Rainy Midnight 15.7 K Run in Aqua Shoes with No Cushioning

Oct. 22, 2020

15. 7 K: 1:29:38

My legs were sore from interval training on the previous night. So I decided to go for a slow jog to alleviate their tension. I wanted to run a course that I don't usually run. I did a significant amount of brain work throughout the day, and my brains craved for something novel. I Google-Mapped the course below. It's a 15.7 K loop except the first and last one kilometers overlap. 10 K seemed too short. 20 K seemed too long. 15.7 K seemed just right for a midnight jog.

I ran in aqua shoes with no cushioning. They are the same shoes in a different design that saw my PR earlier this past January at Tateyama Wakashio Marathon. They are super light. The sole is made of a mesh fabric and drains water immediately when it gets wet. It's cold when I step into a puddle, of course, because the water directly reaches my feet. But the shoes never get heavy, and dry pretty quickly. I usually have a huge advantage over shoe-clad runners when a race is held on a rainy day.

I love the feeling of running in shoes with minimum protection. I feel I am moving forward with my own effort. I feel reassured that with each step I take, I am getting stronger. My purpose of running is not improving my PR. Not that I'm not happy when I renew my PR. I do. But my primary purpose is to become a stronger version of myself. I want to be more endurable, both mentally and physically. I feel a tremendously amount of satisfaction when I become capable of doing something that I wasn't capable of doing in the past. Luck doesn't contribute to my feeling of satisfaction. Only constant effort does. So the minimalist shoes are one of the  indispensable elements of my fitness endeavor. 

I jogged at a comfortable pace tonight with particular attention to my cadence and running form. I think I watched both pretty well. 

I surged in the last K as it is recommended by late Yoshio Koide who coached Sydney Olympic Women's Marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi. It's not always easy to finish strongly because you get more tired the longer you run. But when you can, it feels great. It's a major confidence booster, and physically it feels awesome after taking a shower after finishing a long run with a strong kick. 

As always the case with all running training, it felt like shit before I began, but when it was done, I felt like I was in seventh Heaven.