- Total weekly miles
8.5 miles.
- Number of running sessions
2.
- Total weekly barefoot mile
0 miles.
- Number of barefoot running sessions
0.
- Running terrain
Mostly flat, on a mixture of pavement and mud.
- Ground surface of barefoot runs
N/A.
- Runs in minimalist shoes, e.g. Five Fingers.
Lunas on my shorter run, RunAmocs on my long run. I had to miss a session this week because of some foot pain. I didn’t want to push through it, especially this close to the 10k. I think the pain might have been from over-tightening my Luna laces. Seems I have a bit to learn about tying them… Might not wear them for the 10k after all…
- Weather for barefoot runs (rain on road?)
N/A.
- Condition of skin on feet — hotspots, blisters
Somehow I’ve managed to get more blisters on the balls of both feet after my long run on Sunday! Really gutted… I really don’t know why. It might be that I’m getting nervous about the race and am pushing it too much in my runs, it might be that because I didn’t do any barefooting this week my form is off, it might be my RunAmocs are too big (well, I know they are, but I haven’t run this far in them before)… So I’m a bit stuck! Really not sure what to do in terms of what I should wear for the 10k. I know my feet aren’t conditioned enough to run the whole distance barefoot.
- Interesting/amusing comments received during the week: e.g. ‘You’ve got no shoes on!’
Nothing.
- Treading on nasty things: e.g. glass, thorns, poo — how you dealt with any
No problems this week.
- Changes in your running style that you’ve noticed.
My short run today felt really hard. I never really got going. I found my self trying to force my pace too much, with knock on effects on my form. I think it’s probably down to my crappy diet over the last couple of days. Too much white bread and crisps, not enough fruit and veg! Will have to remedy that for the rest of the week before the race.
- Injuries incurred, or reduction of existing symptoms.
Again, a bit of calf pain. My new blisters hurt too.
- Useful tips and nuggets of info you’ve picked up along the way.
None this week. Feels like a bit of a regression. Too little milage, too many blisters. Maybe after the 10k I’ll take a week off, let my feet heal and re-assess where I am. I think now with summer coming I can probably ditch the shoes for at least the first f couple of miles of the majority of my runs, maybe running purely barefoot will stop my blister problems?
Good luck with the 10k Dai, be cautious with your footwear choice, sounds like they need a bit of cosseting.
Graham
Thanks Graham! I’m leaning towards the Luna sandals at the moment, they’re pretty much the only footwear I have that will make sure my feet stay cool and dry (unless it rains!). I read somewhere recently that moist feet are the worst for blisters, very wet or very dry feet are fine. I think that since I’m barefoot pretty much all the time at home, my feet are used to being cold/cool. That means that when I run in my Mocs, they get warm enough to make them sweat, hence the blisters. That’s the theory anyway! Will let you know what happens in my next post on Monday. I’m in my 2 day taper now, so staying off my feet to give the blisters as much of a chance as possible to heal!