Can I Run On A Broken Toe?

That's what I googled two weekends ago after I showed Pam my hurt toe before Bible class started. She looked at it, pointed out the bruise, and said, "That looks broken."

I had smacked my foot really hard on the coffee table Friday night. 

And I had a race the next weekend: a tune-up race, my long run, before the marathon. 

Apparently it's a commonly Googled question with blogs being written to answer the question. Not by doctors, mind you, but by other runners.

I took Pam's (and the blogs I read) advice and taped my toe up. 

I stayed off of it more than usual on Sunday. I wasn't going to see a doctor because it seemed like a waste of money, but then my TA told me about when she broke her toe. Her fracture was in a weight-bearing part so they put her in a boot so she could heal quicker. I didn't want to wear a boot, but if my toe was broken, I wanted to heal as quickly as possible. 

I found out Tuesday it wasn't broken, just really bruised. I then asked the doctor of course about running.

Stephanie sent this to me on Pinterest during my To Run or Not To Run dilemma.

The doctor told me to do what I feel comfortable doing.

So I ran about a mile on Thursday to see how the foot felt taped. It felt painless so I decided to continue not running on it until Sunday. I'd make the decision Saturday what distance I was going to run. Because the foot felt good that day, I decided to do as planned: 20.6.

I rode the bus down with a local running group to the Start Line. The course started in the Arbuckles near Davis, Oklahoma. 

It was cold that morning, but I knew it would warm up. I had been warned to bring clothes to shed once I started running and to not go too fast down the hills.

I'm glad I heeded the advice. I warmed up by the third mile, and the course was pretty hilly.

While the course was fun, it was a rough run. I hadn't done a long run for three weeks and hadn't ran for over a week (except for the measly one mile I had done). I was really tight and had to stop around mile 9 to stretch out my hips. My toe wasn't hurting, but my other leg from my hip down to my knee hurt for over half the run. I think I was compensating for the hurt toe probably.

It did my spirits good when Pam and David came and found me around mile 15. Pam ran with me about a quarter of a mile, took a selfie, and they yelled at me as they drove away.

The last miles were really rough. Lots of hills against a strong wind. I was thrilled when I saw the stadium where the finish was located. Then as I entered the stadium, the race marshall says, "Ok, one lap around and you're done!"

I know I groaned and probably shot her a dirty look because she apologized to me.

My time wasn't great, but considering all the factors, I was glad I had done the race. 

And I'll probably do it again - at least the half.