Rainy week

Distance 37.5km [total: minimalist 269.6km: Barefoot 2852.8km] Week 21

Monday, 21-May. 9.8km

A good run this evening. I got to my start point at 4.38pm and the sun was still up by the time I got to the turn around point of the local caravan park. The weather bureau had forecast cold and wet weather for the rest of the week, tonight would be the best of the days. Caught up with a friend running on the way back so took it a bit easier for the last few kilometres.

Saturday, 26-May. 19.5km

As predicted the weather was wet and cold this week. Yesterday the rain was thrashing down as I drove home, there was no way I would be running in that. On the Thursday it rained off and on through the day and I almost got changed into my running gear but decided against it at the last minute, luckily so as 30 minutes later the rain was hammering down again in the dark outside.
Today I broke a distance record for my barefoot running 19.5km. Ok it was mainly a beach run with a short section of road and grass but that is the longest distance I would have run in 25 years. I checked on the weather radar before I set off this morning and saw heavy rain approaching from the west. When I set off the sun was shining and it felt pleasantly warm and the running felt good. Out to the west I could see the approaching black clouds and rain across the sea. It was hard to work out how far away and how fast it was moving. As I approached the road at Semaphore the black cloud was almost upon me and it was raining lightly. I decided to cut the run short of the Jetty and add some extra distance on at the other end of my run if I didn't get a good soaking. I began back on the return journey and as I put more kilometres in I started to run past the black clouds that made land about 5km back from where I had come from. I even came back to running in the sun again. I ran to Henley jetty then carried on to the river outlet which normally makes up my 7km run. So today I did both my 7km run and my 12.5km run totalling 19.5km and now sitting here typing this I feel fine.
I downloaded an ebook called Running With The Kenyans a story from a sports magazine writer who went to live in Kenya for a year to see what he could learn about what makes the Kenyans such great runners.

Sunday, 27-May. 8.2km

Recovered pretty well from my long run yesterday ready for my easy run today. Quite a few rowers out on the lake as I made my way around along with one or two Dragon boats. That would be cold work in the middle of winter with the south wind whipping up the waves on the lake, I'll stick to the running. Only a few runners on the lake path today, it was quite chilly on the way back with a breeze from the south. I put in a good sprint at the end, about 19s slower than last week but I could have gone faster. After the run it was down to the gym for a session of chest and some leg extensions. I don't do much heavy lifting with the legs these days as it only slows me down with the running, I don't want to get bulky. Weight came in at around 70kg.

Neil