Still in Northern Portugal, I went for a barefoot walk on the beach, to the north this time. It was sunny but not too hot, and I kept mostly to the firmer sand just at the edge of the waves, enjoying the coolness of the water. I quickly left the more populated area behind and after that hardly saw anyone! The beach seems to go on forever, and after 1.5 miles I decided I'd better turn back. I hadn't put sunscreen cream on and I felt my feet and lower legs - which rarely see sunshine - starting to burn, so thought I'd try jogging back to get back quicker.
I thought it would be too much like hard work in the sun and sand, and hadn't worn my running bra either, so intended to try alternating jogging and walking. To my surprise though, I was able to keep running the whole 1.5 miles back. My first barefoot run since I was about 6! Happily my feet and knees didn't complain. My left calf muscle was a little tight next day, so I did plenty of stretching, and there have been no ill effects 
Next time I've got access to an enormously long and beautiful beach on my doorstep I might try it again. It was a lovely change from cobbles and tarmac
x
Morning run with Hector!!
Beach run
