I'm back, baby!

Let me start this post by saying that I probably didn't make it clear in my last post that I am not a shoe wearer hater. Or even a shoe hater. In fact, I love shoes. And if shoes are working for you, I think that's great. We're all just trying to be healthy and do what we love. I'm just sharing what has worked for me. Reference this post to get my real feelings on how runner's should behave towards one another.

Now... I didn't realize how badly I was feeling with that head cold of mine until Monday when it was almost gone. Monday's run was euphoric because I felt so good. It could have been that I waited until the afternoon when the sun was out and I was able to do 2.5 miles of it barefoot. (I got to go on that smooth asphalt west of town! And I had no blisters or hot spots. I probably could have gone longer.) It could have been because my daughter ran a mile of it with me or that I tacked a killer hill for 3 repeats. Or it could have been everything combined. But I was able to really push it clear until the end when I looked at the time and found it was almost time for me to drive a dance carpool. I was surprised to find out that I had gone 9.5 miles and didn't even realize it.

Wednesday's run was similar except for one small issue. After my scary trail run incident, I got the o.k. to get some real Vibrams with some traction. I've been running in my gorilla feet that are kind of a knock off brand called Gist. I've liked them a lot but when I tried on some real Vibrams last month, there was a noticeable difference in the quality and feel. I've wanted some ever since. So with the hubby's o.k. to purchase more shoes in my quest to run barefoot (ha! ha!) I got a pair of Bilkilas. I am right in between the sizes and ended up getting the larger because I felt like the smaller ones wouldn't work well in the heat or longer distances because my feet tend to swell. My toes were right at the end and they felt very snug. So I figured larger would be better. However, after about 3 miles I could feel some rubbing going on. I adjusted the straps to looser then tighter but it just kept getting worse. I ended up just taking them off and going barefoot as long as possible. It was wet and not very warm so it wasn't as pleasant of an experience. I only lasted 1.5 miles. And my feet felt more raw than Monday's 2.5 miles. I attribute it to the wet streets. It was a toss up as to which was going to hurt more. I put them back on and headed home doing another 9.5 miles. I don't know what to do with them. I obviously have to wait until these blisters heal before I can try it again. I don't know if I had them too loose so they rubbed or if they are just too tight overall. I don't even know if the store will take them back. I'm not to thrilled about that. Everything else was great though. No top of the foot pain or any pain other than those darn blisters! Urrgggggg.

Thursday I got to run on the mountain for a little bit. It was a rainy morning that was beautiful. I really need to get on that mountain right behind my house more often. It's not really beautiful, unless you think sagebrush is beautiful but the hills are a killer.

It's been in the 40's almost all week so my run for today is planned for outside as well. The kid's have the day off from school so I can go whenever. Really, I'm so excited for spring and summer!