Polar Run

Had a good workout yesterday. It was a typical winter run of 15 degrees F, snowy roads(some paved). Since I am still trying to transition to winter barefoot running, I went shod. I can walk around for a few minutes in the snow, but not a full run. And I was desperate for a long run which I haven't had in a few weeks. Unfortunately my Huaraches haven't arrived in the mail yet! I think the constant snow storms from Colorado to Illinois are getting in the way. Grrrr.....I am hoping sometime early next week(tomorrow!) they will be here so I can start my runnings with them.

Sooooo....what shoes should I wear? I have my normal running shoes that I stopped wearing a few months back. Use them for walking and everyday use now ;) I do have a regular pair of flat tennis shoes, but they sometimes pinch my toes. Nope. Not gonna work. Then I wondered how my low profile, no support but looks cool, soccer shoes would do??? They are even more minimalist then my flat tennis shoes. And they fit good. AND they are cleated, aside from some sort of tread that non-cleated soccer shoes have to grip the turf. It think that does the trick! So I warmed up and set out on what I thought would be about a 6 mile run and ended up a 9.39 mile run. Here is the link to my run. I tried to get MapMyRun to post to this blogger, but wasn't an option. POOH!
As with a lot of my runs they are in the mornings before work. I did a later morning(8am) and was ready to go. I am sure this happens to a lot of you, but seems to happen to me a lot. When I run in the mornings, my body isn't completely functioning. I mean the inside body. The rest is awake and ready. But invariably I seem to have to go potty(for lack of a better word) about 2 or more miles into a run. Pee is fine, just run off the side and go. No...it is always #2. So 2 miles into the run I get that bad sensation. Luckily I was close to home. But going back in this condition seems like a long 2 miles back home to do my thing. So I "grin and bear it" and had to stop a few times to take some breaths. I made it back and I called this a pit stop. I wasn't going out for just a 4 mile run. So I headed back out in the cold since I was just warming up.
This time I plotted a route a different way around town. Winter runs are slower for me and I do take it easy. Especially on the lungs. So I was going at a bit of a snails pace(5mph), but running on the snowy roads was great. It did feel squishy and a bit like running on sand barefoot. I have run on sandy beaches before and I LOVE it! And the soccer shoes did a great job of supporting me with no sliding.

So I think the soccer shoes work well for minimalist shoes when I feel that I can't handle a full run in the snow. Can't wait until I get used to the snow. But soon it will be warmer temps and I can put my barefeet on the ground and have some good runs.