Thursday, May 30, 2013

Week 21 2013

Distance 33.5km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4628.8km] Week21

Monday, 20-May. 10.5km

My usual weedkay run along the Esplanade. I shall be glad when they have finished the roadworks at West Beach, I'm tired of swapping from one side of the road to another. I think it will be good when it is finished as I'll have a long stretch of flat concrete to run along which should be cooler in the hotter summer months. At the moment it is littered in stones and bits of gravel so I have to keep alert and be relaxed and run softly. I ran the last stretch of 2km along the beach.

Thursday, 23-May. 10km

A sunny autumn day had left a bit of warmth in the ground that my feet were grateful for. This warmth dissipates quicky as the sun sets. The sun set this evening at the halfway part of my run and it was quite dark when I got back to the car at around 6pm. This was a all hard surface run. I have noticed a bit of stiffness in my left calf. I have given it a massage on the roller and will monitor it to see if it gets any worse.

Saturday, 25-May. 13km

Not the best of runs today, maybe it was the cold conditions or the wind blowing but the muscles felt a bit stiff today and I was aware of the left calf on a few occasions when I thought I might have got a strain or a knot. I would ease up on the pace and relax until it felt ok again. I felt quite tired when I got back. I had to have a shorter run than usual as I had to get out early for a football mach in the early afternoon.

Neil

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Easy week

Distance 28.2km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4595.5km] Week20

Monday, 13-May. 10km

Our cool wintery change came in yesterday, plenty of dark clouds and rain heading in from the west. As everyone says though, I guess we need it.
This morning the rain beat down but then the sun would shine and some warmth came back for a short while.
Rather than take the easy option and relax I got my shorts and t-shirt on and headed out for my run. As I drove towards the bach I could see the bruised looking sky up ahead. I parked up near the sailing club and when I started running the pavement was dry but within a kilometres the rain was coming down and wind blowing. Now I was already soaked I may as well carry on. The feet don't seem to get that cold these days when I run, my main worry is the sometimes slippery surfaces when wet.The really smooth brick and concrete can be slippery when you get a film of water and your foot rides on the top.
I passed yet another barefoot runner, a young guy wearing footy gear, running just near the river outlet, he looked a bit knackered actually, probably wondering what he was doing in this awful weather with no shoes on. I put on a decent pace despite the conditions and did around 57 minutes for the 10km.

Thursday, 16-May. 10km

As the darkness is encroaching more on the late afternoon I only have around 30 minutes of sunlight before dusk arrives. I just about got halfway through my run when the sun set over the sea. There was a chilly south westerly wind blowing. It felt better to have it behind me on the way back. There is still work on the new pathway along the road going on and so lots of gravel and loose stones over the concrete which is hard to see in the dark. I have to just keep relaxed and light when I run over it. The dark afternoons have cut the number of runners down, any later finishers from work will find it less appealing to go running once darkness has arrived and it's cold.
Only a few weeks and I'll be running in the daylight again if not better weather.

Sunday, 19-May. 8.2km

Not many kilometres covered this week due to other commitments such as going out for drinks on Friday and going to the zoo on saturday. Today was supposed to be the warmest of the days of the week but so far it has not lived up to expectations. I did a loop of the lake which is my usual Sunday outing, all went well, a good pace but no sprints at the end, I'll leave that till spring. The activity that is usually present on and around the lake has tapered off for the winter, a few rowers out there but that was all. I remember back to when I first started running without shoes and how cold I felt during the winter months, I must have acclimatised now as my feet seem to be able to cope without problems. In a couple of weeks I should be enjoying my first run in England for a few years.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Indian Summer close to winter

Distance 47km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4567.3km] Week 19

Monday, 6-May. 11km

After some early morning rain the afternoon turned out quite nice. We always get to see some sun at sometime during the day in Australia where as in England I could spend weeks and not see the sun. Today on my run I passed a UBR and Unidentified Barefoot Runner, not on the beach but running on concrete, so, a genuine one. I was in the last 500m of my run, it was near dark and I was sprinting the last part when I spotted another runner coming in the opposite direction, it was only as he was about 5m away that I noticed he was running without shoes. I should try to recruit him into our running group for the regular monthly runs.

