Sunday, August 25, 2013

Wet wet wet week

Distance 31.7km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 4919.4km] Week34

Monday, 19-Aug. 10.5km

Wow the coldest run of the winter so far. I didn't run over the weekend due to the rain and wind so now I'm well rested and wanting to get out after sitting in fromt of a PC all day at work getting eyestrain. I got well wrapped up for my run, two t-shirts and a long sleeved top and my leggings. It was around 10C and windy when I got to the beach. Foam was being whipped up by the wind along the beach and blowing clumps over the cold sand. At one time I would have found it uncomfortably cold running in the cold water then onto the cold concrete but now it doesn't bother me that much. I did get a few unbelieving looks from people walking along the front who were wrapped in heavy clothes and coats. I ran into the wind on the way out and had it blowing on my left side on the way back, the wind gusts were up to 48km/h but mainly a steady 30km/h. Had I not worn the extra layers of clothing I would have got some wind chill and caused myself some problems. I ran the distance in around 58m.

Saturday, 24-Aug. 13km

After a friday night out on the town or rather in the pub, I was a bit slow to get going this morning. The weather didn't look that inspiring either, a misty dampness after all the rain of the week was still hanging around. I was hoping the sun would come out and burn it all off.
I got out for my run at 11am, the tide was far out and I had lots of flat sand to run on. The usual windy beach was calm so I was able to run at a good pace. Even the sand didn't seem that cold today and it was great to run on. I was in a bit of rush so initially had the plan to run for 35 minutes up then turn around and come back. By the 35min I ws only a couple of minutes off the end so I carried on and ran back along the foreshore. I ran harder today that I have been over the rest of the winter. I need to start getting some speed back into my legs.
The sun emerged on the homeward stretch and it was warm enough to take my t-shirt of, it felt good to feel the warmth of the sun on my back.

Sunday, 25-Aug. 8.2km

The hamstrings were a bit sore today after my run yesterday, I can tell I had a good run yesterday. So here I amrunning around the lake, I started as slow and relaxed as I could to ease the aching muscles back into life. I had done a gym session as well so took my time to loosen up. I dodged around a few patches of glass on the course, one reason to keep the eyes open. One piece would have been very problematic if I had stood on it. Even shoes would have had a bit of a problem.
Only one more week and I hit my 4 year barefoot anniversary and I will be close to the 5000km mark as well.

Neil


Sunday, August 18, 2013

Quiet running week

Distance 21.5km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 4887.7km] Week33

Monday, 12-Aug. 11km

A chilly day with a strong breeze. I didn't feel much like going for a run after work tonight but thought if I just go out and run lightly then see how I feel after a couple of kilometres. As expected, once I got going I felt much better. Just concentrating on my breathing and the feel of my feet on the ground. The ground was warm despite the cold breeze. I must have set off slightly later today as it was quite dark when I got back to the car. I put in a bit of a burst of speed at the end to beat a yound lady who overtook me earlier, the competitive instinct is still there. The wet weather came in a couple of hours after I got back, lots of rain.


Thursday, 15-Aug. 10.5km

The only other run this week on one of the nicer days. There was some sunshine and a sunset as I made my back through Henley Beach. The run went well, smooth and relaxed. Not many people out this afternoon, only a couple of runners. I have noticed that I get a few more acknowledgments these days, maybe After all the years there is a bit of respect for my persistance. The rest of the week was cold wet and windy so I decided that I could relax for the rest of the week without a run rather than battle the driving rain and wind.
We are now halfway through the last month of winter. By September it should be much lighter in the evening and the days should be slightly warmer.

Neil

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Almost Spring

Distance 42.7km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 4866.2km] Week32

Monday, 5-Aug. 10.5km

A windy but warm evening for a run. I wore just shorts and t-shirt rather than my normal two t-shirts, long sleeved top, skins and shorts. The wind was blowing from the north so it was behind me on the way out and in my face on the way back. A change is on the way and we are back to cold wet weather tomorrow. There were plenty of rain clouds around during the run but I avoided the spots where the rain was coming down.
The feet kept nice and warm on the run as the sun had warmed the pavements up slightly during the day.

Thursday, 8-Aug. 11km

After a cold start the day turned out pleasant and warm and it was an ideal evening for a run after work. I even had to take my running top off and just run in a t-shirt as I was getting a bit warm. I got a bit of ankle cramp on the way back but ran it off and by the end it was fine. I practiced the nose breathing again but occasionaly I have to resort to taking in larger amounts of air through my mouth. I saw one of the first of the spring catepillars on the path the other day, a sign that Spring is not far away. The photo below is one I took after my run and is the Grange Hotel at dusk.

