First barefoot walk in England

Distance 23.5km [total: minimalist 242.8km: Barefoot 1787.2km] Week 35

Tuesday, 27-Aug. 13.5km. 
After a few days of wet weather I got the opportunity to get out on the road again for a run today. The sky was still covered with grey clouds but the rain held off for the entire way around. I tackled the longer hilly course that I ran last week. I am still experiencing some ankle stiffness in my right ankle and a bit of soreness in the tendon on the same foot, not enough to cause me a problem running but just enough to make me notice that maybe all is not 100%. It could be due to wearing the VFF's rather than being barefoot and it changing my style slightly, running too heavy? I also got a jabby pain in my left knee for a brief time on a downhill section, a quick stretch sorted it out. I'm finding downhill hard to get right. I can't bend my knees enough due to the slope, my only solution for now is to shorten and quicken my stride. My canal towpath run was slow at 10:05m but it was very and slippery along the way. It took 21:23 for the climb from Compstal up to Werneth Low high point, average pulse rate 142, the highest of the sections.

Thursday, 29-Aug. 10km.
The first really sunny day of my holiday, one where I could actually feel some warmth from the sun, still, the temperature would be struggling to get over 20C.
I took the river trail and it was still muddy along much of its course, it would take weeks of warm sunny weather to dry it out. I came back on a different route on the other side of the river then up into Woodley and back along the road.
I was quite happy with the run, no stiffness in the legs from a walk I did the other day along the ridge at Mam Tor near Castleton. I did half of the walk barefoot, only putting the shoes back on when I got to the proper roads. My feet were strong enough to tackle the rocky footpaths and it felt good to get the feedback from the ground I was walking on.

Mam Tor, Castleton

Small Climb up to Back Tor

No more runs for the rest of the week as I go for a short break to Anglesea. If the weather is good I may be able to get some barefoot beach runs in, I am getting a bit tired of wearing the Vibrams and am missing the barefoot running feeling.


Neil