Gradually warming up

Distance 54.2km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 3653.3km] Week37

Tuesday, 18-Sep. 13km

Nice clear day and around 18C for the top in the early afternoon. By the time I hit the beach the temperature had dropped slightly and the sea breeze had picked up. I ran with the wind towards Semaphore this evening, the tide was high so I had plenty of soft sand and broken shells to negotiate. I ran at a nice easy pace, enjoying the evening sun as it slowly made its way towards the western horizon. At first I thought I would run on to the jetty but I could tell by the height of the sun that if I added an extra 15 minutes onto my run the sun would be down and the wind would feel all the colder. I ran back along the footpath then back onto the beach before Escourt House. By the time I got back to Grange jetty I was feeling quite hungry so I didn't run any further past my car. I called it a day at 13km.

Thursday 20-Sep. 11km

Spring is the best time of year. The ground has the warmth to feel the textures of the surfaces I'm running on but the dangerous foot burning heat has not arrived yet. A good run this evening. The wind was a westerly rather than blowing in my face or back. I've noticed that as the season turned it was like a signal to the runners to re-emerge from their winter sleep. I've been running all through the winter and its been mainly solitary but now, there are runners everywhere. On the way back from West Beach a couple of runners passed me going quite fast, I tried to catch them but I was outpaced, they started to increase the distance. I think they must have been doing some fast paced training as I passed them 1km further on as they stopped. I need to run with the faster crowd to boost my speed. I did the last 2km along the beach at high tide, dodging in and out of the waves and still did a good 9:40m for the distance.

Saturday, 22-Sep. 22km

What a battle against the wind today! A weather change was heading in and as always in Adelaide there is a northerly wind before the change. It was forecast to be a warm 27C today. I set out for my run at 9.15am running north to Semaphore then on to Largs. As soon as I set off I was running into a headwind and easterly blowing at around 40km/h (these are from the Adelaide Airport observations), on the beach where there is no shelter from the wind the gusts were up to 50km/h. Even though I was trying to keep a relaxed pace my heart rate was up near 140bpm. I ran 10km into this wind before turning around and heading back. Now you would thing that having the wind behind you would be a good thing, usually it is when it is a gentle breeze but when it is a strong gusty wind it blows you forward  and upsets my rhythm. My usual gentle landing is compromised and I land heavier. That's not a big problem on the beach but it still makes my feet feel the friction more. I had intended a 25km run today but the windy conditions sapped my energy at the end. I turned around at Henley jetty and walked back to the car.

Sunday, 23-Sep. 8.2km

I wake up on Sunday morning and the wind is still blowing, but thankfully the colder air has not arrived yet. Running around the lake is more sheltered than running along the beach but saying that is was still very windy on the return half of my run. It was a westerly wind and was due to turn into a colder southerly by the afternoon. The run went well, I didn't sprint over the last kilometre as I would have been running into a headwind so I just took it easy.

Neil