Washington, DC
Dec. 10, 2006
This was my first barefoot race (and only the second running road race I had ever done - the first being the Marine Corps Marathon of all things). I had been concentrating on my running a lot, including my barefoot running, and wanted to try this out just for fun. The only other time I'd been timed at this distance was in the Sea Colony olympic-distance triathlon, when it had taken me 51:18. It was very cold at the start, and I had to wear socks on my feet, but did run it shoeless (and with Santa hat). I paced behind my friend Dave, who is a faster runner than me, until the turnaround, when he drifted off ahead, but I was still quite surprised at how well I did at this event and pleased as pudding: 44:09, or 7:07 per mile for the 6.2 mile course.
Although I had run this distance several times before barefoot, I did get a blister on one toe in this race, whether because of the cold and consequent numbness on my feet, the intensity of the race experience, or the fact that I was going faster than usual and pushing off too much, I don't know.
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