Sunday, September 29, 2013

Getting warmer again

Distance 53.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5137.2km] Week39

 23, 25, 27 Sep. 10km x 3

My working week had the 3 runs of 10km. Two of the outings were good with the middle one very average. I think spending 8 hours sitting at a computer during the day sometimes buggers up my running. I just couldn't get into gear, my lungs felt restricted but my heart rate was still on the low side at around 130, it felt like it should have been a lot more the way I was trying to get enough air.

Saturday, 28th Sep. 15km

A nice morning, bright but cool, good for a run. The tide was incoming as I ran up to Semaphore and I was running out of beach. I noticed the dunes near the Semaphore jetty have some fresh erosion, probably due to the high winds we had on Wednesday night. It won't be long before the sea breaks through the dunes and pushes water into the low lying area behind. Several of the paths that lead to the beach had drops of 1-2 metres when the sand has been washed away. I took a different route back, running along MIlitary Road then along the lake at West Lakes. My feet were feeling a bit sore from some of the rough roads by the end and I was feeling tired. I thought by now my feet could cope with running long distance on rough surfaces but I still have to take care.

Sunday, 29th Sep. 8.2km

Last run of the week and it was my lake loop. A warm northerly wind blew in my face on the way up and as I slowly angled away it dropped and ended up behind me. The feet were a bit sore today so I might give them a rest next week. I should run for enjoyment rather then just get the distance up for the week, that only leads to injuries.
The cool days seem fewer now, maybe one of two per week, soon, in mid summer these will be the days I will be wishing for to keep my feet off the baking ground.

Neil

Sunday, September 22, 2013

More Wet Weather

Distance 41.7km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5084.0km] Week38

 

Monday 16-Sep.10km

Having to rewrite this entry a second time due to a blogger glitch wiping it out is very annoying but there's not much I can do.
Winter came back to visit for a day and as I headed to the beach there were threatening dark clouds being pushed towards the beach by the strong westerly wind. When I parked up at the beach and scanned up and down the beach I could see that it looked like I would be lucky if I got through the run without getting caught in the rain at some point. That point came around 2km after I set off, just south of Henley the wind picked up and the rain started. I seemed to be the only one out as I looked down the long concrete path by the beach. The rain was blowing horizontally and stinging my face and legs, strangely though my feet were warm as there must have been some residual warmth in the concrete and that was warming the pools of rainwater. The rain stopped by the halfway point and just left the wind blowing. The wind gradually dried me out as I ran back so that by the time I got back I was almost dry, may hair was a bit awry by that point though.

Friday, 20-Sep. 11km

After a week of cold rainy weather this appears to be the best day of the week, light wind and a clear sky. It would have been a great run except that I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom for most of the way around which made it a bit uncomfortable. It also got a bit chilly as the the sun edged towards the western horizon. I was running a bit late as I left work later and didn't set off until just after 5pm. Sunset is at around 6.12pm at the moment. I got a bit of a twinge in my right calf that I will keep an eye on.

Saturday, 21-Sep. 12.5km

This was supposed to be the start of the good weather, I checked the forecast on my phone and noticed that they had rain due at around 10.30am but a day of 24C, surely not. The sky looked blue as I emerged from the house but far out west was a line of black cloud.
I decided to run without having breakfast today as it would push me too late to get out. If I ran at a lower heatrate I should be ok, just burning fat rather than carbs.
It took me a while to get the engine revved up, the feet and ankles felt stiff so I just chugged along confident that I would start to feel better once I'd warmed up. It seemed to work. By the time I reached the breakwater at Semaphore I decided that I would turn back as I was feeling hungry and the black clouds had moved much closer and were only a couple of km away. I had the breeze behind me now which I was thankful for as the hunger was getting to me. About 1km from the end the the weather front hit, first with a strong wind then, just as I arrived back at my car the rain came down, superb timing. It rained for around half an hour then started to clear. Who knows, it may even get to the 24C forecast today.

Sunday, 22-Sep. 8.2km

Is this the start of spring? Perfect running day, sunny, not too hot, not too cold, light breeze, just right. After a 75 minute gym workout I got to the lake at 10.30am and did an un-monitored 8.2km around the lake. The legs started to feel a bit heavy on the last kilometre from the weighted lunges I'd done earlier. I still have not managed to get much speed training in. I used to be able to run the kilometre stretch towards the end in around 4 minutes but I have slowed right down and would be lucky to cover the distance in 5 minutes. Maybe I shouldn't worry, I guess at 50 I don't need to be racing people half my age.

