Don't worry, those are socks!

Hi! You’re probably wondering what all my races (and random thoughts) have anything to do with missing toenails. Well, if you have completed a marathon (or two), you might have lost a toenail (or two) afterwards! It’s gross, I know, but my nails do grow back! And when they do, I repeat the process. ;)

My sisters wanted me to include this as well: I like to show off my missing toenails to them, much to their dismay. It’s just wonderful how our bodies recuperate and I wanted to share that amazement with them. :)

How I Got Into Running

Like some crazy adventures, it started with a boy (or ex-boy, now!)

I wasn’t much of an athlete growing up. I never ran, or did any sports in grade school, highschool or even college. In my mid-twenties, after I broke up with my then-boyfriend, I took up running. My friends and family supported me, at least when I was doing two- to three-mile runs. When I started running marathons (lots of them), they thought I was crazy*… until I got them involved in it! Now, we all run the same races (most of them anyway), together!

*If this story seemed familiar, you have probably read about me on Women’s Running magazine (“Women Who Move” feature), January/February 2009 issue #30. They took down the online version, but see what I scanned below!

Seven years, 26 marathons, 35 half-marathons, several 8-mile, 10K, 5K, trail races, and 8 triathlon events later, I am still not done with racing. Don’t get me wrong, I have thought (more than once) of just giving up all this running, but for one reason or another, I just keep coming back.

In this blog, I hope to keep the memories of my experiences alive and if I can even inspire another person to live the active lifestyle, then even better!

Take care and keep on running,

- Minel

p.s.,

Here’s the scan of my “interview” on Women Who Move. Click the image for a larger version!