Barefoot Fresca and the 2nd Annual NYC Barefoot Run

Oh no!  What have I done?

I let myself get to within a week of the Second Annual NYC Barefoot Run without training all summer and without writing in my Barefoot Blog.

How could I have let this happen?

I have run all of about 20 miles this summer.  All barefoot, of course.

Here's what I figured out I did:  Every Monday, I would "begin again."  It was a summer of "beginning again" over and over again. I went out there faithfully on Mondays.  But during the week I would fail to get out there. (There was a lot going on.)  So, Monday would roll around and I would keep beginning again, beginning again, beginning again ...

It was a little frustrating because I wanted to be doing more, but it just wasn't coming together this summer.

But the good news was that I'm solidly in my bare feet this year.  I have a solid barefoot mile in me at all times, and I have been slowly increasing the distance every Monday. All the surfaces that were hurt-y, pointy, or rough last summer are a piece of cake this summer due to the soles of my feet being in great condition for barefoot.  All my barefoot walking is natural and easy like when I was a kid (last summer it always felt awkward and unnatural.)

Most of all, I just can't even think of putting on shoes to run.  The thought of it bothers me a lot.  I would rather skip running altogether than put on shoes.  Not because this is what I think all people should do or something, mind you.  It is a very very strong personal preference.

Okay, so all this means that I do still belong at the NYC Barefoot Run, right?  Even though I didn't run that far.  Even though I didn't tend my blog.  Even though I lost track of everything happening in the barefoot world? (Well, not everything -- I did buy Barefoot Ken Bob's book when it came out).

But this weekend, all the rock stars of the barefoot world are going to be there, and I had hoped to make a little better showing of myself at the event.  Wouldn't you hope for that if you were coming?  I had hoped to be able to run a few more laps this year (Last year I went around twice for around a 4-mile total.)  The furthest distance I've run on any run this summer has been 2 miles.  That would be one time around the NYC Barefoot Run track.  Maybe I would have liked to be running a teensy bit faster this year, or lost a little weight, or got some cool barefoot runner's tattoo on my ankle or something?

There's no way I can miss this, though. I've been signed up for months and I'm going, even if I have to just walk the second time around.  Really do wish I could run a whole lot farther on Sunday, but this is just going to have to do for this year, and MAKE ME COME BACK AND READ THIS POST before I let this happen again next year!!

I realize my blog needs some pictures, so I'm going to decorate it now with some stuff I made for other blog posts I didn't get to, but intended to, write to you this summer.  All summer long I had intended to tell you about the pair of sandals I got from Zappos which I LOVED and highly recommend for barefoot-loving folks everywhere.

They are called Volcom Knock on Wood Creedlers.  When the reviewers gave a little warning about the shoes having no arch support, I knew they were just what I wanted.

I was a little worried about the ring around the toe, but, like one of the reviewers said, amazingly, you don't feel it at all.  They felt like feathers on my feet and went with a little bit dressier look.

I wore these things ALL summer!  I don't have my own picture of how great the shape of the sole of the sandal is, but it was nice and wide in the forefoot area and a good shape for people who believe toes should be able to splay freely in a sandal.  You'll have to go to the link above to see how flat and thin the soles are.

I was tempted to run in them.  They felt like they feel wonderful running, but I did not think they were sturdy enough to hold out for the running experience.  But the fact that I felt like running in them tells me I might do well in a pair of those running sandals, like the ones Barefoot Ted makes. (Have been holding off on that because I am intimidated by the fact that you have to figure out how to get the tying of them right.)

BTW, I won't get anything if you buy these sandals.  I'm just sharing how much I love them with you like I would share with a friend.  There's probably some affiliate program I could sign up for so that if you click the link and buy them I'd get something, but I'm too lazy to go figure it out, and being that I haven't talked to you all this summer, I want to get this post up there.