End of SA Summer Time

Distance 40.5km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4383.1km] Week 14

Monday, 1st-Apr. 10km

The last week of light evenings, from next week I will be racing against the sunset as we gently slide into winter. For now though we have some great weather for the rest of the week, all the temperatures are in the mid to high 20's. Today it was a bit breezy. I ran into the south-westerly wind then had it push me back. I kept to the road the entire way around. When I got back to the car I relaxed by lying back on the bonnet and closing my eyes. I could still feel the warmth from the engine while I could hear the thump thump thump of runner going past on the pavement nearby.

Thursday 4th-Apr. 10.5km

Good run this afternoon although I did feel a tight muscle on my outer calf, this is a leftover from the lunges I did at the gym yesterday. I did around 120 walking lunges with 18kg of weights in my hands, my legs were stiffening from this morning and I could feel I was not as smooth as usual in my run. I'd also done some calf work which also didn't help. The run was good but I kept the pace down so as not to overstress the leg muscles. 

Saturday, 6-Apr. 13km

Slept in late today, after an early breakfast it was back to sleep for a couple of hours, by the time I got out for my morning run it was 10.20am. The sun was high in the sky and it was going to be a warm day of 29C. I did the Semaphore beach run today. Earlier in the week I has a flu shot to ward off the winter virus and I felt a bit sniffly today and that I was sweating a bit more than usual, I'm not sure if it was my imagination or not. I found another runner to chase down on the way up to Semaphore and I did the same on the way back, giving him a start of around 200m. It was a little tougher on the way back as he was determined not to give up his lead and it took me about 2km to break him as he increased his pace

Sunday, 7th Apr. 6km

After an extra hour or rest due to the South Australia moving from Summer Time it was a glorious day outside. I'd arranged to meet the small group of barefoot runners by the jetty at Henley for an easy 6km run. I didn't anticipate the amount of people that would decent upon Henley square this morning, finding a park spot was quite a challenge. I got to the jetty by 10am, the others hadn't arrived yet. John was the first to arrive after a long break from barefoot running due to an injury sustained while cleaning the shed, good to see he has got back on board. David turned up about 5 minutes later, all having the same parking problem. We waited until around 10.20am but there was no sign of Jenny so we set off. The run was a cut down version of my evening run, about 4km less. It is always hard to find a speed that encompasses all of the people in a group, John would like to go faster but I was worried David may not keep up. We kept up a good pace and stayed together. We ran along the Esplanade path then onto the beach when we reached the caravan park which was the half way point. The tide was at it's low point so we came back along the beach, crossing the river then back to the jetty. I had a race in the last km with John but he beat me. I need to work on my speed to put him back in his place ;-)

Into Autumn

Distance 74.2km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4343.6km] Week 12

Wednesday, 20-Mar. 10km

This will be one of the last of the warmer days before we slide into winter, it reached 32C today but strangely it didn't feel that warm. I was even able to run barefoot along the pavements without problem, maybe due to the sun being lower in the sky and not having the same punch as in January.
An enjoyable run, no aches or pains to report, I think they are now behind me. I'm quite happy running 10km's at the moment without thinking about stretching the runs out to 20km +. Should I do the Good Friday run, still not decided yet.

Saturday, 23-Mar. 11km

 A road run on a pleasant morning. The heart rate is still a bit high but that is probably due to the warm day. I did hear off a fellow runner that as a rule of thumb for every 1C rise in temperature above 20C you have to add 1bpm to your heart rate for your average. So if I at a normal pace my heart rate would be 135bpm at 20C then at 30C I would expect to see my heart rate up at 145bpm. I shall have to do some research to find out if that is in fact true.

