Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hoonis Australis

Distance 54km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 3912.5km] Week42

Monday, 22-Oct. 11.5km

Ah, spring time and as I'm running back from West Beach, along the beach path I hear the first cry of The Hoon. The Hoon is the cousin of the Neanderthal, it survived and thrived in Australia's isolated environment due to lack of predators and a temperate climate.
The cry of "Get some fucking shoes on" as it speeded by was a sign of Spring's arrival. I tried to communicate with the Hoon by using sign language consisting of finger gestures but all this seemed to do was agitate the poor creature.
I anticipate if we get a warm summer that great herds of Hoons will gather at prominent beachside locations for their preening rituals, I shall need to prepare my communication technique just in case I need to negotiate my way past them.
The run today had a fast outbound leg and a more subdued end as I ran along the soft sand that was quite hard to get any decent speed along.

Thursday, 24-Oct, 11.5km.

A cool change came in today, the southerly wind is here again and I'm running into it and feeling pretty darn good. I just don't get that tiredness I used to get when wearing shoes. Once again I ran down to the boardwalk at West Beach, had a rest for a minuted then headed back, this time with a tailwind. There was some firmer sand on the beach today so I did a short 2km timed section from jetty to jetty and I recorded my fastest ever time, all be it wind assisted, I did a time of 9:09m. I'm hoping all these faster times are a sign that I can do a sub 20 minute for the Beach Bash next year.

Saturday, 26-Oct. 25km.

I managed another long one but was out of steam during the last kilometre again and walked it back through the incoming tide. The weather was fantastic, starting a bit cloudy but this burnt off after an hour and revealed a blue sky. The southerly breeze kept the temperature down but not enough to chill me. The feet began to get a bit sore in the last 5km and I didn't feel like I was going very fast, but, mainly I'm trying to build endurance and if I can keep doing runs of this length then I should be ok.

Sunday, 27-Oct. 6km.

Arrgghh, calf tightness!!! I embarked on my usual loop of the lake on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. At around the 2km point I felt a bit of pain in the calf so I slowed up and relaxed and it went away. Now I was alerted to it and I had to make the decision if I go on my longer loop or opt for the shorter route. I decided that there was no point being a hero and as with all tightness, it always feels better when warm then gets worse when you stop and I didn't want to be further away from my car than is necessary. It started to tighten again around 1km from the end so I walked that last stretch.
I went to the gym after but didn't do any calf exercises and definitely didn't stretch. When I got home I went on my roller for a while and shall continue to do that through the day.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

More kilometres

Distance 69.7km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 3858.5km] Week41

Monday, 15-Oct. 11.5km.

A warm day of 26C at its high but cooler as I start my run. A calm day, no winds blowing which is good. I parked north of the Grange Hotel to extend the run by a small amount. I'm getting some calf stiffness from my gym exercises on Sunday. I did some calf drops on my right leg and now I'm starting to pay for it. It will probably get worse tomorrow.
It's hard trying to balance running with weight training of the legs. It seems to be a choice of strength or stamina but not both. Since doing much more running my leg strength has decreased, especially the hamstrings. If I then do some leg strengthening it stuffs up my running for around 4 days, even when I'm not lifting heavy weight.
I could feel it in my legs, I loose a bit of the coordinated muscle communication that barefoot running relies on. This can lead to imbalances and injuries if I'm not careful, the things I was trying to avoid by strengthening the legs in the first place. I felt more tired on the return journey.

Tuesday, 16-Oct. 13.5km

A day off work due to sickness. I was feeling better by the afternoon, enough to have a go at running. I had a beach run towards Semaphore. It wasn't a good run. I felt tired, my legs were sore and I still suffered from the slight unsynchronised muscle contractions. On the return journey, the gentle breeze turned into a strong wind, my heavy legs gave up around 3km from the end so I walked. It seemed to be a very long 3 km after running for 10km, the distance goes by so slowly. Hopefully my next outing will be a bit better.

Thursday, 18-Oct. 11.5km

Ah much better! this is more like it. The legs have regained their strength and the foot sensitivity seems to have settled down. It was a warm afternoon when I set off, 27C I believe. Once again I parked the car out of the way of the congestion at Grange and added a bit more distance to the run. I could feel the heat this time and it pushed my heart rate up to above 140bpm. The ground was comfortable to run on, its not got to blistering point yet.
I ran the last 2km on the beach and had some competition from a another guy running barefoot. He overtook me a few 100m past Henley jetty, I managed to stick behind him I the reeled him in around 200m from Grange jetty. Then he let loose with a burst of speed and I couldn't catch him, a classic ploy to demoralise the opposition. Despite the loss it was a good training run.

Saturday, 20-Oct. 25km

First stop of the day was at the hairdressers to get the winter/spring growth cut off, it probably wont do much to improve my speed but it feels much cooler. Would I managed to get a decent long run in today without collapsing from fatigue, hunger or physical collapse, apparently so. The weather was perfect at around 20C, just a slight northerly breeze at the beach but lots of blue sky with a few Altocumulus floccus clouds, ah how wonderful the internet is for describing each and every situation. I started off slow until I warmed up then kept a fairly even pace from Grange Sailing Club up to Largs Jetty then back to Semaphore where I have a 5 minute recovery then head onto the bitumen for a few kilometres. I kept off the grass again this week as it is full of dry seeds that harpoon the underside of my feet. I felt quite good for most of the way, just in the last km was I feeling a bit too tired to carry on so I walked in the water to cool off. So, I completed a 25km and feel pretty good now, a few hours later.

