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I ran another two miles on Tuesday. I wrote to another barefoot runner, to get a little advice. He said to take off the bandaids from my toes as soon as I can, because I need to learn how to lift my toes when I run. So, I checked to make sure that my toes had mostly healed, and then took off the bandaids to run. I hadn't thought that I should lift my toes when running, because they give you a lot of balance. I tried a few times, to keep them off the ground, and I don't think that's what he meant. So, I started to think about it for a bit. Having run around this track barefooted 10-12 times, I felt pretty comfortable taking some of my concentration away from the ground in front of me, and went into a sort of trance, where I attempted to lessen my body weight as much as I could, to kind of float above the ground. It may have been only in my mind, but I think I accomplished a lighter tread for a brief period of time. It seemed like I should have been landing harder, because I was lifting more with each step (and therefore going higher in the air), but it was a bit softer. When I came to the point of the track that I have to watch very closely for pine cones, pebbles, and bird poo, my steps landed a lot harder. And, as for the toes, I think I'm supposed to let them hit the ground for balance, but lift them before pushing off with that foot. Sort of spring off the ground, instead of pushing. At any rate, I did need a new bandaid on one toe of each foot after I was done. Also, the pads of my feet are starting to feel bruised. I decided to take a day off on Wed.
Thursday: I decided to try out the indoor track at the gym at UNO. It's very similar to a basketball court, but I don't think it's as springy. I'll have to check out the difference some time. Anyway, I don't think I like that track. First of all, it's way too short. Each lap is 1/10th of a mile, and the short ends are the length of one basketball court. I had thought it wouldn't be as rough on my feet as the outdoor track, and that I could get more overall distance (still trying to work the muscle groups), but turning actually hurts a bit more than running on concrete. I only did a mile in there, and then went outside for another mile. Tonight, I got a new sensation. The tops of my feet are feeling bruised. Weird, huh? The mile on the outdoor track didn't tear up my feet at all! No new blisters, no scratches, nothing! I noticed that I stepped on more pebbles and various sharp tree parts during my cool-down walk around the track - walking in the same lane that I had run in!
BR Miles to date: 12
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