The Itch Came Back

There is a reason, scratch that, there are many reasons why I hate pools. But today, we will talk about one in particular:

The fungus.

Prior to last week, it had been almost four years since I’d been in a pool water running. I’ve never been a fan of pools, I find them disgusting, I am not a strong swimmer, they’ve got creepers all around, wads of hair, people’s boogers, and other grodies swimming next to you, and the stench of chlorine sticks to your skin for days after. But because I have a major run coming, and this damn foot injury, I needed to do something to keep my fitness going. And when I was training for my second marathon and suffered stress fractures in both ankles, the majority of the training was done in the pool. Despite the disgustingness of it, it was great for training. So last week I ignored the gross factor, and plunged into the local pool for 35 minutes of water running.

Full disclosure: I did not have flip flops. I had forgotten them at home. The pool was a 25-minute bus ride from home. I took my chances.

Big, big, big, BIG MISTAKE!

We diabetics are prone to infection, and I am no stranger to athlete’s foot. I first suffered the nasty affliction when working at a summer camp in Maine 15 years ago. The girls there told me to pee on my feet, that it was the best cure for it, but I just couldn’t do it, still can’t, so I suffer the itch. Over the years it has attacked several times over, but I haven’t felt the incessant, crazying itch between my toes for a few years now.

And then I went to the pool.

The moment I took my socks off, I knew. No matter what I tried telling myself, no matter how hard I tried to walk on my heels, despite the pain, I knew the fungus would attack. The next morning, the itch was back.

Tip: Do NOT Google image search Athlete's Foot, there are some pretty whorry foot photos that had me nearly hurl!
Tip: Do NOT Google image search Athlete’s Foot, there are some pretty whorry foot photos that had me nearly hurl!

Jerkface pool!

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