Mid-Summer Barefoot Challenge

It's sizzling hot today. I usually avoid running while the sun is still high, because you cannot gain mileage in extreme heat. But today I chose to run in the heat for a reason: acclimation.

I am expecting a full marathon this coming October. It'a Aqua Line Marathon 2018. It takes place in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture. The course mainly runs through the city area, with a large part of the first half being the eastern half of the Aqua Line Toll Road. There is little shade throughout the course to avoid the sun. Plus, October in the area is still quite warm, with daytime highs expected to reach 25 degrees Celsius. This presents a big challenge to me, because as I look back on my past races, I never ran well full marathons on warm days. In fact, that's the reason I had avoided running a full marathon except in winter. But seeing my runner friends bravely run full marathons in early fall, I was finally inspired to set foot on the terrain yet to be explored, that is running a full marathon in a warm month.

In addition to the challenge of running a full marathon in a warm month, there is another challenge that awaits me--running the entire 42.195 in bare feet. I have done two pseudo-barefoot marathons where I ran the races almost entirely in ultimate minimalist aqua shoes with zero cushioning, took them off within 2 kilometers of the finish, and cross the line in bare feet. Many runner friends admire me for running in such ill-equipped footwear, and for taking off protective gear that is a must for them. But I'm not satisfied. In my mind late Abebe Bikila of Ethiopea, who won the gold medal in men's marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, shines on as an ultimate athletic hero. Not only did he beat all the other shoe-clad competitors without wearing shoes, but he also beat those from Communist countries who were most unquestionably on all kinds of performance-enhancing drugs that were available at that time. I want to do what my hear did, no matter how much slower I may be.

Anyhow, how did my practice run go? Well, not very good. In fact, the heat didn't bother me cardio-wise. I was full of energy thanks to a good 80-hour sleep. But the heat of the asphalt killed my sole. Both of my soles got burned after running 11 K. I retreated once, taking a short break at home, and then put on a pair of running socks by Oleno, and hit the road again, but the soles were still too sore to run even a foot. I gave up.

I am hoping that by tonight the soles will have recovered enough to do a shoe-clad run. Then I will run another 20 K or so, bringing today's total mileage beyond 30 K.