Monday, 25-Mar. 11km

A road run on the beach path through Henley and down to West Beach, a nice warm late afternoon

Wednesday, 27-Mar. 11km

Our warm weather ended this morning, in fact it was warmer overnight than it was during the day. The temperature fell through the day and the winds picked up as the weather system moved across the state. I think this will be our last taste of 30C+ for this season. For my evening run I parked by the Grange Hotel then ran towards West Beach, into the the strong South West wind. There were some big waves being whipped up by the winds and I stopped for a while at West Beach to watch the waves breaking on the rocks and spraying water up onto the pathway. The thing I like about barefoot running is feeling all these elements underfootnot just as some abstract idea of what it might feel like. The wind pushed me back on the return leg. After getting back I had a walk along the jetty to watch the waves breaking against the timbers and feeling the spray over the decking. The strong wind evaporated the sweat on my T-shirt and cooled me off so I didn't hang around too long.

Friday, 29-Mar. 13km

Well, it has been a while since I have run the length of the beach to Semaphore, the last time would have been before Christmas when I was still having calf problems so that is over 3 months ago. As always when you go back to a familiar run that you have not done for a while it seemed soooo long. I had some good sand to run on and I kept it nice and relaxed so I could look around. I ran into the breeze on the way north then had it as a tailwind on the way back. It took around 37min each way, a bit slow but I had plenty of seaweed to contend with that had been pushed onto the beach by the stormy weather on Wednesday. As you may gather I didn't run in the Good Friday Easter Bun run at Athelstone, I knew I wouldn't or else I would have woken up in plenty of time. I actually woke up at around the time the race would be setting off. I just didn't feel inspired this year with my state of readiness and also the weather wasn't very inspirational, grey and cool.

Saturday, 30-Mar. 10km

So good to feel the legs and feet are working well again and carrying me smoothly on my run. It was an overcast day which was threatening rain, a temperature of 19C which was perfect for running. I parked on the seafront at the end of Grange road. It was a later start this morning as I had a good sleep last night, not waking until around 8.30am. By the time breakfast was out of the way it was after 9am so I had to wait another 1.5 hours before heading out for my run. I felt good and relaxed trying to keep the heart rate to around 137, it mostly worked. I had a 2 minute rest at West Beach then ran back covering the distance in around 55min.

Sunday, 31-Mar. 8.2km

Last day of the month and it started off looking gloomy and it did indeed rain shortly after I finished my run today but it held off during the course of my run. A great run today, felt good and some of the speed is coming back but I'm not going to live by the stopwatch.
As I was crossing the the West lakes lake, along the boulevard I run along the kerb as it is smoother than the bitumen on the bridge. As I was doing this a young hoon with his girlfriend on the back of his motor bike swerved towards me to scare me, what a fail on his part as I gave his a resounding "fuck off" directly into his face, causing him to swerve. Would have been good to see him take a fall but, no, he didn't.  Maybe I need to carry a club to deal with dickheads when I run, a good crack across the head to sort them out. The rain began shortly after I arrived back at the car park, it was refreshing to stand in the rain to cool off.

Neil

Late entry

Distance 107.8km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4269.4km] Week 11

Thursday, 21-Feb 6km.

I have found the connection between my ankle/calf problem and the gym exercises I have been doing. In the past I have noticed that my achilles became sore after doing calf drops so I decided to ease back on them, reasoning that the barefoot running should be enough to strengthen the calves. On the Sunday I did one 3 sets of 15 calf drops, don't ask me why, maybe I just had to try it one more time. I wouldn't be running for a few days so I though this would be enough time for any calf soreness to dissipate, wrong! My calf was sore, at the top for around 4 days. Even today it had not fully recovered. This is what I believe has led to the tendon soreness, the sore calf cannot control the foot landing sufficiently and more strain is put on the tendon making it sore. I did a road run today but ended up cutting it short as my tendon started to ache, I ran back along the beach but I was not enjoying it so when I reached the river I decided to forgo the run and turn it into a more leisurely walk and also remember the lesson I have learned.

Saturday, 23-Feb 7km

A hot one today, forecast is for a 38C later on. Now at just after 7am it is a pleasant 22C. Many people are out getting some early morning exercise before the heat kicks in. There are runners, people walking far too many dogs, boot camp participants all filling up the beach. The tide was on it's way in but there was still a good amount of firm sand to run on. The sun is rising much later now, around 7am in fact, so, for most of my run I was in the shadows of the double storey houses that line the beach but by the end the sun had risen above them enough to keep me fully exposed. I wore my swimming gear under my shorts today so rather than looking longingly at the cool water but not being able to go in, this time I could have a swim and a lie on the beach and then get home for breakfast at around 9am. What a fantastic start to the day.

