November 21, 2010

First Completely Barefoot Run of the Season

I decided to run indoors on the track today as -20C (not including the wind chill) is a tad chilly for me to run in (I've done it but it's not the most enjoyable experience). And if I run on the track, it's always completely barefoot.

Some observations I noticed while running today:

• There is a huge difference in the temperature of the floor between the walls beside windows and those that are not
• Random dirt on the track (it must have needed sweeping) did not stick to my feet this year
• I needed a few walking breaks to give my foot muscles a break (I ended up doing 3 X 10 and 1s). They are obviously not as strong as at the end of last winter
• Thirty minutes was enough for my first time running barefoot this year
• My form could use some improvement as I ended up with a hotspot on one big toe and another small one on the outside edge of the ball of the same foot (it’s probably my form and not being careful enough rounding the corners, which were all in the same direction)
• You really can’t push off at all with no shoes (which I was observing everybody else doing in their shoes)
• Running really fast barefoot (or as fast as I can go) is more like flying than running because your feet are in the air much more than they are on the ground (as opposed to my usual plod-along but comfortable pace)
• I can’t wait to do it again :)