Last week I completed a circuit of Clapham Common, which is just under 6k, including getting to and from it. I was going to spend the past week doing the final set of 5k runs around my block. But cycling home last Monday it was such a nice evening I longed to be running somewhere more scenic the streets immediately around my home.
The first K felt a little tough on my soles; especially just forward of my metatarsal heads, in-between one and two on my right foot. I’ve started developing thicker skin there. This has become a bit of a pressure point, I believe because I have a tendency to push off slightly with my right foot. I need to work on that.
However, once I’d got about a K under my belt things started to settle down. Maybe this was because I was concentrating on my gait, maybe not. Either way the run was good over a variety of terrain ranging from brand new smooth flagstones, to very sharp weather damaged tarmac.
As a general precaution I iced my soles for 10 mins when I got back, followed by a soak in a bath, then applied Sudocrem. I’m not sure any of that was necessary, but I thought it good as a general precaution.
I’ve resisted posting this for the past week, as I wanted to see if I could maintain this distance every two days for at least a week. I’ve just got back from my forth run in eight days and I’m happy to report that this does seem to be sustainable. Sure my soles are a little sore right now, but this only the same amount of soreness as when I was running only 2k (four times around he block) a month ago; so things are improving.
My next goal will be 10k, but I’m going to remain at 6k for a few weeks until my soles have gotten used to this and the soreness abates.
BTW. I was too early to call my PF going away. It’s still here, but seems to benefit from my barefoot running. If I go 3-4 days without running it really seems to come back. However if I maintain the running every 2 days, although it’s still there, it’s really just in the background and it’s a not bother at all.