In for the long run

In for the long run

Well post Thursday run, the big toe still had the remnants of the old dried skin attached (nice) and was still a little tender so I wondered what Sunday’s long run would result in?

I woke Sunday and started my long run ritual of porridge and iso drink breakfast. I taped the nipples (top tip!) and checked the blister one last time. I decided to plan for the worst by carrying some plasters and some heavy duty tape to secure them. The plasters were stored in my new ultra running shorts but I kept the spare tape stuck to my chest!

It was a beautiful clear sunny morning and I set off to meet some people from our running club. The Luna’s felt fine so I relaxed and concentrated on my running style trying to keep as light on my feet as I could.

Just under 5 miles later I met up with some friends and after the usual comments on my footwear we went off. Again there were lots of comments on the Luna’s on the run but it was nice to have some comments from people who had read Born to Run etc. Lots more people know about barefoot running it seems.

Well the miles kept coming and we were switching from roads, paths to trails, grass etc. and even when wet the Luna’s were ok. The only real time they caused any issues was over a heavily ploughed hard mud dry field and even then if you were careful, you could still run over it! I was really pleased.

Towards 14 miles, I could start to feel it as I’d not ran that far for a while and as a result I think my form started the wane. Even then I was ok and kept pressing. I could feel a slight pain on the outside of my heel but nothing that was going to stop me and I knew it was just a pressure blister that I could have had from that distance in any footwear due to lack of miles.

Just under 16 miles and we got to the finish. I thought about running the extra distance home and could have but I planned to do 15 and decided to call it a day and get a lift.

Mission accomplished! I think I can say now that I’m converted fully to barefoot running. I’m also happy to do my longest run in the Luna’s and will stick to these for now.

Finally, today I’m doing a photo shoot at work around the site promoting running at work. I’ll be wearing the Luna’s so will post some pics next time!