Summer season

Distance 85.9km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5491.4km] Week50

Monday, 25-Nov. 10.5km

A warm afternoon where we got up to 29C. Would it be too warm to run on the bitumen, proabably yes if I had to run on the blacktop over the entire course but I have plenty of choice.
The tide was out so I started my run along the shoreline. Quite a few people on the beach today. An afternoon sea breeze was blowing from the south so I would be ok running on the concrete and brick. I did 2km on the sand then came up onto the concrete which as cool. There is a length of 0.5km which is a light bitumen that feels warmer under foot then it is back to the cool concrete. The last 100m is black bitumen which is the hottest surface, luckily the wind had cooled it off.
On the way back I had the breeze behind me, gently pushing me forward. I went back onto the sand for the last 2km and passed a large crowd of young people doing a beach training run. I passed the lead runner, running towards me around 100m from Henley jetty. The race was on, would he beat me to Grange jetty. Well the answer is yes. He passed me around 250m from the jetty, I gave chase but he was wirey and had about 30 years of advantage. He did look over his shoulder a few time so at least he was nervous, that's a small amount of satisfaction I had.

Thursday, 28-Nov. 10.5km 

I had a bit of a stiff neck from a gym workout yesterday so decided to take the day off. Working at a computer all day would not be good for it whereas a run might loosen it up.
We had some warm weather earlier in the week, up to last night. They day temperature had got up to 38C, overnight a cool change came in. I went for a run at 9.30am, rain was forecast for later so I wanted to beat it.
There was a strong south-westerly wind that accompanied the cool change so I ran into it. It was a good running temperature of around 20C. Finally they have opened the upgraded pathway between Grange and Henley and I must admit it is a great improvement. Much wider so I don't have to dodge around people and more smooth concrete rather than the uneven brick that it replaced, a big thumbs up. After the run into the wind I had it pushing me homeward bound. I did the last 2km on the sand again to get my speed up. The rain started as I got to the end but it felt nice as it cooled me off.

Saturday, 30-Nov. 15km

Out for my run early today and with no breakfast to sustain me. It was going to be a warm day or 30C so you can imagine my surprise to find it quite chilly at 8am. It was sunny but the sand on the beach was cold and my feet soon went numb and there was a cool breeze blowing from the north. I started running gentlyto try to warm up but I don't think I did until I was on my way back. I could just start to feel some warmth as the sun had been shining on the sand.

Sunday, 1-Dec. 8.2km

 My usual sunday lake loop. A wind blowing from the north that I had to battle for a few kilometers before doing the gradual turn and having it behind me. The first day of Summer and not long now before Christmas holidays and my next run on Christmas day at 6am. I may run in the 13.5km run this year. I don't think I'm up for the 21km yet. I'll decide closer to the time.

Monday, 2-Dec. 10.5km

A hot one today so I tried switching my run to a later time. I had a dinner of pasta around 5pm with the idea if I run at 7.30pm it should be digested by them, well, not exactly. I think maybe because the metabolism slows down in th evening it was still sitting heavily in my stomach when i started out running along the new stretch of path along the foreshore. It was very uncomfortable and spoilt what would have been a nice run at that time of the evening. There were crowds of people out walking in the cooler evening air. I felt better on the way back. THe sun had set by the time I got back to the car. As I drove back home I came across several houses that were decorated to the extreme with Christmas lights, it was actually quite heartwarming.

Friday, 6-Dec. 10.5km

Even though it was a relatively cool day the ground was quite warm in places. The hot weather at the start of the week had broken by wednesday with rain and thunder. Quite a good run especially on the return, I put in a good effort. A bit of beach running for the last 2km, the sand was a bit soft to get up a decent speed.

Saturday, 7-Dec. 12.5km

That damn north easterly breeze, warm and draining as I got to the beach after a early morning haircut. It felt better to get rid of some hair now that the summer heat is here. I found the run quite draining today so I cut it a bit shorter, turning around at the start of the Esplanade rather than carrying on to the jetty. I had quite a few things I needed to do today as it was the first of my Christmas parties so I had to make up a dish to take along. Hopefully the run would inspire me.
I was glad to get to the halfway mark and have the breeze out of my face and on my back. The legs were a bit stiff from the gym session on the thursday, why do I keep doing heavy legs at the gym when all they do is stuff up my running? 

Sunday 8-Dec. 8.2km

It was still warm this morning, 26C at 8am when I got to the lake. I was a bit creaky to start off but gradually increased my speed as the distance increased. The warm breeze dried my mouth out as I ran. Luckily the sun was obscured by clouds so I didn't have to wear my sunglasses and have the sweat dripping off them and into my eyes. Not any spectacular time, I've not got past my best times of a year or so ago when I could manage around 42minutes for the course. 

Neil