Neil

Sunday, September 15, 2013

4 Years of Barefoot Running

Distance 44km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5042.3km] Week37

Monday, 9-Sep. 10.5km

A breezy afternoon for my run. Behind me on the way out then directly in my face on the way back. I was out a bit later this afternoon and the sun had just set by the time I got back to my car. Run went well except for slight soreness around the ankle area which maybe is a symptom of increasing my distances ready for some races sin the Spring and Summer. It is now 4 years since I decided I needed to change the way I ran, to change from a heel striking landing to a neutral landing pattern. There is still much controversy on whether benefits outweigh the negatives. The shin soreness that dogged be for 25 years of running have now gone, that is a fact. The cause undoubtedly was the force applied to the Tibial bone when three times my body weight was being braked by my legs on each step. Whether it was the running shoes that caused the running style or just bad technique on my part it is hard to say. I would have to try to run in my new style in my old shoes to see if they force me back into the bad style or if my knowledge can stop it.

Wednesday, 11-Sep. 8km

For a bit of a change of scene this afternoon I went for a run along the river from Fulham Gardens to Henley. It's been a while since I have done this run. The only drawback is that at this time of year the sun is low in the sky and right in my eyes which means I can't see what is on the ground in front of me. I ran along the north bank of the river towards the sea, the path is rough in places but nothing I can't handle. The last road bridge where I can cross onto the other side is Seaview Road. Running back along the south bank was a different story, for some strange reason, the trees along this side had covered the path with hard seed cases. These were 5mm round seeds that were a nightmare to run on. Add to this swarms of gnats that ended up in my eyes (I hadn't worn my sunglasses) blinding me and causing me to step on more of those pesky seeds. In the end I decided to cross back onto the other side. Rather than run back the same way I took a diversion along some of the side streets and then lost my bearings as the sun was almost down and I couldn't back to the river as the roads lead me in other directions. There I was, running through an area of huge expensive houses, in bare feet and a ripped t-shirt, I'm surprised they didn't call the police to investigate. Maybe I'll stick to my beachside run again.

Friday, 13-Sep. 10.5km

Ah back to my familiar course. The tide was out so I ran the first third on the flat sand before coming back onto the cement path. I was passed by a runner a short time after getting back onto the path, the notion occurred to me that I should give chase but my legs were a bit stiff from the gym session on Thursday so I watched him gradually increase the distance in front of me. I tried some Fartlek (fast/slow) running to see if I could catch him in a fast burst then slow off as I neared. I put in several good bursts but I didn't do much to narrow the gap. I continued the fast slow pace changes on the way back until my legs got too achy. I did a timed distance along the beach from jetty to jetty to see how much I have slowed over the winter season. I recorded around 10:14 which is around 45 seconds down, not too bad seeing as I have done virtually no speed training in around a year.

Saturday, 14-Sep. 15km

A beautiful Saturday for a run. I put in another longer run at a steady pace. There was a northerly breeze that would be behind me on the return leg. I had given my ankles a soak in cold water yesterday and that had made a difference to the stiffness in my lower legs . I felt quite good all the way up to Semaphore jetty. I began to tire on the way back, a combination of the gym session on Thursday and the run yesterday began to take it's toll. I slowed down in the last few kilometres. I had a wade through the water for the last 500m to cool the muscles down.
The City Bay run is on tomorrow, 12km from Adelaide city centre to Glenelg on the seafront, the biggest run on the states calendar. I may go down and take some photos if I can get up in time.

Neil

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Closing in on 5000km

Distance 44.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 4998.3km] Week36

Monday, 2-Sep.  10.5km

Spring has arrived with some warm weather and that has brought flocks of people to the beach. Where a few weeks earlier there were no cars parked along the front, today the cars were packed into nearly all available spaces. Runners too were plentiful now. I have to play dodge the pedestrian now as the slow moving types seem unresponsive when someone is running towards them. I guess running around obstacles is probably good for training all the smaller muscles in the feet and legs as you quickly change direction. A good run tonight. I should really find a new running course as I keep doing the same one over and over again.

