A Tough Morning Run

One thing I noticed this morning was that I didn't feel the
PF in the right foot. Wow. It's been over 4 months now and
I've almost started to think I was born with that PF. Let's
see if this lasts. At the same time, however, a huge
sinister blister appeared under the left heel over the week.
If this was due to running, I should pay attention to my
left landing (Steve Sashen would've agreed). But I think it
was walking in those huaraches. Rebelling against 30+ years'
conditioning and going barefoot ain't easy.

My training plan calls for a 12-mile run today and I thought
it'd be a piece of cake. After all, I've been quite active
the whole week and feeling strong. I went out without even
bringing water. This run turned out to be anything but.

The first couple of miles were fast and loose and felt just
right. At mile 4, however, I started to slow down. I had to
mind the blister but that was OK. The hips felt rusty and
raising the legs not smooth. I thought it was only a little
bump and I just needed to tough it out. But no. The feeling
stuck and miles 8-11 were run at an over-9:00 pace. It felt
terrible and I wanted to quit. Mile 11 was on a gravel path
and my feet felt the sharp little bastards through the thin
soles at a miserable pace of 9:37. Getting back on the
levee, I felt slightly better, gradually sped up, and
finished the last mile at 8:39.

Overall pace was 8:54. Gosh! It's painful to run slow.