Oops! -- Wasn't Supposed to Be, But Was 130 Miles Today

No wonder my knees felt a little sore later in the day.

My plan was to run my first 3.2-mile distance since I had that weird fibular head incident a week and a half ago.

But instead, I ran over 4 miles.

My runs since the fibular head thing were:

1.44 miles
2.25 miles
2.75 miles
1.5 miles (was supposed to be first 5K but got cut short)

So, my plan for today was to get back to the 5K distance and to just maintain that until the Disney 5K in January.  But I got confused and added a bit too much without realizing it.  It felt pretty good, though.

The main thing on my mind was how cold it was at first for my feet, and how they felt numb.  I was wondering, as I was out there, if it was good to run with cold feet or not.  After all, one of the great things about running barefoot is the feedback I am getting from feeling the ground.

But with numb feet was I getting the information I needed?  Would I start to pound harder or lose control of what I was doing?  I recently had a really bad dental cavity.  My first really bad one in my life, actually.  The dentist had to numb my cheeks and give me Novocain.  When I wasn't able to feel anything and I tried to spit in the sink, it kind of went all over the place because I couldn't feel what I was doing. Does the same thing apply to numb feet?

At this point, we're still having gorgeous weather, so the cold numb part was only in the beginning, and then it all got warmed up and good.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to enjoy such beautiful barefoot running weather for so long into November.

I am also amazed at how -- yes -- my feet have acclimated to colder temperatures.  By not just immediately stuffing them into warm wool socks and shoes as soon as it got the teeniest bit cold as I usually do, I think that it has given my feet a chance to adjust to the lower temperatures (which are not yet that low).

-------------------Thoughts About Speed-----------------------------
Another thing on my mind was speed.  Yes, the girl who comes in last place practically in the 5Ks thinks about speed.  I have wondered how faster speed would be achieved for me.  I figure a certain amount of speed progress will just develop on its own as I just remain consistent.  That will be the "freebie" speed.

But then later, if I want to run faster, I will have to put forth greater effort and push myself a bit.

But that will be much later.  I still have lots of "freebie" speed increase to gain just doing what I'm doing and enjoying myself.  It's when I stop progressing that I'll have to take stock and decide what to do.

I figure it takes strength to have speed.  Well, I'll tell you, running with extra pounds on the frame does certainly build strength.  I also build strength when I add distance, because trying to keep running gently for that little bit of extra distance while I'm getting tired is where some building happens.

If I lost weight, there would be some more "freebie" speed, because I could capitalize on the strength built from moving all the extra weight.

I did try some speedy sections today.  At the end, when Daffodil knows we're going home and really wants to take off.  I decided to pick up my cadence for the last 1/4 mile.  It really felt good.

---------------Thoughts About Form-------------------
One more thing I was thinking about today was form.  I recently heard a saying from my voice teacher: "Practice Makes Permanent."  I was thinking about that as I ran along barefoot style.  I don't know how many times my feet turn over in "the barefoot mile."  But when I am repping what I'm doing, I'd better be doing it right, or it's not going to be doing anything for me at all.

If I add distance, and I get tired and my form falls apart and I start slapping my feet down, then going extra distance doesn't do a thing for me.

Maybe a few steps with form falling apart will help build a runner.  Like if the runner is tacking on a new extra 1/2 mile and she is trying her best to keep running gently and to keep running like she was when she first started out, then that is training the muscles to be stronger and endure good form longer.

But if it starts to fall apart and the runner is just too tired to keep running well, then she might as well stop and not add that extra distance, because it's not doing anything for her.

Not sure if I was able to articulate that well, but that's what I thought about, so there it is.