AM - 6.5 miles total at about 8:08 pace. First ran 3 miles by myself at 7:56 pace (including the first 1/2 mile being at about 8:30 pace), then ran 3.5 miles with Sparky at around 8:15-8:20 pace. Felt good, my calf feels better today (after having gotten tortured on Saturday by Lybi), and I still feel nice and fresh after my first 50-mile week this year. I am planning on adding a couple more miles this week, probably make my long run 12 miles, but nothing much more. Perhaps I will do a bit of tempo miles, depending on how I feel, but that's about it. PM - 1 mile with Samuel in about 11:00, all of us unshod (look how Lybi has corrupted me!). Actually, my theory was that perhaps running barefoot might help me to deal with the PF I have been experiencing by strengthening the arch and the muscles around the foot. It certainly didn't feel bad at all. I might try continuing this experiment the rest of the week. Sam also ran barefoot (at his own insistence) and did very well. We ran slower to help him learn about running barefoot and to pay closer attention to the surface and avoid stepping on rocks. As it was, he still stepped on a few. After Samuel, ran another 0.65 with Joey, also barefoot (and him too - same reason). He also did very well. I stepped on a pretty big rock this time, with it landing right in the middle of my arch - that kind of stung for a while, but went away after about 30 seconds. We will see how this experiment works out. I am excited, and if it helps me to run faster and stay healthy, then I am all for it. On a side note, we are still trying to decide what to do about a 1/2 marathon for Lybi and one for me. We are leaning towards one of us coming up for the Provo River 1/2 - either Lybi will fly up, or I will drive up. Then one of us will either do the St. George 1/2 or there is also a 1/2 marathon up in Prescott (about 5100' elevation) that is actually fairly flat. Sasha has already indicated he thought the Provo River 1/2 would be a good PR course for Lybi - gentle downhill for most of it. And to tell the truth, I'm not too fussed either way - I am certain that I will be able to get a PR on either course, weather permitting.
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