Yesterday I did my whole run barefoot. 5.2 miles around the Boston Museum of Science.
I’m proud of myself. Last week I ran my whole run around Longfellow Bridge barefoot. That’s 4.3 miles.
In February I started going out barefoot with my shoes and socks on my hands. I’d run until my feet hurt, and then put my shoes on. I’ve learned a few things about barefoot running:
1. If the temperature is below 40F, it’s really cold you your feet.
2. The pavement ripping your skin is not what stops you. It hurts under your skin. It’s like your bones have to toughen up.
3. You don’t realize with your shoes on how much torque you put on your feet to pull the pavement under you. With shoes on, you’re not just picking up your feet and putting them down again. You’re putting your foot down and pulling the pavement underneath you. Without your shoes on, you can’t do this, and you’re forced to pick up your feet and put them down again.
4. The roughest part of the run from Westgate around the MoS is the first .6 miles down to Mass Ave. After that it gets substantially easier because there’s a lot of smooth cement.
5. Re: 4, even tho it’s smoother after Mass Ave, part of the easierness is that your feet sort of get used to the pain. If you push it too hard, you get blood blisters (shown above) and you hobble around for the rest of your day.
6. A good way to deal with blood blisters is to stick a pin into them, and drain them. Sleep on it, and tomorrow you’re ready to go.
It’s odd to me how much I love to run. I mean, all you do is get out and pick up your knees for a while. I love it because for old guys like me it’s more of a head game than anything else. It is so hard for me to stick to my schedule without pushing harder than my rickety old body can handle.
Also of note, I ran four Yassao 800’s in 2:59, 2:59, 2:54, 2:54. Jogged 200 meters slowly in between each. I guess that’s a starting point, and over the summer I’ll try to do that once every other week or so, and work up from four to ten, keeping the time the same.