Wednesday, 4-Sep. 10.5km

A day off work feels soo good, knowing that when I wake at 5.30am I don't have to leap out of bed, I can relax for another couple of hours.
A warm day was forecast before the cooler wetter weather heads in tomorrow so it was a good day to go for a run and just relax. I got out for my run at around 9.30am, I chose a road run as the tide was in and the sand was soft and had quite a gradient. There was a bit of a breeze from the north which I had to run into on the way back but it wasn't too strong. There was rain in the air as well. When I got back to the car and cooled off a brief shower started up. It didn't last though and I was able to spend the afternoon wandering along the river at a much more relaxed pace than I usually get to enjoy, taking photos and finding interesting things that I would normally miss like the small skink that came to check me out while I was sitting by the river.

Possibly a Southern Water Skink

Saturday, 7-Sep. 15km

A perfect running day hardly any wind and a temperature of around 18C. I had plenty of flat sand to run on once I got to the more sparsly populated areas of the beach. I could just relax and close my eyes for periods of time as I was running and just let my feet and legs 'feel' the way for me. I've not done many longer runs for a while due to the dark evenings but now I can start to do some longer distances again. I'll keep it at 15km for a while before adding in a few 18km runs. I might run in the Henley classic in November if it is not too expensive. It's a 10km run that follows the same course as I run from Henley to Glenelg so it is a familiar run to me.

Sunday, 8-Sep. 8.2km

Quite a breezy day today as I parked up at the lake after a 1.5 hour session at the gym. My legs felt a bit wobbly after doing weighted lunges and some leg extensions. I decided to leave the stopwatch/heart monitor in the car so I run feeling more relaxed. I started off slow to ease any stiffness from the legs then gradually increased the pace on the latter half of the course. I ran into the wind on the way out and had it behind me on the way back which is the ideal way to work it. I only have another 2km to run and I will have passed the 5000km mark for total miles run in bare feet. It is kind of hard to believe.
Last night I began watching Eddie Izzard's Run for Mandela in South Africa. Originally he intended to run it barefoot but he has now. probably wisely opted to run in some Neo's which I think Vivo Barefoot manufacture. They are very thin running shoes, only around 2mm thick. I'll be interested to see if they leave his feet in better shape than the big cushioned shoes he used to run around the UK a few years ago.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Into Sping

Distance 34.7km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 4954.1km] Week35

Tuesday, 27-Aug. 10.5km

Umm, they seem to be digging more an more of my running route up, all improvements for the future I suppose but short term inconvenience for me.
I ran along the beach for around 3km before climbing back onto the footpath.
A bit of competition as I made my way to the surf club at West Beach. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a runner about 50m behind me who looked like he wanted to make an example of me by racing past. I wasn't going to let this happen so slowly cranked up the pace. I could hear his footsteps behind me so I pushed the accelerator, he clung on so I went faster again until it was an all out sprint. He stopped the chase and ran across the road then down a side road. That adrenaline rush pushed my heart past 150bpm and my legs were a bit stiff after that effort. I took it a bit easier on the way back.

Friday, 30-Aug. 11km

A stressful day at work almost left me to drained to go for a run, I felt like just collapsing on the sofa and having a snooze, but, I persevered and got my gear on and ran and soon enough the reward came and if felt good to have the feeling on pavement under foot. I was a bit later out on my run and the sun had set by the time I got back to my car but what a spectacular sunset it was. There was some herringbone clouds on the horizon that got lit up into an orange glow, it was hypnotic just sitting and watching it slowly darken. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on hand to capture the image.

Saturday, 31-Aug. 5km

I met up with David and Cathy for a short barefoot run from Semaphore following the foreshore path then onto the grassy trail behing the beach houses. This was the first really warm day of Spring although technically spring is tomorrow. The running group has shrunk with Jenny having some ankle problems and John bowing out and going back to shoes. Maybe the wave has passed and couldn't defeat the corporate shoe culture. Runners will continue to get injured and have shortened running careers due to wrongly designed shoes and misleading statements made by people with a vested interest in selling expensive corrective treatments.
After the short run we headed to The Mill for a coffee and a chat and agreed to meet up again In October.

Sunday, 1-Sep. 8.2km

After an early gym session I headed to the lake for my 8.2km loop. Another warm 25C day but quite breezy this time. I ran into the warm northerly wind which quickly dried my throat. It seems like the move from running on cold winter pavement to warm footpath has happened quite suddenly. I'm beginning to wonder about coping with the hot summer surfaces again. It seems like a year has zoomed by and I am now at my 4th year anniversary of taking up barefoot running.

Neil