Friday, February 18, 2011

Shorts and Shoeless in Ohio

Yea!  Ran another 7.2 barefoot today (Thursday - I'm posting this late so it shows as Friday - I need to get to bed).  55 deg at the start.  55 deg at the finish. And it was fast today.  This was our 5th barefoot run in February.  We only logged three barefoot runs last month.  Aqua socks are good for the cold and rain, but barefoot is the desired standard!

Pepper and I ran our 7.2 loop from home to Water Works, around Silver Lake and back home.  The 0.8 mile section along the bike and hike trail from Water Works to Silver lake was tricky.  It was icy and therefore slippery.  No falls were recorded.  The feet (mine, not Pepper's - of course I guess that's obvious, since she has paws) held up well.  They're a little tender now and a little bruised - nothing to worry about.  In addition to the ice, half of the pavement was wet, which does not allow the skin to hold up for long.  We ran in the dark because I took advantage of the unusual warmth to change the oil and wash the truck

I rarely run in the dark because naturally, I would prefer to see all the imperfections in the path I take.  At night, you have to rely on feel much more.  It's a challenge.  It also provides for a different type of mentality.  The sun shows the path, so when rocks and debris present themselves, the laser focus of your eyesight will guide you to an alternative rout.  At night, most obstacles are muted and not obvious, so the trust of the feel of your feet is more acute and necessary.  The icy section of today's run was interesting since there were no streetlights (it wasn't pitch black though).  When running on a "technical" trail like this, vision of the path is critical.  With tonight's reduced visual sense, I had to rely on feel and balance.  It got slippery at times, but as I said; no falls were reported.  Running on streets at night aren't normally difficult as the streetlights provide adequate light.  The challenge is the debris on the road during, and for a short time, after winter.  Dirt, salt crystals, small pebbles and the like can make for an adventurous run.  I relied on feel more than on sight.  It's a different mental experience.

I wore shorts and a short sleeve technical shirt (my YUT-C shirt).  I took bandanna for head sweat and that's it!  An unusual wardrobe for mid February.

3 comments:

  1. I kind of wished I had tried my first barefoot run of the year last night, but I chose to wear the Vibrams. Maybe this weekend. Cheers to better weather!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Night running is exciting.. but can be dangerous. I once left a curb-sash across my torso which required extensive gouging of road grit from my skin- all because I got carried away with speed rather than paying attention to where my feet were going. It was a long and bloody return home that night :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. 6 barefoot and 7 aqua sock runs so far this month. Dangerous excitement . . . love it!!!

    ReplyDelete