Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Sunsets

Distance 7km [total: minimalist 112km: Barefoot 443km]

Monday evening and according to the weather people this is the last of the fine days before we get some cold wet weather heading in from the west.

I got to the beach at 5pm, the sun has about 20 minutes left before sunset. It's turning around now, the days are getting slightly lighter, minute by minute.
The tide was at its high water mark and there was not much beach at the lower end of the run.
The recent wild weather has pushed the sand dunes further back, erosion eating into them, a little bit more each year.
It was around there where I had to run in the water, only about 30cm deep.

No problems to report, the running is flowing much easier now, none of the aches and pains that marked the transition out of cushioned shoes.

I still find I have to heed the advice of Ken Bob when it comes to concentrating too much on my foot placement, relax, relax, relax, was the advice.
The more you think about how you are running the less well you seem to run.
One trick I have found when I find myself tensing too much is to let the arms go loose and floppy and then let that flow down to the legs.

I finished the 7km run off with a paddle in the water, which at this time of the year is pretty cold, I'd guess 10C. I paddled until my feet were too cold to work properly.
Then, back home in the car with the floor heaters on full as the reward.

There was a spectacular sunset on the Monday evening, its at times like that you wish you had a camera to capture it. The sky was clear except for a set of clouds on the horizon that were reflecting the sun that had just set, they turned flame red.

I'll see if I can squeeze another run in on the Thursday, or maybe just some training drills.

Neil

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Two good runs

Distance 15km [total: minimalist 112km: Barefoot 436km]

Weekend here again.
I didn't get to do my usual run on the Friday as I had to get a tooth fixed during the afternoon.
I'm not sure if a run after that would have helped wear the anaesthetic off quicker or not.
Saturday morning took me a bit of a while to get going, I'm not good on these cold mornings.
The temperature had been down to 3C overnight. As I usually run in the mornings on the Saturday the sand would have been very cold today so I put the Vibrams on for the run today.
The tide was out and the sun was shining but not offering much warmth to the ground, it would take a full day of sun to warm the sand enough to run on.
I ran 8km today, some stats from my heart rate watch, average rate was 139 bpm through the run with a max of 161, that is getting up to the high end. Total calories burned 705kcal.

Sunday: I've not been turning up for the early morning beach run as at 8am it is really cold, probably about 8C.
A slow start, I only spring out of bed in the summer.
I did a session at the gym which included some balancing.
At 3.45pm I went out for a run, no shoes this time as the sand would have had chance to warm up.
This time I covered 7km, again average heart rate of 139 bpm topping out at 151 bpm.
Had slight stiffness in left calf but it came to nothing. 552 kcal burned.
Keeping the knees well bent ensures that you can't stretch your stride out too much.
I got into the zone where I had a good leg turnover or over 180 per minute. I want to practice getting that speed up higher over longer distances.
I feel I am getting a good compact running form now and just have to work on the stamina.
I'll rest now for a couple of days before getting out on the road again.

Neil