, or they fit a little more snug than other shoes. They're a 12, and I consistently wear 12's across the board without issue most of the time.
Shake off the dust....Arise.
PR's.....5k - 24:00......10k - 55:21........15k - 1:19:43.......HM - 1:59:45
Sometimes I have noticed that back when I did train for marathons, I would have that happen and it was usually just a result of my feet slipping forward and hitting the toe box, particularly because I run a lot of hills where I live (hard to avoid). You might try lace locking the ankles to hold your forefoot in place better if you are sure the sizing is correct. That seemed to help me out.
You might try lace locking the ankles to hold your forefoot in place better if you are sure the sizing is correct. That seemed to help me out.
how tight is too tight when doing this?
I rotate two pairs of shoes and one feels good locked in and the other hurts after a few miles and that pain transfers somewhere else.
”Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”
Tomas
I'm in the camp of "don't worry about it unless it hurts."
Short term goal: 2:59:59 (November, 2013)
Mid term goal: Any race over 80% of top AG standard
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
The more I run, the more toe nail issues I have. It never matters how my shoes fit, and my record for black toes at 1 time is 8. I have webbed toes as it is so dont get any compliments.
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