No Rain in New Jersey Hurts

On Tuesday I wanted to run nice and barefoot at Greenbrook Park. I ran right out of my front door and down the street, doing the very comfortable road half mile to the park. (Note that during the first half of last year I had to run that same half mile with shoes on, then I took them off at the park. Then I progressed to just starting the run barefoot, but had to run on the grass next to the street as much as possible for it to be comfortable.) I got to the park and hit the grass. And it hurt. The dirt under the grass is hard and uneven. It was much more comfortable to run on the road. After putting up with the pain for a few minutes, I turned around and ran home for some XC shoes.

Yesterday I tried again. The ground is even harder, if that is possible. But I was prepared. I carried my XC shoes while I ran on the street, then put them on for hte bulk of the workout in the park.

It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. New Jersey really needs rain. I need it to soften up the ground. My coworker told me that we had zero inches of rain in March in NJ. I looked it up at the National Weather Service. Here is the current map -

Map thanks to National Weather Service

As you can see, we are down 3 inches from the normal in Somerset and Middlesex counties. That is a lot. I am looking forward for a great day of rainy weather on Saturday. Let it rain and make lots of soft mud of the hard cracked earth!