Don't you know that it is hot, hot, Hot!

Thursday evening our power went out at around 5 o'clock.  Not too surprising with how hot it was.  However, after 30 min of sitting around in a hot house we decided that we might as well go for a run.  We tried not to push it in the near 100 degree heat, and so after a slow 2 miles I ended up back at the high school track for a little barefooting.

Did I mention the heat?
     ...near 100, check

and the time?
     ...about 5 in the late afternoon, also check

and a high school track... in the heat... late in the afternoon... without shoes...

Not a well thought out idea :( to say the least.  I made it around the track 5 times for 1.25 miles.  However, my feet were burnt.  I spent the next several days hobbling around, trying to tread lightly on the roasted balls of my feet.  Skipped my Saturday morning run.  Yeah, that bad.

I did notice something as I ran around the track, feet tingling of melted flesh.  It was a really hard run!  I was winded and my calves hurt, even though my distance was half of what I had done comfortably three nights before.  I had to really push to get just that 1.25 miles in.  A much different scenario than had been the case through other barefoot endeavors, thus far.  I came to realized that running is really easy, UNLESS your hurting, then your body and mind do everything they can to shut you down and stop the pain.  Like if you're repeatedly smashing your heal into the road, or running barefoot around a scorching track surface.  Then you do things like trying to speed up to get it over with, or alter your stride to relieve the pain, or slouch over to... well I'm not really sure why we slouch but if you ever run the last couple miles staring at your sneakers, you know what I'm getting at.  We were born to run, and for those of us who are struggling through the miles each time, we are doing it to ourselves.  If we just make a little more effort to follow our instincts and run how we want to, not how we're told, we would all be astounded at just how far we could go.

Another run tonight, currently 94 degrees (heat index of 104) at 6:30.  I think I'll wait another few hours before I head out. :)