Shortest Day

Distance 74.4km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6441.7km] Week24

Monday, 9-Jun. 10km

Nice sunny days with cold nights. The warmth doesn't hang around long as I get out of work as early as I can to make the most of the available light.
My usual 10km out and back, Grange to West Beach. Not many people around now, most have hung up their runners for the season, waiting for the warmer weather.

Wednesday, 11-Jun. 10km

Another beautiful sunset to watch as I get to the halfway point and spend a minute to breath in and watch the sea crashing against the rocks. Not as many runners out at this time of year, mainly they will switch to the gym and the treadmill for the winter, not as many will stay out in the elements. Coming from England, the winter weather is mild in comparison but I still prefer running in the warm weather.
I'm quite confident running with bare feet in the dark, they feel their way now without me having to worry.

Saturday, 14-Jun. 6km 

Meeting of the small group of Adelaide barefoot runners for a run around the river in the centre of the city.
As we are in winter now we meet at 10.30am to give the ground a bit of time to warm up. It has been wet overnight and it was cool now but bright. The ground felt cold underfoot and the feet felt sensitive in the wet while running on the bitumen, it was much better running on the grass.
We did a loop around the soccer fields and the river paths going past the Botanic Gardens.
After the run we sat in the local deli enjoying a hot mug of coffee, chatting at catching up on news over the previous month.

Sunday. 15-Jun. 8.2km 

Another wet morning as I headed off to the gym for an early workout, the wipers were moving steadily to clear the windscreen.
When I finished the gym the rain had eased but began to drizzle as I began running around the lake. It stopped shortly after I began running. Another runner passed me but I resisted the temptation to chase as I was just warming up, I think I would have been outclassed anyway. The ground was wet most of the way around but it wasn't cold enough to make my feet numb. It was a good run.

Monday, 16-Jun. 10km

A wet day for my 10km today, surfaces were wet so care was taken on those non porous surfaces that become like ice underfoot. I was going to have a rest today but I got a burst of enthusiasm as I got home and went out anyway. A good run with a bit of a sprint at the end as I neared the cafe at the end of the run. I don't feel the cold on  my feet anymore, just like most animals can walk around without worrying about the cold.

Wednesday, 18-Jun. 10km

Much better weather today, a nice day during daylight hours but cooled down quickly in the late afternoon. I ran the last 2km back along the beach in close to darkness. I had to keep focused on the ground in front of me to see if I was going to step into a hole. One or two figures of the last people walking along the beach would appear as dark shadows in the distance. The sand wasn't cold so I had feeling in my feet. 

Saturday, 21-Jun. 12km 

The shortest day and the start of the winter proper. It took a lot to get me going today. It looked a bit grey outside. I struggled out of bed by 9.15am after a great nights sleep. I decided to run without breakfast as it would make me too late. 
It was a mild morning, the tide was on it's turn from the high point leaving a meter of wet sand to run on. There was a lot of sea grass washed up onto the beach and care had to be taken as the sand would give way beneath the feet where the sand had covered the sea grass. Not the most inspired run, I felt a bit weak, especially on the return leg when I felt almost like I was shuffling.

Sunday, 22-Jun. 8.2km

An early trip to the gym to do some weights before the noisy fitness classes start upstairs. I did some chest, calves, presses and arms followed by some cool down using the foam roller.
I had arranged to go on a run with Michael today at 10.30am. It was pretty chilly by the time I got to the lake, a cold northerly wind was blowing and the ground was cold. After a kilometre I warmed up and we chatted about a book called The Primal Blueprint which I'm reading at the moment. It was a good run that went by quickly due to some conversation.
I'll have to make it a regular run to show that there is more than one barefoot runner in the west.

Neil

First week of Winter

Distance 43.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6367.3km] Week24

Monday, 2 Jun. 10km

My usual after work run in ever diminishing light. The sun is up for around 20 minutes before the evening chill creeps over the land. Only another 3 weeks before we pass the shortest day an then minute by minute we get later sunsets once more. I don't have the same fear of the cold pavements when I would lose the feeling in my soles. I know I'm running correctly and my feet are fine.

