How you like your feet cooked, medium or rare?

Distance 34km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4032.9km] Week48

Monday, 3-Dec. 10.2km

A breezy afternoon with a south westerly blowing, not as cold as it would be in the winter but cool. The ground was still warm though. It was almost as if the pavement had underfloor heating. I'm still not up to the speed I had before my slight calf setback and I still get a slight tendon tenderness, more so from running on the soft sand on the way back.

Thursday, 6-Dec 10.8km

The weather warmed up today, reaching 30C at its high point. I got to the beach at 4.45pm and had to decide if I ran on the beach or road. I chose the road as it felt OK under foot, warm but not blistering. This was concrete though which is usually the coolest surface to run on, this turned out to be correct. I could feel my feet starting to warm up as I moved onto the brick and hotter temperatures. By the time I got to the stretch of pavement from the Henley Hotel to the River I was getting a bit worried about burns, my feet were starting to protest the heat despite me running as lightly and quickly over the surface. I was glad to get back onto concrete again for the remainder of my outbound journey but now it was a bit too late, my feet were feeling cooked. I wasn't going to run back on the road, I had to head to the beach to cool them off. The seawater felt good but now my feet were very sensitive underneath. I also started to feel a bit weak from the heat in the last few km, maybe a bit of dehydration.

Saturday, 8-Dec. 13km

An early run today, up just after dawn and at the beach by 6.15am to beat the heat. It had been a warm night an was still around 24C now. I decided to keep the run short today as I noticed that my sore feet that I cooked on Thursday have blisters, one on each foot on the pads. The heat was obviously too much for them. So, no road running today, just a beach run.
I felt slow and tired due to the warm night and I was running into a warn north wind. My feet were ok at the half way point but started to get sore after another 3km, the blisters had started to rub again. I ended up walking the last 2km as running wasn't much fun. The question is, why have I not learned a lesson and not run on a warm day. I need to make a strict rule of thumb and say no road running if the temperature is over 25C and sunny. Early morning runs are good but they leave me very tired at the end of the day.

Sunday, 9th-Dec

No running today, my feet need some repair time. Instead I got on my bike and cycled to the gym. It has been quite a while since I've had the bike out and I could tell as I got a sore backside, even from cycling a short distance. I'm hoping the cycling will complement the running by hitting muscles that aren't being used as much as they be. I may do a beach run tomorrow.

Neil