Barefoot in Snow

Snow has struck Reno again! For some reason, I love to run in snow. I think that it makes me feel hard core, which is a great feeling. On Sunday, the roads were much too icy to even drive on, but I decided that I wanted to go out for a quick run. I ran along the very small, snow covered shoulder on a road that goes in a loop around the city (McCarran). Something about the snow, whether it be the numbing of my limbs or the beauty of it, makes me want to never stop running. I ended up running 5 (5.05) miles out and 5 miles back, and I did it in around 73 minutes or so. I didnt really want to run more than ten miles, so I checked my watch around 35 minutes in and it was at 4.8. Good timing! I really wanted to pick up the pace on the way home, but it was mostly up hill and I hadnt planned for this run. I am pretty sure that I ate a bowl of cereal and had half a glass of water. I was starting to feel weak near the end, but I kept pushing. There is no greater feeling in the world than doing something you didnt believe you could do. It is quite an accomplishment.

The next day, my roommate Joe invited me to do a loop around the Marina barefoot (2 miles). I knew that I probably shouldn't because of my intense run the day before, but I have a really hard time turning down a good barefoot run. He wanted to do a lap in shoes first which was probably a good idea, but I didn't bring shoes with me. While he was doing his first lap, I decided that I would get warmed up and walk around for 20 minutes barefoot. I was about 10 minutes into the walk when I could no longer feel my feet. There was ice everywhere and I even had to trot through some snow! The temperature outside was probably around 30 degrees and I was freezing! I ended up running back to Joe's car and sitting on his trunk with my feet in my sweats, trying to warm them up again before the run.

Joe got back pretty fast after that and yanked off his shoes so we can start our barefoot run. As soon as we got moving, my feet started to feel a little bit better, but that was because we were on smooth concrete. We had to go through a couple patches of rough pavement with pebbles and ice, and my feet were just cold enough to be tender but not cold enough to be numb. Joe was a champ about it while I was complaining about the pain. I finally took a mental breather and toughened up, and after that I felt great! I wasn't cold anymore and felt very at peace. Surprisingly, barefoot running in the snow was quite enlightening and when I got in the car afterwards, I didn't even feel cold.