Happy Turkey Day Weekend Barefooters!
Well this week started out good but finished with a fizzle. Monday was a good 4.2 mile run in the late afternoon and almost ended in the dark...still not used to the short days and the daylight savings double whammy. On Wed., I went a little earlier than normal and ran on semi-wet roads in order to do the Thanksgiving travelling later in the afternoon. I had noted a small abrasion on the ball of the left foot from the Monday run, but it "seemed" to be okay after the Wed. run and figured I would have another 48+ hours to recover before my holiday weekend run. Well, Thursday (Thanksgiving) came and went and I enjoyed the time off and letting the feet rest. Then, on Friday, after the temps started to rise to the mid 40s, I went for a mid-morning run so the afternoon could be left open for any Black Friday shopping (albeit Shipshewanna style). I was at the in-laws in Howe, IN so decided to do my normal run on the "Lake Road loop." The loop is a 1.7mile triangle which is basically divided into thirds. The first leg is on Hwy 120 and is exceptionally smooth. The 2nd leg is a county road heading south and the surface is consistent, although somewhat "sharp" asphalt with some "shiny" rocks which resemble cinders. The 3rd leg is the actual Lake Road portion which is an older asphalt section with many small pebbles, and sand strew across the irregular, frequently cracked surface. While each section is about .6miles long, the 2nd and 3rd sections are MUCH rougher than I'm used to. I originally had decided to run either 2 or 3 loops which would have been 3.4 or 5.1 miles.
Once I got about halfway through the first loop, I thought about just calling it quits after one loop since everything seemed so uncomfortable. But of course, I talked myself into a 2nd loop and then thought maybe I'd be able to do another 2 loops the next day before heading back home. But this was a big mistake. On the second loop I started to feel a lot of discomfort on the outside of the left foot and must have changed my landing enough to put additional pressure on the ball of the left foot. Before long I was back on the "sandpaper" Lake Road section and the ball of the left foot felt like I had a rock stuck on it, which often happens on semi-wet pavement. I stopped to brush it off and OUCH, I saw a bright red spot on the very bottom of the ball of the left foot. How could I have gotten a blister that fast AND already popped it on the same run?!? This was the first time I had ever seen blood after almost 4 months of barefoot running! While I have had several blisters (even blood blisters) i had never popped one on the same run and again, never seen blood during (or after) a run. I gingerly ran (limped) the next rocky half mile back to the house and jumped into the shower, being careful not to leave bloody footprints on my mother-in-law's beige carpet. OUCH! Was that ever a painful shower! And the shopping and walking around Shipshewanna later that day was downright painful. Another first: only time I've ever put on a bandaid on my foot since I started barefooting...very disappointing. Today (Saturday) the foot is still very tender...no way to run on it today. We travelled back home and enjoyed time with the kids, putting up the Christmas tree and "decking the halls." Next week I will travel to the UK (Newport, Wales) on business where I had hoped to get in a few good runs...but now I think I just may take the time off and heal up. I will throw in the Vibrams since it will be a long trip with NO running whatsoever. But Vibrams after 4 months in the barefeet may feel like a total "throwing in of the towel." Not sure I could do that either...we'll have to see how the feet feel and how the typically cold, wet November/December UK weather pans out. Oh well, barefooters have to put up with some setbacks and this is my first major one...
Talk to you all in another week, or two!
BF Dan
Total Barefoot Miles for the Week = 11.8 Miles
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