Well ... Now What?

I was supposed to get out there and run miles 92, 93, and 94 or so today.  It was a beautiful day and although a little nippy, I knew the sidewalks would be warm from the sun.

I came up from the basement with my warmer running clothes bundled in my arms to go up and change for today's run.  But my fatigue was great.  There is "something" going around that starts with a sore throat and a headache and I had it last night.  I was so worried it would interfere with me getting to my voice lesson with my new teacher today.  I took 2000 mg vitamin C and my spoonful of cod liver oil and went to be early last night.

I was feeling all right enough this morning to get to my voice lesson, and figured I'd run when I got home.

But as I started up the stairs with that armful of running clothes, I felt the fatigue and the slightest of sore throats.  I have run while I've had a cold before and it's usually uncomfortable when I first start out, but gets much better during the run.  And then sometimes it even seems as if running helps make it better.

So, I was kind of thinking that's what I'd do.

But then I realized that part of what I love about running bare foot is that I listen to my body.  My body was telling me that it needed rest.

And so the way I took care of myself today was to take a nap during run time.

This was a little anti-climactic after the fun of participating in the 1st Annual NYC Barefoot Run.  And, if you haven't noticed, there is a new "stomp" on the side of my blog -- yeah, right there on top on the right-hand column.  I have been given the Barefoot Stomp of Approval by the Barefoot Runner's Society. They have even featured my modest little write-up of my experience at the 1st Annual NYC Barefoot Run on their home page this week.

I am astonished and amazed at this, for I truly am the least of the barefoot runners, and I would think the least of the barefoot bloggers.  I really started writing this blog -- as I've said before -- as a kind of "sloppy" place to keep track of my experience becoming a barefoot runner.  I started it because I wanted to write about it and I was talking about barefoot running a little too much on my Avocational Singer blog.

Now, however, this blog seems to be catching up to Avocational Singer.  I have seemed to be more passionate about developing into a barefoot runner than I have at my singing.

But it's really because of my singing that I am a barefoot runner to begin with.  I kind of explain the way my brain weirdly connected barefoot running with singing in a post I wrote called "Singing With An Orchestra Running Barefoot.".  It's kind of weird to go back and read that post because it was while I was taking time off to heal my plantar fasciitis, and I was only thinking about the idea of running barefoot.  I still didn't know if I was going to really try it or not.  At the point I was writing that post, I probably thought I was too overweight to try running barefoot.  It would be a little later in my thinking and reasoning that I would come to the conclusion that it might be okay to give it a try before I lost any weight.

Oh, well, that's what we do when we are not feeling well and can't go out for a run.  We reminisce.  We plan our next steps.

Next steps:  Hobooken 5K Race - October 30th.  It was supposed to be my first 5K.  I had wondered if I would try running a 5K barefoot or not.  Little did I know that by this time I would already have run a 5K barefoot.  So, now what?  Well, the race says you can run in costume.  I hadn't planned to run in costume, but the other day I was in a Halloween store on 34th Street in Manhattan and I found the perfect costume to run barefoot in.  Can you guess what it might be?  I'll be sure to post a picture of it, should I be brave and daring enough to wear it that day.

After that:  Disney Family Fun Run 5K.  I had signed up for the Disney 1/2 again, which I had failed to achieve last year.  However it is obvious that I will not be ready for a half marathon by the beginning of January -- not if I faithfully observe the don't-increase-your-distance-more-than-5%-(or is it 10%?)-a-week-rule.  This year I covered myself and also signed up for the Disney 5K that weekend.  So, it looks like I'll be running in that -- in my Vibrams.  Disney doesn't do barefoot.

But that's about it for this season, I guess.  Who would have imagined?!?

It's only 8:30 now and I'm feeling that fatigue again.  The running clothes are still piled there on the kitchen table where I dropped them before dropping for the nap.  Guess I'll go up early again tonight.

But I can't wait to get out there again.