Sunday, 24-Feb. 8.2km 

A run around the lake was in order today, I got there at around 8am as it was going to be a warm day today. The overnight temperature had stayed up around 27C. There were plenty of early morning joggers out along the route as I ran silently around the lake. I started to feel a bit tired at the end, the heat had drained a bit of my energy on the last km so I took a nice leisurely pace up the smooth concrete path running along Sportsmans Drive, the path only 6 months ago I was sprinting along, where has my speed gone.

Monday, 25-Feb. 7km

I felt very sluggish on my evening beach run today, I may have overdosed on birthday cake which I baked yesterday and brought into work today. I don't think I handle stodgy high calorie food. The run felt like a bit of a struggle, the soft sand and incoming tide didn't help matters. The lower leg is still not 100%. I will not be fit enough to do the Beach Bash this year so I won't bother entering just to finish halfway, I like to enter a race feeling a bit competitive.

Thursday, 28-Feb. 8km

With the onset of a few days of cooler weather the south wind was quite strong so today it was off the beach and a run along the river. It's been a while since I ran along the river to the estuary. I'm still finding it hard to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone, it keeps popping up past 140BPM so I try and slow my pace, it works for a while then my pace must creep back up along with the heart rate.
The one drawback with the river run is the amount of seeds dropped by the trees, it is worse on the return journey than on the outbound side. The path temperature was ok, if the day had been a few degrees warmer then it would have become uncomfortable. Only got one comment on my run off some half pissed bloke who was laughing and shaking his head, so I just had to imitate him to wind him up.

Friday, 1-Mar. 7km

A beach run tonight, As usual the tide was high and I was confined to a thin strip along the edge. Running along the sloping edge is not good for my ankle, I can feel the pressure of staying upright on the slope.

Saturday, 2-Mar. 8.2km

A very early run day 7.10am by my watch as I set off around the lake. It was warm at 25C which was around the coolest it had been all night. In a few hours it will be pushing 30C. The lake was quiet at that time of day, the sun had not popped up over the hills and the ground was cool. The lake was quiet except for some early morning rowers with the coaches riding along the edge of the lake giving instructions. The run was easy, heart rate a little elevated due to the heat

Monday, 4-Mar. 7km

After a late night at the Clipsal 500 car race and watching the entertainment that consisted of Motley Crue and Kiss which was very impressive I felt much more the worst for wear today. Can't take it like I could when I was a youngster. I had to have a recovery day away from work. My ear was giving me a bit of a problem so that was enough. By mid morning I was feeling a bit perkier so I drove to the beach for a run. At last a time when the tide is really out. There were plenty of people out walking and sun bathing, a day I usually spend in a room of artificial light staring at a pc the entire day. I just jogged along slowly, the legs felt heavy from the long hours of standing yesterday 

Thursday, 7-Mar. 7km

 Hot day so no running on the roads today. Onto the beach to run at high tide on a small strip of sand. Nothing special today, just hard work in the heat.
The Henley Beach bash was on today at 6.30pm but I didn't enter it this year. I just hadn't done enough training and my speed was non existent. As it turned out it was another hot Adelaide day and the race was run at high tide on very soft sand, about as tough as you can get.

Monday , 11-Mar. 8.2km

A public holiday in South Australia to celebrate Adelaide Cup horse race but it was going to be a hot one at 38C. If I was going to run today it would have to be early in the morning. I opted for the run around the lake as it seems like the tide is always high in the morning and in the evening when I usually like to run, the only time when I get a nice expanse of flat, wet sand is in the middle of the day and on a day like today I was not going to hang around waiting for that.I got to the lake later than I anticipated as I got an overseas call that held me up, I got to the lake at 9.30am and already it was 28C. I drying breeze blew from the north, I ran into this as it sucked all the moisture out of my lungs. The ground wasn't overly hot at this time of day but in another few hour you would not want to be barefoot walking over it. I had intended to go to they gym after the run but felt too drained by the time I had finished so just headed home.

