Rocket City Rocks

Huntsville AL
Rocket City Marathon
12/10/2009
3:49



Even though it's number 2 for me in Rocket City. When I came to town it was for a very different kind of event. I was coming this year as a new kind of runner. A barefoot runner. Even though I sort of was familiar, I was so focused on breaking 3 hours last year I didn't pay any attention to roads from my new perspective. In fact, this being only my second running of a marathon barefoot, I am not exactly sure I would even know a good course if I saw it. There are not a lot of folks to ask about these matters. My assessment from Saturday now is that Huntsville is a very fast course if you wear shoes. Just looking at the faster than normal average times for my age group indicates that most who come to town, come to race fast. Unfortunately, for a guy with no shoes, the roads, especially in the neighborhoods, are quite rough. It was so chilly that morning I decided to wear socks for the first few miles. I ended up wearing them for more than half the run but I suspect I'd completely worn holes in them much earlier. They did seem to keep my feet warm at the beginning. By the halfway point my feet were hurting badly enough I had to step up on the sidewalk and slow considerably. I ran the first half in about 1:40. Two factors also contributed to my poor showing. I was not able to do any real tempo work on roads. My barefoot transition is still early and it and the miles of chip seal in Peoria prevented that. Secondly, it was quite chilly. I wore tights, something I've never done for a marathon. By mile 15 I was considering stepping off the course as I realized my feet would pay a steep price if I continued but being my last marathon of the season and not having ever completed a marathon without shoes I decided to press on to the finish. By mile 18 I was walking regularly and stepping off the roads into yards and sidewalks to minimize the pain. When I reached mile 20 it was all I could do to muster the will to finish. As I arrived at mile 25 I was heartened by the knowledge I would soon be done and I put on my best face and finished. One other barefoot runner, Matt Jenkins from Macon, GA was there and wrote similar comments about the rough roads. I don't know if I can learn to overcome this kind of surface but I might need to if I want to continue my barefoot running. Peoria, my home town is paved much the same making it very hard to do pace work barefoot. If you read this and have any barefoot tips I can use please comment. Overall, I'm happy with my run. When I finished and went inside it became evident how much skin I had taken off my feet. I hobbled up to my room and my wife filled a pillow case with ice and dumped it in the tub. I soaked my feet in ice water and noticed they began to bleed like two stuck pigs. After pulling them out of the water and tramping across the bathroom floor for a towel I looked down and noticed the mess I was making. I tried to wipe it up with toilet paper but being hobbled I mostly smeared the blood. I threw a hand towel on the ground to step on but my feet continued to bleed into it. When I finally got the feet wrapped and I got dressed the bathroom looked like a serial killers crime scene. Yuck! A week later my feet are much better but still not healed enough to run on.