Wednesday, 4 Jun. 10km,
I took the day off work today in the idea that I was going to be meeting the council about my house plans that they wont pass. It was called off. So I went for a run to ease my frustrations at the stupidity of these people that can get into positions of power and act like petty dictators.
It is nice to run when when I would normally be sat behind a desk working all day. All the retired people and other non working types are out and about enjoying the sunny weather. I did some beach running then up onto the beach pathway when I reached the river outlet.

River Torrens Estuary at West Beach on my running route 

Saturday, 7 Jun. 15km

A pleasant warm sunny Saturday morning. I'm starting my runs a little later now that winter is here to give some time for the air to warm up and the night chill to dissipate. The sand was cool but not numbingly cold. The tide was heading in and it was too soft after about 3km of running, well trodden from the horses that train on the beach. I headed off beach and around my new route along the suburban streets and over the footbridge into the posh suburbs of Delfin Island where the well heeled give strange looks to the no heeled.
As I was passing under the West Lakes Boulevard, following the lake path I came across 2 young girls puffing away on cigarettes under the bridge. I went past then though I should make an effort to put them off so I went back and tried to give a talk that wasn't a lecture about my brother who I lost earlier this year. Maybe it might stick, even if it doesn't, trying is better than not.

Sunday, 8-June, 8.2km

First it was to the gym this morning after a late start due to a late night that saw me getting home at 1am this morning. A birthday get together on a chilly night around a brazier with a roaring fire within. It has been an age since I have spent time staring into the flames of a fire, it brings back memories of when I was younger and the fires we would sit around it the local woods. 
I got out for my run around the lake after a short gym session at around 11.30am. I managed to shake off a tight head left over from a couple of beers last night.  I started off slow then got faster as I got further around and ended with a good sprint effort over the last 500m

Neil

Winter arrives

Distance 35.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6324.1km] Week23

Monday, May. 10km

A wet run today. It had been raining off and on all day but had stopped in the afternoon. I make my mind up about a run at the last minute, if it starts to rain before I leave the house I'll have a day off. If I'm in my car driving to my running spot and it starts to rain I'll not turn back. This is what it did today, I had the wipers on as I was parking up. I started running in the light rain and as I ran it got heavier. It was still an enjoyable run, I know now to avoid any slippery surfaces to avoid the aqua-planing and landing on my backside and becoming a spectacle. It got dark quickly as the sun was obscured behind thick cloud so I ran back in the dark and wet. I cooled down by walking a half kilometre back to the car from the cafe, it felt great splooshing through the puddles on the way back. My feet were nice and clean when I got back.

Thursday, 29-May. 10km

In contrast to Monday, the weather today was warm, bright and sunny and halfway around my run I was treated to the view of the magnified sun sinking in the west. Funny how I always take care not to stand on the ants as I run as I don't want to squash them as they are going about their business. I notice much more what is happening on the ground in front of me, whether its a stone, glass, ant or beetle. I've also noticed that the birds don't fly off to the same extend they just move to one side as I pass, probably because I am quiet as I run.

Saturday, 31-May. 7km

I was greeted by a grey damp morning and as I drove to the beach it began to rain. Still I tried to be enthusiastic, the tide was out after all and there was a big beach to run on. 
As I ran the rain came down steadily so by 3km I was soaked. I decided that I'd had enough and I'd turn around as I came on the river. I ran back along the pavement in the rain. I managed to get into a bit of race with another runner that I caught and passed, it was a slap in the face to be passed by a guy with no shoes. I didn't look around but I was aware of footsteps behind as he tried to catch me, so I just had to keep piling on a bit more speed until I shook him off. By the time I hit the Grange cafe he was around 20m behind. It was good to have a bit of a chase.

Sunday, 1-May. 8.2km

Today I switched around my pattern of run then gym so that I can let the morning warm up a little before the run.
I did a gym session which included some light leg work and some chest exercises. I was in there for around 75 minutes. I drove to the lake and the sun was out and it was a nice still morning, a few dark clouds in the distance but no rain and the pavements were dry. I started off slow and easy and finished fast over the last kilometre. I felt strong all the way around, aware I was running a bit too fast for a easy session. They have a seated calf raise machine at the gym which is one I prefer using rather than the standing calf raise, it engages the different muscle in the lower leg.  

