hotspots

Sunday: 1.5M WU, 4x800, 2:40-2:55.
Monday: 8.7M.

I think today closes the book on my short-lived experiment in sockless running, an experiment whose results were probably fairly predictable to anyone but me. As the arch of my foot flexes to absorb shock it's coming into contact with the lip of the inner part of my insole, which over the course of the last two long-ish runs has carved rather handsome crescents into the sole of each foot, each capped by a loose area of saggy skin about the size of a quarter. I took a visual aid but...actually you don't need to see that.

Feeling those hotspots building up, I decided to stop early, slipped off my shoes and walked barefoot for a while in the grassy marges, which were delightfully cold and wet with the morning's dew. As I was reluctantly slipping my shoes back on to walk the rest of the way home, three ladies ran by and asked if I was OK. Ignominy! At least the slow return treated me to a pretty sunrise.

Sunday's speed was fine, except I intersected with one of the last little-league touch football games of the season ("Packers vs Patriots", if I understood the infield chatter correctly), and the track was busy with parents and kids throwing footballs, killing time and awaiting their turn on the pitch. Dodging kids wasn't so bad, but whoever left that nerfbat and softy ball in lane 1 right at the 300 yard mark? Really now...

I think I'll stick to nothing more than barefoot striders for the next day or two while my feet heal up a bit, and then try another long run on Thursday, with socks. A ply of coolmax can take the fall next time.