Nudey-feet

I haven't run outside in ages.  This morning I was at the gym running, and I just got so bored! The hamster wheel gets old after a while, but normally I can just keep going for ages if there is something on the tv or I have an audiobook on my iPod.  I decided to call it quits for the day, but as I was heading home I decided that since it wasn't very windy or cold that I would take a shot at running outside again.  Allergies and asthma destroy me this time of year, but I guess I need to just get used to it if I'm going to be signing up for legit races.  I got to the outdoor track and had the crazy idea of trying barefoot running.  I started out just walking around the track to get used to the feel, and then just started running.  There is a whole running community of people that swear by barefoot running, and I must say, it felt rather liberating.  I had my iPod at first, but after the first lap I just wanting to ditch it and feel the motion and be outside.  It was fantastic.  I can feel such a difference in the way you hold yourself and move.  I felt so trendy next to the girls running there with shoes ;) I only did about 20 minutes, as I didn't want to tear up my feet or hurt anything.  You totally use different muscles running barefoot.  I then put on my shoes to feel the comparison.  Holy smokes, it was exhausting!  My feet felt so heavy and I was just lagging. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I had already run about 9 miles right before that.  I'm worried that I have opened a can of worms, though.  I don't want to get into doing that exclusively (hello, winter? Glass? Trail runs? Not happening) but I'm still intrigued.  Maybe I could do both and just switch back and forth... We'll see.