Neil

Warm Week 2

Distance 35km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6288.9km] Week22

Monday, 19-May. 10km
More sunny weather, a warm day with cool nights are ideal. Perfect running weather as the summer winds have all but stopped. It's so good to get the bare feet on the ground after my poor feet being stuffed into shoes all day as I sit behind a computer in the office. A great run today, I felt light and bouncy on my feet. I watched the sun sinking into the sea then turning into an orange glow as I ran back towards Henley Beach. The darkness seems to come soon after. As I do my walking cool down back to the car it is dark and the streetlamps are on.

Wednesday, 21-May. 10km
A warm day of 26C today, very unusual for this time of year. My body has been readying itself for winter and here I am having to cope with warm summer like temperatures. I am back to having only the first 30 minutes of my run in sunlight, then it sinks below the horizon and the dusk creeps in. I like to run this course at this time of year as I get the most sunlight, other runs would leave me in the shade much earlier. I struggled a little when a runner threw down the gauntlet by passing me, I gave chase but as I was at the end of my run I was a little tired. I think I could have caught him but he turned off, probably to get away and have a breather without me passing him. He gave me my speed session for the run, it's easy to run at a steady pace, a change to high tempo when chasing is a good test.

Saturday, 24-May. 15km

The weather has just been fantastic, unusually fantastic, much warmer than one would normally expect for this time of year. I got down to the beach at 8.20am and could feel the warmth from the sun as if it were a summers day.
I set of at a slow light pace. The beach wasn't the best running surface today, it was soft and lots of shells washed up by the tide, the tide was advancing so if I came back this way it would be pushing me up the beach camber.
I decided to turn off and run the course I did a few weeks ago that took me around the sports fields in Semaphore Park then over the footbridge onto Delfin Island, a loop of there then over the footbridge on the other side.
While running on the footpath near the golf course I was almost floored by a stray golf ball that came out of nowhere, bounced around 2m in front of me then was almost in my face but I moved to the side just in time.
That would have made an interesting news story headline.  

Unconscious Barefoot Runner Found in Street, only clue, a dent in the forehead with the words Dunlop in mirrored text.

The rest of the run was uneventful except for a bit of a race with another runner I passed on the lake path. I think he nearly had a heart attack trying to catch me at the end.
A great run.

Sunday, 25-May

No run today as I had my first go at MovNat. It is going to be a learning curve just as it was with barefoot running. I thought my balance would be good but without technique it was awful. Even the basics like crawling were very tricky when you have to get the breathing correct. I'll shall have to practice some of these things over the next few weeks.

Neil

Warm week

Distance 43.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6253.9km] Week21

Monday, 12-May. 10km

A bit of clock watching at work and as soon as it turned 4pm the computer was off and I was on my way to the car and home the out to see the sunset.
A perfect Autumn day 21C, calm and sunny and it looks like it is only going to get better as we move through the week.  

Wednesday, 14-May. 10km

After another sedentary day at work, glued to a chair, 4pm and I was free to fly like a bird out of a cage. The weather has been perfect, warm and sunny 24C, no breeze. When I think back over the summer there has been very few days like this, usually there is a strong sea breeze by the afternoon or else a northerly wind of change blowing. Now with the shorter days and cooler weather the breezes have eased. 
An excellent run today, everything felt good and in balance. I had a good fast pace, shaking off all the lethargy from a desk-bound day. I will sleep well tonight. 

Saturday, 17-May. 15.5km

The long beach run I didn't do last week went a bit better this time as I had plenty of flat sand to run on as the did was at it's low point. My calf was a bit achy this morning and I'm wondering if it is due to the ultrasound I have been using on it. It was hardly noticeable a few weeks ago then I started giving the tendon a few treatments and it seems to have caused it to be a bit sore, maybe the combination of running and the treatment is the problem. I'll stop using it and see how I feel.
When I got to the jetty at Semaphore there was a small protest on against BP drilling for oil off the coast, three mermaids in oil drums covered in oil to highlight the issue. I did get chatting to a bloke who had a model of a solar thermal power plant set up and we were asking the question, what is the problem with Australia, why are we going backwards when it comes to energy.
I then had to set off back to run the 7.5km back to Henley, I felt pretty tired by the time I got back, too much sun.

