A lot going on

Well I've certainly made up for a poor start to the running week.  On Friday I went for my longest run for ages, wearing my Vibram TrekSports.  I did around 4 miles in them and they felt amazingly comfortable. I haven't worn these since February, and what I really noticed was that the soles are way thicker than my Classics.  I added 0.3 miles in bare feet at the end for good measure.  I think I'll be wearing these quite a lot in the colder weather.

Yesterday (Saturday) I dropped my son at his gymnastics class and got chatting to a fellow runner.  I told him I've been running almost exclusively barefoot or minimalist for some time, and he made my day by asking "Doesn't it hurt?" and "What if you step on dog poo?".  No-one has blatantly asked me these classic questions yet, so it made me chuckle.  When I got home, I tried my new Vivobarefoot Evo's for 0.8 miles, which I found really comfortable - just a slight bit of rubbing on the left big toe, but I think these will make a great substitute when barefoot's not an option, or for days when I'm keen to keep a low profile and look 'normal'!

Shortly after I had taken off my Evos off to run the last half mile barefoot, I was stopped by a passing driver who wanted directions.  I wondered if he wished he hadn't stopped me when he spotted my bare feet and shoes in hand, but to his credit he did not flinch or waver from his train of thought once.  To my own credit, I also did not flinch or look embarrased, but gave him clear directions to his destination and padded off.

Today (Sunday) I've run just over a mile without any footwear.  The weather is getting colder, and I thought it would be interesting to see how my feet fared on the cold pavement.  Air temperature just under 8 degrees Celcius, and the pavements were noticeably warmer on the sunny side of the road, but my feet coped admirably and have suffered no ill effects.  I did notice that the ground seemed more gravelly and ouchy today - I'm not sure if that was the cold or the fact that we've had lots of rain...

My OH graciously agreed to accompany me on this run, forfeiting his own pace to match my slower one, and I was very grateful for his company when a bus pulled up and offloaded it's passengers just as we ran past.  Pity there weren't any trees to hug I guess!