Wednesday, 8-May. 11km

The warmest May day we have had on record apparently as it hit 32C today, no wonder my throat felt dry as I was running today. It also elevated my heart rate past my target band for the session. There are some fantastic sunsets to see at this time of year with the sun setting shortly after I start back on the home leg of my run. I take more care as the light fades and I can't see the ground as well but I can still keep a good pace. I recorded around 63 minutes for this run.
During this run I spotted another barefoot runner, an older guy with a bushy white beard, moving at a slow pace in the opposite direction to myself. I thought I could get to the halfway point on my run and catch him on the way back but I didn't see him. I assume he must have turned off at some point.

Friday, 10-May. 10km

The end of a warm week where the temperatures have been hitting the high 20's, today was 29C at it's peak, at the time of my run probably around 25C. Legs a bit stiff today in the calves but still able to run at a good pace.  I wish they would hurry up with the road landscaping along the Esplanade south of Henley Beach, the road and pavement has been dug up for ages while they add a new footpath to the west side of the road. The have also dug up the other side where I ran along so I have to keep crossing the gravel road to run along the bits that are completed. There is lots of lose gravel all over the pavements so I have to pay attention to where I am running. Most of the time if I am relaxed enough, running on bits of stone is not a problem, it is only occasionally when I can't shake a piece off from under my foot that I have to stop and brush it off with my hand. I saw the same barefoot runner I saw on Monday evening as I sat on the beach wall after my run. He went past too quickly for me to grab his attention.

Saturday, 11-May. 15km

Here it is, the last of the good days before the rainy weather heads in. I did a beach run today from Grange to Semaphore jetty. When I started the wind was blowing from the north east, it began to switch around as I ran and by the time I got to the jetty it was blowing from the west, the start of the change. During the run I kept the heart rate down at 130bpm for the entire run and when I finished I didn't feel the least bit tired. So there is a correlation between the distance you can cover and the speed you can cover it at, if you want to go further you have to slow down. I'll have to start dressing warmer next week, get the legings back out from where they have been gathering dust since the spring.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

IBRD 2013

Distance 28km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4520.3km] Week 18

Monday, 29-Apr. 11km

I had to have a run this evening after spending some money on a new car, the tension of it hat to be disipated by a bit of physical activity.
I ran an 11km from Grange car park to West Beach. I started my run a little earlier as I'd skipped out of work an hour earlier than usual. It was a nice evening for a run, the sun was out giving a bit of warmth but the pavement was cool. The calves were a little tight today after the longer run to Glenelg over the weekend so I'll have to get the roller out on them after. I did a time of just over an hour not too bad.

Thursday, 2-May. 11km

I thought I better get my run in today as I may not have the time over the weekend, I have to spruce the car up for a possible sale. I have had my car for 16 years and have now finally upgraded to a 2010 model. So far I have only driven it on a test drive. I still have to pay all the bills that come with owning a new car. A nice evening, the sun would be disappearing at around 5.30pm so I had about 40 minutes before darkness would start to fall. A great run tonight, all the stiffness had gone from the legs just a good springy bounce. I am still finding it tough to slow down to keep the heart rate at 135BPM, I naturally feel like moving faster which has my rate at 139BPM. I have to keep easing off the gas when I feel too racey.
On the way back I had to show one of the shoe wearing types that I was not the pushover that he thought. I ran past a guy near the river and a few minutes later I heard the pounding footsteps behind me, I gently moved up the pace to see if I got a response, umm footsteps still there, move the pace up again. A few minutes later no footsteps, he'd given up. The barefoot runner put up more of a fight than he anticipated.

Sunday, 5-May. 6km

International Barefoot Running Day. Despite my efforts to get a bit of publicity by writing to the SARRC they chose to ignore me, maybe the shoe company sponsorships are more important. So the small band of regulars gathered at the foot of the lake for our 6km loop. The weather was kind, I had feared rain but instead we had some warm sun. We ran at an easy 7min/km pace (according to David's GPS watch) chatting along the way. I didn't have a stopwatch so didn't record any time today, it was more of a social outing. After the run we headed to the House Cafe Bakery for a coffee. John had a sick note for the day ;-)


Neil