Mileage reporting 23rd week 2014

Let's see.

5.5 easy miles today. about half of them were barefoot.

8.5 easy miles yesterday. Startled a bunch of goldfinches at one point and all of a sudden I was seeing flashes of yellow darting up into the sky. Then I looked at the bank on the roadside from where they had originated and saw all the thistle growing there. Goldfinches love thistle seed. I almost melted down on yesterday's run. It started off cloudy and damp some, but then the clouds cleared and the sun was high because I had started late and all the rain was evaporating. I think it was somewhere after the 5 mile mark I took a short walk break and pulled off the tee shirt. That helped, felt cooler after that and then thankfully after that some more clouds rolled in.

6.3 easy miles on Wednesday, about 3.6 of those were barefoot.

One of the stretches of road I like to run upon got tarred and chipped Wednesday afternoon. Even wearing the Xeros makes that road a tough challenge, lots of sharp pointy gravel bits all the wrong size for comfort.

Tuesday had been the anniversary date of the hike that made me tip over to the idea of living more barefoot. It's going well. I've learned a lot and my feet are a lot stronger and tougher than a year ago.
 
Oh, and should anyone think I'm bragging, think again because I'm not. It's pure excitement because even just a year ago I had come to accept that I was probably never going to run faster than a 10:30, especially for anything longer than a 5k distance. I didn't think it was in the cards for me to run faster than that. Now I wonder if maybe, just maybe I can get back down even to a 7m/m pace. It all seems possible now.
 
Nice 3 mile run, I saw more lighting bugs, rabbits and one toad!
Ah yes
 
2.3 miles on rough pavement and hills, except for .3 miles on a newly surfaced road that was smooth as silk. I ran a little more than planned just to feel it. About 3 hours yard work and knowing I had a midnight drive to pick up DH from airport made me opt for an evening nap instead of swimming. Maybe I'll fit it in tomorrow. Probably should make it a priority since he brought me 3 huge chocolate bars from Germany.
 
Monday - 20 minutes on gravel trail in the the middle of a 1 hour run, the rest was paved roads...low 70's

Thursday - 65 minute run local hilly roads in the heat...late morning

Today - Just after sunrise about 70F at Rabbit Hill park, 1 mile warmup, 5 miles MAF test, 1 mile tempo, 2 miles mixed speed then a cooldown mile...10 miles total. Lots of people out early with more runners than usual.
 
7 miles this morning. Legs were tired some, maybe some leftover effect from Thursday's run which was very warm and humid, and maybe also because I had run more miles in the prior 12 days than I had ever run in a 12 day period before. So instead of going long I only did 7.

The worst part of things was coming back on the out-and-back route I did was the distress I began to feel because I needed to unload. I thought I had unloaded everything this morning after I woke up, but I guess not. It was with some great relief when I climbed the last serious uphill and was left with just a mile mostly downhill to get to home and a bathroom. I then ran that last mile a bit harder than I should have in terms of effort, but it was necessary.
 
biked to and from school most days. got a ride home one day then to school the next. wasn't feeling too good. still walk most breaks between classes and every 20 min break we get. last week another student did some work on my feet and left it band. felt good but not for too long. met another student on wed and we talked and worked on me for over 2 hours. he's learning applied kinesiology. muscle testing with some chinese med principles. Maffetone and soc-doc use it. he says i'm an interesting case and we'll continue working on me. ya, he said my adrenals are overworked. damn school.
 
IMG_4699.JPGIMG_4702.JPGIMG_4705.JPGIMG_4706.JPGIMG_4708.JPGIMG_4709.JPGIMG_4713.JPG This morning I experienced my first BF run on a muddy trail. The early morning rain came slow and lasted a couple of hours. Since my alarm was set for 5 am for an early run anyway I decided to head 40 mi north to an area I had scoped out a year ago for such an occasion. After gather my things I headed to the hills where the minimum maintenance roads consist of clay soil. This mornings rain combined with the clay soil created the PERFECT soil recipe for that very sticky toe squishing mud that is irresistible! (Well that's if you enjoy that kind of thing! :))

Ran about 4 miles (walked some too) total and had a GREAT time! Met a kid 4 wheeling through the muddy hills but I'm sure I was the one having the most fun! Will definitely have to do this again sometime. Seemed great running on a surface other than the usual rough asphalt or smooth pavement in the city. Could easily become an addiction. Anyway I grabbed the camera out of the car and took a few photos of the road I ran and some surrounding photos.
 
View attachment 4178View attachment 4179View attachment 4180View attachment 4181View attachment 4182View attachment 4183View attachment 4184 This morning I experienced my first BF run on a muddy trail. The early morning rain came slow and lasted a couple of hours. Since my alarm was set for 5 am for an early run anyway I decided to head 40 mi north to an area I had scoped out a year ago for such an occasion. After gather my things I headed to the hills where the minimum maintenance roads consist of clay soil. This mornings rain combined with the clay soil created the PERFECT soil recipe for that very sticky toe squishing mud that is irresistible! (Well that's if you enjoy that kind of thing! :))

Ran about 4 miles (walked some too) total and had a GREAT time! Met a kid 4 wheeling through the muddy hills but I'm sure I was the one having the most fun! Will definitely have to do this again sometime. Seemed great running on a surface other than the usual rough asphalt or smooth pavement in the city. Could easily become an addiction. Anyway I grabbed the camera out of the car and took a few photos of the road I ran and some surrounding photos.

Okay, I need to come run there.