Wednesday, 13-Mar. 9km

The heatwave is almost over, a cool change is going to creep over the state later tonight and tomorrow we get to a high of the mid 20's, a relief after days of above 30C. I should be able to sleep without waking gasping for a drink. It was warm when I set out but I could run along the pavement, without burning the underside of my feet, the real kick that the sun has is waning at this time of year with the evenings closing in. Another few weeks and the hour moves forward and darkness will come much earlier. I came across a big patch of broken glass across the road from the pub at Henley and skillfully negotiated my way around it, or rather through it without getting any cuts, maybe the feet are tougher than people think

Friday, 15-Mar. 9km

After a day off running on Thursday to go to the gym I resumed today. I took it nice and easy as I did some leg presses at the gym along with some calf work, not calf drops I hasten to add, that would take too much out and not give me enough time to recover. I didn't take my watch with me today, it would be a recovery run at an easy pace. I feel a bit freer without a watch on my wrist. No real problems to report except for the fading ankle soreness that is on it's way out now.

Saturday, 16-Mar. 8km

A bit of a slow start on my beach run this morning . The weather was great, cool and cloudy. We had a high tide at around 7am so now, at 9.30am there was some firm sand to run on. The run got better the longer I was out but still nowhere like the speed I had around 6 months ago.
I finished off my run by doing 200 walking lunges which really made the quads throb.

Sunday, 17-Mar. 8.2km

A cool overcast morning. As I reached the lake they were putting up diversion barriers for the mini triathlon being  held that morning. I'm not sure of the distances but it is split into Tin Man and half Iron Man I think. The ground was cold under foot today, a sign that winter is not all that far away. I did my usual loop of the larger part of the lake with a smaller loop at the bottom and ran right through the race that was just getting underway. They were still into the swimming and cycling leg so I didn't have the company of the runners.

After a long break in updates I shall try to be more consistent as I build my distances up again as we head towards winter.

Neil

Hot February Weather

Distance 48.7km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4151.6km] Week 7

Monday, 11-Feb. 10km

A good running day temperature wise, it was in the high 20's today. The tide was high so it was a run along the road from Grange to West beach covering 10km. My first longer run since my rest period. I ran without a problem, my feet are back to their road handling ability. I think it will be quite a few months before I'm running 20km again, maybe next spring time.

Saturday,  16-Feb. 6.5km

A warm Saturday morning as I get out for my weekend run. I'm not going to run any distance today as it is too hot. Already at just after 9am the temperature is in the high 20's.
I found that there was a small strip of wet sand just beyond the waters edge, this would be my path for the day. It would be too hot to run on the pavements. I am still finding my heart rate is too high to be in the aerobic zone, today it is due to hot temperature. I felt pretty stuffed by the time I got back to the jetty at Grange. I had a paddle around in the water for a while before walking back to the car.

Sunday, 17-Feb. 8.2km

Another hot morning run. At around 9.30am when I was making my way around the lake the temperature was above 32C, I could feel the temperature in the concrete. In another hour it would be too hot to be running on. I tried not to over extend myself, kept a steady pace. By the end I could feel my throat drying out. I'm still getting a small amount of Achilles pain in the right ankle. I may do some more calf drops but only when I know I'll not be running for a couple of days after. I left my heart rate monitor today so could only guess how my heart rate was.

Neil

I've lost my running Mojo

Distance 48.7km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4151.6km] Week6

Week 5 runs. 19km

Well, after a bit of laps in blog writing I'm back. First a catchup on the number of kilometres covered in the previous week.
In all I went out 3 times the previous week. Once on the Monday where I ran 6km along the road, all untimed and unmonitored. There was no point seeing how far I had dropped off during my absence from running.
On Thursday I ran 7km along the beach, still feeling unfit but trying to take it easy and not get into feeling competitive and chasing other runners down.
Sunday. A 6km run around the lake at West Lakes, first time since my calf blowout. It still feels tight so I only ran the short loop. My feet were a bit tender as well, they hadn't been for much of a road run for a while and the soften off.

