Today after a solid morning of studying, taking an exam and writing a three-page paper I decided to head out of the house to get some fresh air and a bite to eat. I stuffed my huarache sandals in my back pocket for backup and hit the sidewalks barefoot. Right out of the gate I got a little surprise when I crossed the road due to some paving that's taking place. As I waited for a break in traffic I admired the smooth, fresh, black asphalt, imagining what it would be like to run barefoot on it (yes, my mind is becoming corrupted...). When my opportunity came I started to mosey across the two lanes of traffic that they paved yesterday and became fixated by the third and fourth lanes that hadn't seen a single car tire on them. As I set my foot on the virgin pavement I was greeted by the smooth velvety surface under my foot. As I put weight on it I started to feel it give just slightly under my foot; this was the softest feeling road I'd ever walked on! My second foot hit the pavement; wow it was soft too! Wait, that's not normal... and why are my feet so hot? I looked up and saw the paving machine just down the road a little ways with a steamroller headed my way! Then it finally hit me, THEY JUST PAVED THIS!!! At this point all of the reading that I've done about staying light on your feet while barefoot running was at the front and center of my mind (well, right behind the thoughts of "I've got to get off this, NOW!"). I started high stepping like I was trying to walk on water and made it across the two freshly paved lanes. As my parting gift, the fifth lane, which hadn't been paved yet, was completely tore up with a fresh coat of hot oil on it! By God's grace I managed to bounce my way through the oil and onto the curb relatively unscathed. I took a moment to inspect my precious pods and they honestly looked OK, a little black but no blisters!
At that point I could have grabbed my sandals and put them on but my better judgment prevailed and I managed to put on 2.5 miles of sidewalks before I caved in. I was starting to feel a hot spot on both feet on the ball of my foot between my big toe and index toe so I threw on my huaraches and walked the remaining .5 miles home. As you can see from the picture below most of the oil wore off my foot after 2.5 miles, there's just a few spots here and there and a dirty tinge to the pads of my toes. Don't worry, the road rash on my other leg was not from today, I can thank softball for that one...
I'm really pleased all in all. There's no way I could have gone as far as I did today two weeks ago, and the added benefit was that it was all pain free! Well, except the asphalt...
This had me laughing! Mainly because I know the exact area you were talking about and could vividly picture a crazy man high step / jumping across the road barefoot!
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