I was very surprised to wake up yesterday morning and find that the typical soreness and stiffness that I had become accustomed to after a run was not as bad I had been experiencing. This is promising. I had a tough time sleeping last night as I was contemplating a new route where I could feel comfortable running. Another challenge that I would be facing is that it is now dark again when I leave the house which would require me to wear shoes until it became light.

I chose a route that I could start running for 3.5 miles that would put me on the bike trail through the vineyards as soon as it became light enough. I also decided to wear my shoes which have way too many miles on them as I knew I would be ditching them and run the risk of losing them.

The bike trail is mostly asphalt which is different from what I had been running. My first barefoot runs have been in my neighborhood and I was able to stay on the sidewalk which is much smoother. On the asphalt I found there were a lot more tiny stones and some slightly bigger so I had to run a little slower taking care with each foot landing. All in all, it was a little rougher but still a much easier run than in my shoes.

What I have been finding out as I try this new endeavour is that my Saucony ProGrid 8 shoes had been building up callouses on the sides of my big toe and the widest part of my foot. Sadly I did not take this as a clue that I had the wrong shoes. Instead when I would get a pedicure I insisted that the girls not file the callouses down as I coveted them and did not want to get future blisters. Come to find out, I do not land on the inside of my feet at all. My shoes (after 700+ miles on the same model) were causing me to pronate which leads to injury. Surprise, surprise.

A good test for this is running through wet ground and looking back at your footprint. I am a neutral runner and always have been. Sure enough I looked up my Saucony's online and they do offer a slight pronation. I hate trying to pick out new shoes. This is not the first time that I have been screwed over by picking the wrong shoe.

Anyways, I ditched the shoes and continued on for another 3.25 miles. The soles are a little sore but not too bad. One caution that I do have for those who are interested in trying this is avoid sap from trees. It turns out that the sap sticks to your feet attracting little stones that WILL stick to your feet. You might as well strap a meat grinder onto your feet and run.

All in all, 6.75 miles today and feeling happier that I am on the upward mileage trend. Sadly I will miss the San Francisco Marthon this Sunday but will be on the sidelines supporting all the runners. The marathons in SF have been my nemisis. The last two I ran there I was injured and of course too injured to run this one. I will be back to conquer a SF one injury free. Stay tuned...