Wednesday, February 16, 2011

It's a Heat Wave!

With temperatures "soaring" at 50 degrees on Monday afternoon, I had been planning all day to do a very short barefoot run. I had already done a 5.5 miler in the morning in my socks but want to start the toughening up process of my feet again. I was giddy. Unfortunately, I ended up taking daughter #2 to the doctor to cast a broken finger after school and then dance car pools started and then dinner and the sun going down was fast approaching. However, I was able to go 1/2 mile in my bare feet and it was awesome. It felt good to feel the asphalt beneath my feet. It even felt good to do feel the rocks under my feet. I went until my feet felt a little raw and then stopped. I wanted to go more, but spring is coming, right? I inspected my feet when I got home and they were no worse for the wear. And by the end of the night they felt back to normal. I kind of wished I had gone farther.

And yes, I did run in my jeans. And no, they're not pajama jeans. I just figured it was going to be short so why change!

Apparently I can't smile very well.
This morning was 45 degrees. I think that 45 degrees morning is different than 45 degrees afternoon when the street has seen the sun for the better part of the day. I barefooted it for another 1/2 mile and finished out the rest of the 5 in my gorilla feet. I think I would have made it farther if it had been a little warmer. I am glad to say that I have no more top of the foot pain. I focussed on easy and light and things went well. I passed my neighbor when I was first starting out as she was taking her son to school. The look she gave me was good. There's nothing like a jaw hanging open and for me to smile and wave in return. You'd think I'd been carrying a bloody animal or something other than just my shoes. I'm sure I'll hear about that later.
Which has gotten me thinking about what I'm going to tell people when they ask me why I'm going barefoot. And maybe some of you are wondering the same thing. I need to remind myself sometimes. I plan on answering that in greater detail in coming posts.
Snow is forecasted for tomorrow. I'm glad for the little reprieve though and it makes me excited for spring.

12 comments:

Julia said...

you are amazing! and so inspiring. I enjoy reading about your barefoot adventures and am glad your foot pain is gone. Glad you took advantage of the warm weather :) have a good day!

Kathie said...

It IS a heat wave!!! we topped to 52 today (56 to be expected tomorrow). Im glad you were able to get some barefoot action time in and with no foot pain!! That is fantastic!!!

Yes, i certainly think a good answer to that question would need to be planned out. It's a very good question and one I know i'd ask had I not heard of it before.

Have a great day!

KT80 said...

What kind of feet do you have? By that I mean, do you need any kind of arch support in your shoes? I think that since I pronate and have a high arch the barefoot running might not be for me. I'm just curious what your thoughts are on the matter.

Emz said...

you
are
hard
core

holy crap.

Amazing.

A Prelude To... said...

I can't believe you ran in your jeans.

I saw a guy down in Eugene this weekend running with his shoes in his hands. I knew what he was doing :-)

Sam W. said...

yay for some heat! my husband and i are headed to by some vibrams soon...i'm so excited to join in on this fun!

Doran & Jody said...

Someone had me read this the other day and I thought of you....

http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run.html

Unknown said...

I have never ran barefoot (besides at a beach years ago) I totally feel inspired to try since reading your blog!

Amanda@runninghood said...

so funny that you ran in your jeans. :) You look great in your new barefoot t-shirt! And I have to say, I love all the cool stuff you have going on on your blog...nice layout! Thank you so much for your genuine and supportive comment on my blog this morning Jen! I appreciate it...means a lot. :)

The Hungry Runner Girl said...

You are truly amazing. I love that you didn't change, I wouldn't have either. LOVE the gorgeous picture of you. LOVE the weather....minus it snowed this morning. Have a great day and I am officially obsessed with the CD's you made me and PS we licked the spaghetti sauce jar clean...SO GOOD!

zapmamak said...

I can't wait to get back my long runs barefoot. Its been horrible weather here so its just as well that I'm working on strength training. Glad you were able to get a little BF in!

KT80 said...

Thanks for your advice! I will definitely stay tuned to see how your barefoot running goes. -KT80