11F and running in VFF KSO's

My morning run today: 11F and 3 miles in my VFF KSO's with the Injinji Wool Socks. Toes were pretty cold the first 1.5 miles and then warmed up and was perfectly comfortable. Could have gone further, but ran out of time...  I was running on the asphalt trail and not in the snow as that would obviously quickly freeze my feet.  My plan is go on a longer run tomorrow of which it should be warmer...  I think the key to keeping the toes warm is to dress in a way that the when you start to heat up, it then forces the heat down to your toes.  I let myself get a little warmer than normal and yet was not too warm that I got sweaty while running.  Highly breathable clothing is key!!  AND, I would highly recommend going with merino wool as much as possible because if you do get a little sweaty it is much warmer than any poly type clothing when it is wet.  I am finding out that I would rather throw on another layer of merino wool than my windshirt.  It always seems that I get much more sweaty under my windshirt and end up shedding it not too long into my run.  The windshirt also provides no insulation value.  I think the only time that I would wear the windshirt is if it is super windy and I felt my merino wool layers would not protect me in regards to the wind chill.


My 2.5 mile run earlier this week was in my Mukluks and those also felt good to run in.  They are just so heavy compared to the KSO's, and certainly a bit clunky and awkward.  I felt they gave me a good leg work-out and I could run off the trail as well in the 6-8" of snow.  But, there is something great about the feeling of running in minimalist footwear and being able to feel the ground below you.  The Mukluks are great in the sense that they offer no support and that the bottoms are totally flexible, but with all the insulation beneath your feet, they greatly reduce the feeling of the ground beneath you.


Currently my achilles tendons are pretty tender and for some reason my Feelmax Kuuva Boots put some pressure on the tendons.  So until my achilles are feeling better, I will switch back and forth between my KSO's and my Mukluks.


I'm headed to Atlanta for Christmas and am looking forward to doing some trail running down there as well as some hiking.  I'm really looking forward to running in some warmer weather and without snow.