70F, humid & hazy. MP run. ~4 easy, 2 @ MP (9:04, 8:47), remainder easy. We're in for it now. Major heat wave all week. I don't believe the temperature has ever been this high around here so early in the morning (5:15am) since I started running. Another first for me - 2 days out from my 20 miler, and no soreness. None. (I am always most sore 2 days after major exertion.) My MP miles were separated by a minute of slow jogging. I really didn't want to break them up like that but I was burning up and breathing too hard. The second one was too fast, but it felt the same as the first. As soon as I finished I found some sprinklers to run through. Ah. I've been taking barefoot walks with Mr. Sno for a couple of weeks to see if I could toughen up my feet. I could never understand why the advice on getting started with barefoot running always focused on foot strength and not on skin issues. Sure enough, the skin on my feet has responded extremely fast and is much tougher, whereas the feet themselves still feel like they absolutely collapse with each step. Today I carried my shoes in my hand the last .3 of a mile, and ran alternately on grass and cement. I have a long ways to go in building foot strength, which surprised me because I've worn my racing shoes almost exclusively lately. It's true, our feet just don't have to work in shoes. Maybe that's why humans started making them in the first place; we are so good at labor saving devices. | 