Grange Hotel, dusk, August 8th 2013

Saturday, 10-Aug. 13km

I was greeted with sunshine peeping under the blinds this morning indicating that it has the possiblity of being a nice morning outside. I was up and about a little late after having a night out hosted by the company I work for, to celebrate 15 years in the job. Wow has time flown by. I got to the beach just after 10am, the tide was at the low point so I had a large expanse of flat sand to run on. There was a bit of a breeze blowing from the north that felt a bit chilly but the sun offered some warmth when it came out from being some of the light clouds. On the way back I came off the beach and ran along the grass behind the houses, with the winter rain the grasses had started to grow and the spiky seeds that cover this area in late summer have now all germinated and are no longer a problem. On the way back I upped the pace as I had the breeze at my back and it just felt good to be running harder. I took my top off to cool down while running and had the experience of feeling small drops of rain that must have been blown from some real distance away as the slky above was blue and cloudless, the only cloud I could see was on my left. It just felt like thousands of small electric shocks. A very enjoyable run

Sunday, 11-Aug. 8.2km

After a gym session in the morning and a heavy upper leg workout I went to the lake to run it off. The legs felt a bit wobbly at first due to the leg extensions I had done earlier but they sorted themselves out by half way. I will probably be sore in a couple of days. The northerly breeze blew down the length of the lake today as I ran up the western edge then as I slowly moved around on the return half it just died down and I could feel the sun again. I ran untimed today but I felt like I was running  a bit fast without the restraining influence of my heart monitor. I can feel spring in the air.
In the evening I got to speak about barefoot running at a local community radio station and spent and hour answering questions from the presenters Julie and  Jackie.  A great first experience of talking on live radio. I have John Middleton to thank for arranging that so, thanks John!

Neil







Sunday, August 4, 2013

Last month of winter

Distance 73km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 4823.5km] Week31

 

Wednesday, 24-July. 10km

A good 10km run but my legs were a bit sore from the gym on Sunday. Overdoing the lunges and leg presses have left the legs a bit flat. The sun is going down while I'm half way back, in another few weeks I will be finishing with the sun still above the horizon.
The first run of the spring is just around the corner, the City to Bay run, the biggest run in the state with 10's of thousands running. I may go down and take some photos but I won't run, it is too expensive and too busy, I'll wait for the Christmas run and see if I can complete it this time.

Friday, 26-July.  10.5km

I need to pick up my speed a bit as I'm getting overtaken by a few of my shoe wearing brothers. I haven't done much speedwork for a year so I have not got that burst I need when I go into races. My calf had a bit of a knot that threatened to tighten towards the end of my run. I staved it off by relaxing my calves, it's good that I can feel it before it comes on and cramps.

Saturday, 27-July. 13km

My runs this year have been shorter than they were a year previous. At this time last year I was running 15km -20km. The disruption of the holiday midway during the year has reduced my distances, but, then again, its not a race to get the highest didtances over a week. When I get fixated on doing long distances I can miss small signals that indicate I might be on the way to an injury. Distance isn't everything and I think I'm getting too old to worry about trying to win a race unless it is in some veterans category.

Monday, 29-July. 10km

The days are getting slightly longer now so it is not totally dark when I finish my run. I have to divert from the beach path that I usually take as it is being revamped and as usual they seem to take forever. Lots of digging with heavy machinery, I assume they must be making a shared cycle/walkway which would be wider than the older path, hopefully it will be converted to a nice concrete pathway, a bit more barefoot friendly than the wonky brick path that I had to negotiate carefully in the dark. 

Thursday, 1-Aug. 10.5km

The warmest day of the week with the daytime temperature reaching a high of 19C, this made for some warmth in the ground that my feet could detect as I ran my out and back run to West Beach. I'd had a busy day at work and left the office with a headache and a longing to get out into the fresh air and get the body moving. The body did thank me for it and I had a great sleep that night. I did get a slight bruise on the underside of my foot when I landed on a stone due to a bit of carelessness on my part.

Saturday, 3-Aug. 13km

Quite a fight with the wind today as I ran up to Semaphore. The wind speed at the airport was 35km/h, on the beach it would have been over 40km/h. It slowed me down by around 10 minutes on the run north. The reward for all the hard effort was to have the wind behind me and run at a much faster speed on the way back. On the way back I came across a dead dolphin calf washed up on the incoming tide. It was around 1.5m long and had probably been dead for a day poor thing. I reported it to the animal marine rescue group so they could take it away for testing.

Sunday, 4-Aug. 6km

Well, here we are again the First Sunday of the Month barefoot run and we are assembled in the car park near the River Torrens close to the Adelaide zoo. In contrast to the weather that came in during the afternoon yesterday of thrashing rain, today was mild and sunny. The ground was still wet and there was plenty of debris knocked off the trees by the storm. There was 4 of us who went for a run today, Myself, David, Kathy and Michael. We ran a weaving loop around the river and sports fields on a variety of surfaces and quite a bit of mud. The good thing about being barefoot is not worrying about getting shoes wet and muddy, you clean your feet by running through puddles. After the run and reuniting with half of our party that got lost we headed to the local deli for a coffee. 

Michael, Kathy & David after our August run


Myself, Kathy & David after the run


Waiting for the post run coffee

The local deli