Monday afternoon
very lite st, and .3 mi micro run in the slush
33 F / .5 C
26 F / -3.3 C windchil
Tuesday afternoon
tried to finish Monday's st, then
6.39 mi / 10. 28 km
35 F / 2 C
25 F / -4 C windchill
bare without incident
Monday's micro-run in the slush was a bit much. My toes were tingly for 10-15 minutes afterwards. My st was a bit lax. Ran out of time at the end of the day, and just wasn't feeling it. I really gotta switch the st to earlier in the day, when I feel primed for a pump.
Next day, today, I tried to finish the st workout. My left shoulder is still a bit sore, so I did high reps, lower weights, to get the blood circulating in that area. That seemed to help.
Then I drove again to the fairgrounds for my run, in order to avoid the wet spots, so to speak. There was a big state high school hockey double-header at the Fairgrounds' Colosseum, so the guys directing cars in the parking area had fun with me when they saw I was barefoot. When I reappeared an hour later the oldest guy congratulated me. The younger guy, still older than me, told me I was crazy. I told him "use it or lose it" which I guess cut too close to the blubber-covered bone because his jovial manner fell quiet after that.
The actual meso-run went well. More back and forth on the dry section of road up there. There seemed to be more moist sections traversing the road from the thawing run-off, which really numbed my feet down, more so that at any other time since my frostnip mishap two months ago. I guess that's why I didn't notice that the road was chewing up my soles a bit. When I got home, the soles felt pretty sore. I guess I'm overdoing it somewhat, running higher mileage today and two days ago than my nascent calluses are good for. Perhaps on Thursday's run the prudent thing would be to run shod, but it will be hard to cover up now that I'm having so much fun again, and the conditions are so bareable. As casual barefooter but mediocre runner, it's funny to think of my soles holding me back instead of my running fitness.
Funny, too, that I didn't feel so plodding, like I usually do at slower paces. My form actually felt fairly smooth and effortless. Perhaps the numb feet are forcing me to be hyper efficient in my running economy. Or perhaps being so attentive to preventing another running injury, I'm subconsciously regulating my gait better. I dunno. But every time I consciously tuned in, I felt my feet landing exactly flat and my hips felt incredibly relaxed and sturdy.
Today my pain level is really low, nearly non-existent.
Great to hear of your progress Nick! Our synchronicity really is amazing, as my running has been going pretty well for the last week or two.