Luna Sandals

It's hard to believe I have been walking and running on the Luna sandals for only 18 days. It feels like my feet are getting stronger already. I am bringing them in my trip to Cozumel and I plan to use them all day long. 

UI Track on Wednesday

My left calf felt better and blisters did not bothered me at all. Decided to run intervals wearing the Newton running shoes. Temperature was very nice (supposed to have a polar vortex). My body felt pretty good, fresh, and had lots of energy. Six 800 intervals and one 400. 

800 m	3:23 min	6:33 MM
800 m	3:27 min	6:50 MM
800 m	3:14 min	6:20 MM
800 m	3:17 min	6:25 MM
800 m	3:17 min	6:27 MM
800 m	3:26 min	6:52 MM
400 m	1:25 min	5:35 MM

Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/543136451

Bix@6 and calf tightness

Last Thursday was the last chance to practice the Bix7 course before the race. The Bix7 is one of the most famous races in the Midwest. The practice started at 6:00 PM after singing the national anthem.  There were thousands of runners and water was provided at some points of the course.

Decided to run on the Luna Sandals.  Of course, I forgot to bring my Garmin GPS watch, when I most needed it. Ran with Bobbie most of the race. I finished it in a little more than 60 minutes.  That was an 8:35 MM pace. I guess we ran faster than that.  Once I stopped because a runner stopped to tie his shoe and I wanted to run with him for a while. I also stopped to get water a couple of times. It was nice to see some runners I know during and after the race. The best part was running with so many other good runners. Very inspiring. 

A terrible bloody blister occurred on my second toe, right foot. It started bleeding after mile three. Another blister happened on my left foot, also second toe. They looked really bad after the run. 

Also, my left calf got extremely tight.  It's been two days, and the calf is still very tight. Not sure what to do. I hve been doing some easy stretching exercises, but they barely help. The good news is that when it warms up, it gets better, not worse. 

Luna Sandals Second Day

This was my second day on the Luna Sandals. My feet were hurting this morning. They felt like they had been beaten, but it did not feel like they had any lesion. Tried to warmed them up a little bit with some walking around the house and then went for an easy run. A few minutes after I started running, my feet felt better, and ended up logging 4.6 miles. Did not wear socks this time. Wanted to test and see if my toes could stand the nylon cord between my toes. Not a problem. 

Luna Sandals First Day

My Luna Sandals arrived yesterday morning. I tried them on and went for a walk for about 1 mile. They felt like I was barefoot walking. This morning, I was planing to run just about four miles. But, because of the tremendous rain we had last night, we had to change routes and ended up running about 5.6 miles on the Luna sandals. 

I experienced some pain on top of the foot after a few miles (more than four miles). But, pain went away. I wore toe socks because I did not want to risk getting a blister between the toes. Hopefully, it will not occur. 

Backpocket

Found out that I have a few extra days to submit my proposal. An image appeared in FaceBook by Running Wild asking runners to meet at Backpocket at 6:00 PM for a training workout. I saw my watch and realized I just had enough time to go home and change. Got to the meeting point and saw just a few runners. Ran with Ashley and her boyfriend Jeff. Decided to go for about six miles @ 9 MM pace. We did pretty good, except they decided to go back after two miles and not three. So, I ran for miles solo trying to maintain the pace. 

Wasn't sure what shoes to wear, but I went for the Merrell. They felt so tight, I'd wished I could have ran in the sandals. I should remember this for Saturday's morning run. 

Kewash Half Marathon

Although I haven't had any long runs lately, I decided to run this half. Not sure what shoes to wear, but decided to run in the Newtons. Dan and I got to Washington a few minutes after seven, and hanged around until the race started. Met some fellow runners from Iowa City and North Liberty. 

Race started and two girls were ahead of me. So, I went on the chase. Caught the first one and passed her. Caught the second one and passed her! No more girls to chase. The young girl caught up with me, but I sprinted for a short distance ("jaloncito") and her mind gave up. 

Turned around at half, and started to slow down. It was hard running alone -solo and very tired, of course! The guys in front of me were way ahead, but I wasn't sure how far was the group behind me.  Kept running. Slowed down quite a lot, but I just kept going. According to my Garmin, I finished in about 1 hr 47 min 40 sec. That's about a 8:13 MM pace. 

I believe I finished in third place overall! I can't wait to see the official results posted on FB.
Legs are very tired and feet hurts in many places, but it's just soreness. There were many moments during the race I'd wished I was wearing my sandals. But, I think it was not a good idea to try the sandals for 13 miles in a race!