First "Cold" Barefoot Run

Last Saturday I set out about 7:30 am for a run.  I want to be barefoot as long as possible into the Fall and Winter so the chilly Saturday morning was my first test of my superhero abilities.  The temp was 41 degrees when I set out.

The pavement was cold but not crazy cold.  I could really only feel the cold for the first 1/2 block or so.  I set off on my normal path, expecting to only do a mile but I was ready to go further if I could.  It was nice to be barefoot again.  I have been using the Merrell Trail Gloves on my weekday runs because I'm always running at 8:30 or 9:00 PM and I was having trouble in the dark.  I wasn't relaxing my feet and I ended up with some top of foot pain that stopped me for about two weeks.  I let the foot pain resolve with some massage and time and the Trail Gloves have helped to prevent it returning.  I want to try some night-time barefooting again, but the trail I always run on has two areas with broken glass and I can't see it at night to avoid it.

Anyway, it was nice to be barefoot again.  It's like a foot massage the whole time you are running.  My feet even start to itch a little when I'm running barefoot and the scratching of the concrete and asphalt feels nice.

Around the corner from our house is a mulberry tree that hangs over the sidewalk.  I could see purple dots all over the sidewalk as I was getting closer and I remember thinking "oh, the berries are falling off".  Wishful thinking.  What eats berries?  Birds.  What do birds do?  Crap everywhere.  I realized that about halfway through the mess.  Nasty.  At least I was still running and wearing it off.

After about .7 miles my feet started to sting a little and I was worried about blisters.  I checked them out and no signs so I decided the chilly pavement was just starting to get to me.  The stinging wasn't that bad and by the time I hit one mile I couldn't feel it anymore, so I just kept going.

I ended up doing a full 5K and even avoided the bird crap on the way home.  It certainly wasn't a fast run, about 40 seconds/mile slower than I had been running, but it was a good run.  I'm hopeful that I can keep going to below freezing temps.  Keep the snow away!  My goal is to be able to run the Gilman Memorial Turkey Trot barefoot on November 19.