11 Laps/2 Miles

Before I talk about the 2 mile run, I'll speak of a run I did over thanksgiving break, which I didn't blog about. I was in washington, and I didn't know distances, but my brother-inlaw drew me a map for a route which he said was a mile and a half. I was excited for an outdoor run. It's not as cold in Olympia, Washington as it is where I am in Idaho.

Anyway, I started the run and there was a downhill portion, which was interesting. I haven't done a downhill run since I started running. It was fun trying to apply barefoot form to a new activity.

Unfortunately, when I was pretty sure I'd passed the mile-and-a-half mark, the end still wasn't in sight, and I was getting tired. I stopped, afraid I'd find the end just around the corner. However, I wasn't even close to the end. I'm pretty sure it was at least two miles. Anyway, I ran the last stretch. It felt good, but I'm just so used to being able to measure my distance.

I was supposed to run again before I came home, but I didn't. My feet were a little sore. I think it was a combination of walking in minimalist shoes all day and going to the beach during the low-tide (it's a rocky beach, so my feet were working hard). So, I think I made the right decision.

Anyway, on to today's run. I ran two miles. I ran slower than I usually do. Before, I couldn't run slow without bouncing a bunch, but my form is better now. However, my feet and calves still felt pretty hot and tired through most of it. I first noticed this when I started wearing my aqua lites as opposed to fully barefoot. I'm not sure if it's because I'm wearing shoes or if my feet are just going through a phase.

Throughout the run, I almost feel like I'm using muscles that are only used for slow running and neglecting muscles used for faster running. Sometimes I'm tempted to speed up because it feels like it would be easier, but I stop myself. I wonder sometimes if there's a minimum speed you should go to maximize energy savings. I've never read that, but I honestly feel like I have to force myself to go slow. Maybe I'll experiment a little and figure it out.

Because I felt that way, I sped up on the last lap. Throughout the run, I constantly felt tired and ready to stop, yet it felt really good to speed up. That doesn't seem right. I think I might try to google that and see what other people say. Maybe it really is that I need to build a little muscle that's only used for slow running, and then it will be a cakewalk. We will see.