That was much better…

I'm at Mum's for the Christmas bank holiday weekend. I went on my first run since last weekend's fiasco and am pleased to report that it went rather well. It's paved all the way down to the beach. Alongside the footpath, the seafront has these lovely smooth concrete walls which I really enjoyed running along. I did 2.5 miles at about 6mph including the last minute at walking pace. No injuries to report.
I get a perverse kick out of watching other people's reactions to the barefoot weirdo, and was treated to at least one "hello simple person" grin and one actual laugh. I've yet to top a reaction I got in Rainham, Essex back in August. I was walking unshod to the post office and this bloke's jaw looked like it was going to hit the pavement. "Excuse me", he said, "you've got no shoes on." Well, yeah, obviously. Feeling a bit cheeky, I said "oh no: I knew I'd forgotten something! No reaction, not even a flicker of amusement. All I could do was tell him I did it because it was healthier and that it wasn't for everyone and continue on my way, leaving him gauping.