Week 6

Monday, 4-Feb. 7km

A fast beach run as I had to meet up with another runner a little later so I wanted to get a few kilometres in first. The sand was a bit soft today so it made the running harder. It got better at the lower stretch of the beach where it flattens out more and you don't have to run on a slope. I was quite tired when I got back.

Thursday, 7-Feb. 7km

Now I'm suffering from weight training leg soreness. At the gym yesterday I did whet I believed were light leg exercises but with high reps. My quads took it OK but my hamstrings are complaining.
Today was the first time I put on my heart rate monitor. What a revelation, my heart rate is much higher than I expected, and that is without doing much in the way of speed. The aerobic capacity must have shrunk completely. I attempted to keep my heart rate below 140bpm but it was hard to slow down to such a level that I could achieve that unless I walked. I feel like I've lost my running mojo for now, where oh where is it. Only 4 months ago I was running 25km on a run.

Saturday, 9-Feb. 7.5km

Once again same route and trying to keep the heart rate down in my aerobic range. The odd thing is that I do not feel breathless, I am quite able to look around and enjoy the surroundings as I run which would all be indicators that I am in my aerobic zone yet my heart rate is up around 141bpm, it should be 10 less.

Sunday, 10-Feb. 8.2km

Back on the full length of the lake. I very enjoyable run, nice and easy with just one little, tiny increase in pace to outrun a bunch of girls from the rowing club. I just couldn't let them past me, even if it did push my heart rate up to 150 or so. As long I don't die before I get to the end, that's ok.
This run made me feel like I'm on the way back. The climb up the hill has begun.

Neil

Back on the road

Distance 19km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4102.9km] Week4

Monday 21-Jan-2013. 6km

I got through this run without any pain in my calf which was very positive. I did a beach run while the tide was out and found it was more my aerobic fitness that trimmed my pace. I kept alert for any increase in pain around the lower part of my leg. I did feel a little tightness but I think that was the muscles being worked while running. I didn't over do it and cut my run shorter than I would when my enthusiasm was at full throttle.

Saturday 26-Jan-2013. 7km

Another run along the beach this time my full 7km run and once again I felt quite good, no tightness this time and I was running at a better pace. I stayed as relaxed as I could during the run and didn't take any kind of stopwatch or heart monitoring device with me. I have to get the enjoyment of running back before I put any kind of pressure on to run fast.

Sunday 27-Jan-2013. 6km

I had some bad news on the Saturday. My younger brother has contracted lung cancer and it is in a more advanced stage. This has upset me greatly. Running is the only thing I can do to lift my spirits. I went for a short run around the lake at West Lakes. I am not going to think about the future anymore, I have to practice living more for now. I felt when I was running with my feet touching the earth that I could transmit some positive energy through the earth to my poor brother, probably not very scientific but then, there is more we don't know than that we do know.

Neil

Soleus pain easing

Distance 0km [total: minimalist 285.6km: Barefoot 4083.9km] Week2

Weekly distance 0km

Two weeks into the new year and I have not been for a run yet. I still have some soreness in the soleus muscle, it is gradually getting better but I wouldn't want to put too much strain on it as I feel that it could give way again.
On the Sunday I went to the field across from my house and did some very light runs back and forward, running a total distance of 7 x 100m, I could feel the tightness and was prepared to stop at any sign that it was going to worsen. It didn't and I feel that I have now started on the road back.
I was really enjoying my early morning runs, escaping the heat of the late afternoon. Still, there is another 4 months of Summer/Autumn before we get the real cold weather again and I get to run on the cold sand.
It really is amazing how much I miss barefoot running when I can't get out there and feel the ground beneath my feet. I should be conservative and let the problem heal properly this time.
I think the reason I felt what I thought was tendon soreness in the weeks before my calf went was a sign of weakness in the soleus muscle and how it wasn't controlling my landing correctly, this was then putting a strain on my tendon. Hindsight diagnosis is a wonderful thing.

Neil