Does our week begin on Sunday or end on Sunday? Well, if it begins on Sunday, then I will report this to end my week:
Today: 6 miles barefoot, including 1 mile warmup walk and 5 miles barefoot on mixed pavement, including smooth and pebbled concrete and chip-and-seal asphalt. It was an amazing morning; we had our first rain in 150 days on Thursday, and it was a good one at that. This morning it was crystal clear and cool, just the sort of morning you want to get out and run in. I've always liked running in cooler temps, but now I see that cooler temperatures are a distinct advantage when running barefoot. The chip-and-seal didn't bother my soles one bit, and the smooth concrete felt like glass under my feet. Just an absolute joy to run today; I could have gone for another few miles. Since there were some hills involved in today's course, I didn't even bother to keep my heart rate MAF low. I just went with it, and still, going uphill wasn't a chore at all; I had plenty of gas in the tank.
Have to say: barefoot running is really a mind-opening experience. Challenging to every notion I've ever had about running. I know I'm not telling you all something you don't already know, but heck, I'm a newbie, so forgive my amazement at finding all this out.
Went to a yoga class after my run, and a woman there had apparently seen me on my run this morning and asked me what the idea was behind running barefoot. All I could say was "Well, my shoes were killing me!" She sort of laughed and said, "My podiatrist would really disagree with you." What could I say but, "Oh, you mean the guy that wants to operate on your feet or sell you some expensive orthotics? THAT guy?" She sort of snorted and turned away. What can I say; diplomacy isn't my strong suit.