A 9 mile run

I went out for a run twice last week, and yesterday (Saturday), I went out for a 9 mile run.  That was not my original intention, but I hoped to do a bit more than 5 miles.  It was a very warm day and I had on capri tights and a long sleeved shirt!  Of course, before I left the flat I had no idea it would be so warm out.  I decided on a gentle pace, as I need to build up my base again and just get a few miles under my belt.  It was fine, and when I got back to Harvard Bridge, I decided that I had enough 'legs' to continue up to Boston Bridge.

As I ran along, there were loads of people out cycling, and just walking around.  There were also a series of rowing and sailing regattas going on at the same time (MIT and Boston Univ), so there were lots of families out on the river banks, with picnics.  It was very pleasant, and after an hour  I still felt fairly strong, albeit hot and bothered, and  I was in dire need of a t-shirt and shorts!  After lunch, I had a great nap - the kind you can only have after a long run.

                                                          

On a separate note, when I was in South Africa, I discovered some rather wonderful shoes by New Balance, based on a concept called Rainbow Running.  These multi-coloured shoes are available only in South Africa, since as the store manager told me, South Africa is the rainbow nation and NB were trying to encourage more people to run (although the picture above might belie that!)  Although I am a die-hard "Karhu" fan, I fell in love with these shoes, and tried to get a pair.  Unfortunately they did not have them in my size, so alas, that was that.  But I did have some very good chats with some of the guys in the shop, and it was refreshing to hear about the running scene in Cape Town, so many beautiful places to run.  But back to my shoe-story.  Here is a pic of the shoes in question.

How can you not love that!  In fact I am thinking of asking my mum to post me a pair....  Max, the guy in the shop also had a look at my Karhus and said "I know why you love running in these.  It's like running barefoot".  However, he also advised me to look after my feet and do my training in more supported shoes, keeping the Karhus for races.  With the current  popularity and revival of barefoot running, what is one to believe?  Does anyone have any ideas about this?