"You're gonna catch pneumonia"

hee hee hee...I stopped traffic today. I was running true barefoot, no shoes of any kind, for the first time when a guy in an SUV stops and pronounces, "You don't have any shoes on"... Like I didn't know that... " I thought I was seeing things but you really don't have any shoes on. You're gonna catch pneumonia". I began to reassure him that it is only an old wive's tale that being outdoors in bare feet during cold weather can give you pneumonia, but before I could elaborate with truths about lowered immune systems blah, blah, blah he interupts me and asks. "Why do you do that?" I explained that it is good for my legs and that it's fun, but I don't think he heard me. I think he was still in denial. "You're going to get calluses. You're feet will be like leather", he bemoans. I quickly retort with, "I hope so...all the better for running on trails". He must have given up on trying to help me see the insanity of it all, cause his final words were "Good luck with that" and he drove on. Smiling, I ran on. It was my best mile of running ever.

Just before my best-mile-ever, I ran 3 miles in my Bikilas. The idea was to run to the local scuba shop and purchase the neoprene booties that Ben and I checked out last night. I have been reading about other barefoot runners in cold climates that utilize this kind of footwear to run in the snow or just to keep their feet warm in really cold (below 30) weather. My bikilas are great year-round on dry ground, but they are NOT snow proof. My first snow run in them (see second post) gave me cold feet, literally. The wed night runs with the Pacers are usually trail runs and the local trails are still covered with snow. I, therefore, justified the purchase by "needing" them for tomorrow night's run. I couldn't wait to show up at the scuba shop in my Five Fingers. The guy that helped us out last night told us they were considering carrying VFF's and I wanted to encourage them in that direction. I never considered that they might be closed. They were. It was definitely not a waste of time though, because I had a great run. I even picked up the pace to my 5k pace on the way home to prepare for the Shiver by the River race the first week in February.

So much for only 2 miles today to save my legs for tomorrow night. I was just having too much darn fun :)

Oh, one last note... duct taping a Nike+ sensor to the top of your bare foot doesn't work very well.

Happy Running!