Mixed bag for me this week. I’m loving mixing some slow running in with my long walks; my feet love mixing up the kind of stresses they feel. I’ve also started running a 3.5 mile loop around my neighborhood that has a mix of flat and hill, new concrete and old, industrial and park and residential, loud and quiet. My quads and glutes have felt aches that I haven’t felt since college. sThe blister I got on my big toe has mostly resolved itself, which led me to going barefoot again, which ended by stepping on some glass this morning. (I saw the big scatter of broken bottle, but I was stupid and tried to pick my way through it rather than just go around.) It felt like something was still in there, so I limped home. After washing and poking around with tweezers, I think it just felt like I had a splinter because the skin is thick and tough over the wound, so all’s well. I was amazed at how walking home on the side of that foot was no more sensitive to the roughness of the ground than the sole of my other foot, which I think confirms my idea that protection from discomfort has more to do with nerves and perception than the toughness of the skin itself. Also, walking a mile home on the side of my foot = no big deal = feet are amazingly adaptive, aren’t they?
About 16 miles running and 9 walking this week, almost all in 4mm sandals. I’m strangely enthusiastic about continuing to run barefoot despite the setbacks.
Oh, and I’ll be volunteering for the local marathon next weekend. Never really seen a big race up close before, so it’ll be interesting to see what the running community looks like in the flesh rather than just online.
