Thursday afternoon
6.5 mi /10.5 km, running
7 mi / 11.3 km total
36 C / 2.22 C
31 C / -.5 C
We had an inch of snow overnight, but it was gone by the end of the afternoon, and windchill was close to freezing, so I decided to try an out-n-back bare for the first time in a month or two. The neighborhood streets and sidewalks were still wet, but it was warm enough that it didn't bother me. I was even able to run through a 20-foot-long puddle on a depressed section of sidewalk. I immediately thought of Jen manically splashing alongside me as I did so. The sun had actually made that water warmer than the thin layer of moisture covering the rest of the sidewalk surfaces. At the end of the winter, the puddle felt almost as inviting as a dip in the tropical waters of Mozambique.
My legs felt heavy, probably from all the mobility exercises I did the day before with ankle weights, so I kept the run to a little over 10mm pace. This was one of those rare runs where I was just counting the miles, waiting for it to end. Once I got to my back-n-forth street in the fairgrounds, I decided to just run back and forth on that rather than push on farther into the adjoining neighborhood, the one that has Como Lake, called, appropriately, Como Park.
The street was close to bone dry. So back and forth I went. Since I was plodding along, I decided to work on sole conditioning, and sought out a quarter-mile section of mild chipseal that had deteriorated into a lot of cracks, small potholes, and scattered debris. I went back and forth on that for a couple of miles. Without the usual foot numbness, I could really feel the rough textures, and also stepped on a few larger, sharp pebbles a couple of times. Ouch! This morning my soles are pleasantly tingly--just like old times--albeit with a few bruises. My legs are really stiff though. I wonder if it's from the slow pace, or the sashimi I had afterwards.
Besides working on pace and distance, one of my goals this year is to push the sole conditioning a bit. I would like to see if it's possible to run on gravel comfortably at a 10-11 mm pace. First I'll start with some mild chipseal bike/walking paths in the first-tier suburb nearby.
On the way back to pick up my daughter at school, I ran through a couple of blocks of shaded sidewalk full of puddles and slush. I was running through it nonchalantly, confident from my earlier romp through the solar-heated puddle, when all of a sudden I noticed my toes numbing down drastically, and painfully, just like on that day I got frost nip. Oh sh!t! So I sprinted through it and turned the corner onto a drier section, but then a block or so later put on my back-up Moc3s for the final coupla blocks to my daughter's school, just to be safe.
Had a nice barefoot walk home with my daughter. My feet began to numb up again, so I had to push the little chatterbox Dora-the-explorer's pace a bit faster than she would've liked. She made up a song about icky snow.
I saw my doc earlier in the day, to get a check-up but mainly to have him order an abdominal ultrasound. My dad's doc, who had repaired my dad's abdominal aorta aneurysm two summers ago, said his sons should get checked out to make sure everything is in order. Anyway, my doc said everything looked pretty good, all the gauges are fine, so it's good to know the exercise is paying off. It must be nice for a doc to treat a patient who's taking of him-/herself, and he said so in so many words. Still need to lose the weight I've gained since last fall though. Still not sure how I put it on. I know my running dropped off while I was working through the endless niggles, but I've also probably added some muscle mass as I've added more time to my st workouts and phased out the rowing. I dunno. Still hunting that elusive 200 lb mark. Maybe by this summer . . . if I can keep up the last few week's full workout schedule. I would hate to have to revert to dieting
like Nick
.
Anyhow, here's a tip for the younger men: when you get to the age when you need to start getting regular prostate exams, recruit a little doctor with small fingers. My guy is The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince-sized. Helps a lot.
but the midwest is rather boring and bland as it waits for spring to happen.
Tru dat, but it's still fun to see others' running spots.
With the bit of walking, it was a total of 3 miles. All barefoot. 
