Run #229

First time ever running 14 miles. 6 miles in, my IT band was cramping up but I tried a new way to deal with it, and it worked. I took an extended walk break (maybe 12 minutes) and then switched to 1 minute fast running/1 minute walking. The fast runs stretched my legs, and the walks gave my muscles a break. After a little while I was able to have longer run segments though I still walked more than usual. Not an easy run but very enjoyable.

I incorporated about 1 or 1.5 miles barefoot in the middle. I'm still finding that running barefoot on concrete & asphalt can lead to me feeling like I have stone bruises in the pads of my feet. Same thing I dealt with last fall when I switched to 100% minimalist shoes, but this isn't nearly as bad as it was then. I'm just going to be really careful about two things: how quickly I rebuild my barefoot mileage, and where I step. (Stepping the balls of my feet on sidewalk cracks makes it worse.)

If I need to do most of my miles minimalist instead of barefoot, even all summer long, that's fine. Being barefoot even for a short time reminds me of what a gentler form feels like, and I think some of that sticks around when I put the Vibrams back on.

13.98 miles, 2:48:36 (12:03/mile)