Sunday, 21-Oct. 8.2km

Earlier in the week I had the impression that today was going to be cold and wet, but now that it is here it is far from that. It's bright and sunny but a bit breezy. I headed off for a loop of the lake feeling pretty good, no aches or tiredness from my 25km yesterday. Running along the west side of the lake I spotted some dog walkers up ahead, the dogs they were walking were Bull Terriers, I'm always little wary in case one takes a liking of my leg, mistaking it for a tasty bone. I did my usual throat clearing cough to alert them I was coming up behind them. It was then I realised it was my cousin Abigail and her boyfriend Lee. I stopped for a brief chat before setting off at a good pace. It was a good run, the legs and feet felt great. Maybe a record week for distance.

Neil


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Seasonal Change Blues

Distance 42.2km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 3788.8km] Week40

Monday, 8-Oct. 15km

I left work this afternoon with a thumping headache caused by work pressures. I didn't feel much like going for a run but talked myself into it. It was a pleasant spring evening and now that we are enjoying daylight saving it's getting dark at around 7.30pm.
I was trying to clear my head as I ran up the beach but work issue kept spinning around in my head, it took around 7km to flush it out of my brain. I ran to Semaphore jetty then back along the foreshore path. When I got onto the grass section behind the houses near the beach I found that the grass, while soft underfoot during the winter, has now started to dry out. The carpet of flowers I ran through 3 weeks ago has now gone, replaced by thousands of small spiky seed heads that stuck into the underside of me feet. While is wasn't painful it wasn't pleasant. I shall avoid the grass for a few months to see if it improves.
The weather is due to turn wintery from Wednesday.

Saturday, 13-Oct. 19km

A perfect Saturday morning, no winds blowing one way or another along the beach, the tide was out, the only thing in the equation that was off was me. I didn't feel much like running when I set off so I started slowly, I perked up a bit after 3km but my heart rate was a bit high for the amount of effort I felt I was putting in, I kept adjusting my pace to bring the heart rate back to below 136bpm. I ran to Largs jetty then back to Semaphore where I hit the bitumen. I missed out on the grass stretch this time due to the amount of spiky seeds and ran back along the beach. I was starting to feel hungry. I planned to run 25km but I was running out of energy, my feet felt a bit sore too. I got back to where I had parked my car and decided I'd had enough for the day. Am I getting soft, should I have pushed on or was I doing the right thing and listening to my body. I hope the latter.

Sunday, 14-Oct, 8.2km

Another great running day out there. A bit of a northerly breeze but not that strong. I need to get some more running T-Shirts as my current ones are looking decidedly tatty. I would have had them quite a few years now and they are calling out to be turned into dusters. I don't want to complete the look of looking like a running vagrant with no shoes and tatty ripped clothing. I think I'm suffering from some kind of seasonal changeover disorder, the running was going great while running in the cold and wet but now I'm back to running in warmer conditions and warm ground I feel a bit off. My feet are a bit crampy, I may need to start taking some magnesium supplement. Anyway back to the run, I kept a steady pace all the way around and did a time of 45m, a bit slower than usual. I did get a boost to my speed when a girl passed me just near the Boulevard bridge on the lake, I gave chase but she out ran me, I could have caught up but my feet were trying to slow me down,

Neil

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Rest Week

Distance 30.5km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 3746.6km] Week39

Monday, 1-Oct. 15km

Although this is a designated rest week, Monday was a public holiday here in South Australia, the weather was fantastic and so how could I not go out for a run. My feet were noticeably more tender, the increased distance has not given them time enough to repair on the underneath. Each time I would stand on a stone or shell it would hurt more than I would expect and that would make me more cautious. I still managed a good speed workout at the end between the two jetties. In fact it was easier on my pads running at higher speed because the ground contact was shorter. I shall now rest up for 4-5 days. I have a scheduled run on Sunday with the group so I may make that my next trip out.

Saturday, 6-Oct. 11km

Well, it should have been a rest day and it was very windy out by the beach, but, the sun was shining and I was tempted. The feet were still a bit over sensitive and if I stood on a small bit of grit on my callus it would send a sharp response to my brain 'don't do that again'. I ran into the wind on the way out and had it push me back to the start. As I have said before I have no problem running into the wind, I don't like it behind me though. I did a 2km beach stretch at the end recording a time of 9:30m and that was with my heart rate just above my aerobic zone, most of that speed was the wind pushing me forward.

Sunday, 7-Oct. 4.5km

We lost an hour of sleep tonight as South Australia switched over to Australian Daylight Saving time. It will probably catch up with me on Monday morning when I get up for work.
Today was the monthly meet of the Adelaide Barefoot Runners group, this time we had a new member join our ranks, John Middleton. The last time we met at the College Park run start it was mid winter and had just poured down with rain so was quite cold under foot. This time we are in Spring and the weather was perfect, around 18C, bright and sunny. Lots of runners along the river. As I was driving towards our meeting place I could hear the whooping sound of the primates at the zoo, it may have been the excitement from the arrival of breakfast.
David chose a different route from the last time. It took in plenty of grassy surfaces and nice smooth river pathways. Earlier in the day I had found what had been causing an irritation in my right big toe, a small sliver of glass which I found when digging around the area. I am more likely to have picked it up inside the house rather than outside but running probably embedded it a bit more. We ran around 4.5km at a nice easy pace, after which we found a local deli that served up coffee, we spent another 40 minutes chatting. It was a great little meet.