I'm not going to lie citizens. The Maple Grove Barefoot Guy does have his weakness. Up until this weekend, that weakness was barefoot running in the snow. And of course, doughnuts are another chink in my armor (to hell with paleo if I see a box of doughnuts). Mostly this weakness is just me being a primadonna. We Minnesotans try to act like we're tough in the winter. We go outside in t-shirts in negative degree weather. We make jokes about how it's not the heat, it's the humidity that will get you in the winter.
I do all of that...and I am serious for the most part. I've taken a run in -20 degree weather. Even though I wore goggles, my eyelids froze shut at least three times. And with the goggles and all my black winter tech-gear I looked like the Red Baron and Ninja Gaiden had a baby. But if snow touches my toes, I will scream like a girl at a Bieber concert.
Over the weekend, we got 12 inches of snow in Maple Grove. Before that, temperatures were in the 60s. Winter came right up to Fall and sucker punched him right in the nugs. And I was determined to shed my fear ofbarefoot running in the snow. So right after getting up, I went outside in my pjs and bare feet.
I was pleasantly surprised. The snow wasn't that cold. My feet were actually quite comfortable. And the snow was melting fast beneath my feet. What a cool feeling!
I hustled back inside and went upstairs to get dressed. My wife was still asleep (it was 6am). I told my wife the following: 1) Fall is over, 2) I'm going for abarefoot run, and 3) Clara is on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.I'm pretty sure she was still asleep when I talked to her, but she responded, "If you get frostbite, call 911 and not me."I admire her having her priorities in line: sleep first, thenher husband's safety.
Before going out I went over all of the advice I've read about running barefoot in the winter. Number one: protect your core. I put on enough DryFit to equipa convoy to Mt.Everest.Number two: get warm. Iput my feet rightup to one of my heating vents and started doing jumping jacks toget my blood flowing. It worked; I was now sweating. Then Ipopped out the garage into the fresh snow.
My first barefoot run wasn't a long run; just around the streets in my neighborhood. The plows hadn't gone through yet, so a fresh layer of about 3 inches of snow covered everything. Itonly partially covered my feet in soft,very wet snow.After the first couple steps, I felt my feet numb up quick. But as soon as they numbed up, I felta surge of heat radiate downmy legs to warm them back up.Istopped ata dry spot under a tree, and my feet dried offimmediately?and returned to their pre-run temperature.
I started out again and my toes were toasty warm. This time the snow melted under my feet. In this area, the trees kept a lot of the snow off the road. So the terrain alternated between spots of 1-2 inches, slush, and wet blacktop. The snow numbedmy feetagain, but not nearly as much. It felt just like running through a puddle. So I kept going. My plans to go around the block changed as I ran down the next street. Still feeling warm then, I turned up onto a local trail. One mile turned into two, and I could have gone further. But I decided to stop to not push my luck. All I would need to end my fun isthe lecture I would get from people after getting frostbite during my first barefoot snow run.
And what a fantastic run it was!Like being a kid again, playing in the snow. After a 2-miler on Saturday and a 6-miler on Sunday, I am officially a winter barefoot runner. I guess that's a good thing, becauseafter moving my snow plow into mygarage I can't find my Vibrams. Anyway, I hope this winterprovidestons of fun, and I will keep you all posted as to myfrozen barefoot antics. Cheers!
I do all of that...and I am serious for the most part. I've taken a run in -20 degree weather. Even though I wore goggles, my eyelids froze shut at least three times. And with the goggles and all my black winter tech-gear I looked like the Red Baron and Ninja Gaiden had a baby. But if snow touches my toes, I will scream like a girl at a Bieber concert.
Over the weekend, we got 12 inches of snow in Maple Grove. Before that, temperatures were in the 60s. Winter came right up to Fall and sucker punched him right in the nugs. And I was determined to shed my fear ofbarefoot running in the snow. So right after getting up, I went outside in my pjs and bare feet.
I was pleasantly surprised. The snow wasn't that cold. My feet were actually quite comfortable. And the snow was melting fast beneath my feet. What a cool feeling!
I hustled back inside and went upstairs to get dressed. My wife was still asleep (it was 6am). I told my wife the following: 1) Fall is over, 2) I'm going for abarefoot run, and 3) Clara is on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.I'm pretty sure she was still asleep when I talked to her, but she responded, "If you get frostbite, call 911 and not me."I admire her having her priorities in line: sleep first, thenher husband's safety.
Before going out I went over all of the advice I've read about running barefoot in the winter. Number one: protect your core. I put on enough DryFit to equipa convoy to Mt.Everest.Number two: get warm. Iput my feet rightup to one of my heating vents and started doing jumping jacks toget my blood flowing. It worked; I was now sweating. Then Ipopped out the garage into the fresh snow.
My first barefoot run wasn't a long run; just around the streets in my neighborhood. The plows hadn't gone through yet, so a fresh layer of about 3 inches of snow covered everything. Itonly partially covered my feet in soft,very wet snow.After the first couple steps, I felt my feet numb up quick. But as soon as they numbed up, I felta surge of heat radiate downmy legs to warm them back up.Istopped ata dry spot under a tree, and my feet dried offimmediately?and returned to their pre-run temperature.
I started out again and my toes were toasty warm. This time the snow melted under my feet. In this area, the trees kept a lot of the snow off the road. So the terrain alternated between spots of 1-2 inches, slush, and wet blacktop. The snow numbedmy feetagain, but not nearly as much. It felt just like running through a puddle. So I kept going. My plans to go around the block changed as I ran down the next street. Still feeling warm then, I turned up onto a local trail. One mile turned into two, and I could have gone further. But I decided to stop to not push my luck. All I would need to end my fun isthe lecture I would get from people after getting frostbite during my first barefoot snow run.
And what a fantastic run it was!Like being a kid again, playing in the snow. After a 2-miler on Saturday and a 6-miler on Sunday, I am officially a winter barefoot runner. I guess that's a good thing, becauseafter moving my snow plow into mygarage I can't find my Vibrams. Anyway, I hope this winterprovidestons of fun, and I will keep you all posted as to myfrozen barefoot antics. Cheers!