Sunday, 18-May. 8.2km

A nice sunny morning to head to the lake. Feeling a bit sleepy though and also still tired from yesterdays run. I felt a bit laboured today and stopped several times to have a bit of a catch my breath break. I didn't have the best of sleep last night, neighbourhood hoons revving engines in the early morning to keep me awake. The neighbour went out to threaten them with a bit of a thumping then they drove off, I was vaguely aware of this from a half asleep state. After the run I did some warm down moves on the grass, while doing this I got chatting to a fellow runner who said he had seen me on several occasions running without shoes and was interested. I gave him my history and it turned out that I ran with a group of runners back in the 1990's and he was part of that group but a bit later on. They are still running all these years later. I told him if he ever wanted to give barefoot running a try he should just contact me.

Neil
 

Darker evenings again

Distance 35.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6210.7km] Week20

Monday, 5-May. 10km

The back problems are easing off now after giving me a warning to watch the exercises I do at the gym. So, along with no squatting with weight, no heavy shoulder presses I have to add no ab twists with weights. Soon I shall be at the point where there is no point visiting the gym at all.
The run was good, the pavement was quite cold, not much warmth captured today. I have to stick to the roads as the tide is high and sand too soft to run on without taking an age to get anywhere

Wednesday, 7-May. 10km

The early morning rain had eased by midday and the roads and paths dried out fairly quickly. I did my usual 10km with the last 2km being a faster beach run. It was quite dark by the time I got back and the chill has started to descend over the beach as I had a cool down walk back to the car. Soon it will be too dark to run around the streets and river and I;ll have to stick to the well lit pathways. The pavement was cool but not cold. It will get colder in the next few months.

Saturday, 10-May. 15.2km

Funny how sometimes when you start a run you feel ok then get a few kilometres in then feel like giving up because it is all too hard. It is then when you need to disrupt a routine pattern that is driving you into a rut. My rut this time was a run that I would do between jetties on Saturday of around 14km.
Today I was running into a breeze, the sand was soft and torn up by vehicles, horses and people so was very uneven and hard to run on. I ran around 4km then just stopped to catch my breath, it was then I thought this is not feeling as I would have hoped, maybe I should just quit and run back. Luckily I decided to divert and run a different route, I wasn't sure where Just get off the beach the voice told me. I ran along the backs of the houses by the beach then turned into some backstreets of Semaphore Park passing the very busy sports day meetings going on. I thought of a route that took me over a footbridge and onto Delfin Island which was calm and tranquil, no wind and sand to contend with. I did a loop of the island then back along the lake and covered a distance of over 15km and enjoyed it. More variety is needed.

IBRD 2014

Distance 20km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6175.2km] Week19

Monday, 28-Apr. 10km

An opportunity to get out on what I an certain will be the last of the warm days before the winter chill envelops Adelaide for the next few months. Today we got close to 30C for a short time. By the time I gout out of work and to the beach the temperature would have dropped to around 22C but it still felt good.
The warmth in the pavement feels pleasant under my feet as I do my out and back course from Grange to West Beach. My back has been sore for most of the day but the running seems to help it. I start slowly at first so not to have too much twisting motion in my low back but once I get the gently running rhythm going I can gradually increase my speed. Cold weather is heading in later in the week

Saturday, 3-May. 6km

What a contrast to earlier in the week. Since Monday the weather changed, the rain has come in and the cold wind from the south is blowing. Rain poured down on Wednesday and Friday and it eased off on the Saturday but the winds were blowing strongly from the south.
It was cold then it began to rain so I decided to cut the run a bit shorter and head back.
My back is feeling slightly better and I have not taken any pain tablets for 2 days.

Sunday, 4-May. 4km

#IBRD2014
The International Barefoot Running Day 2014 saw our small group gather at the Grange Jetty on the Sunday morning.
Earlier in the week I had the fears the run would be a washout similar to what we experienced around 4 years ago, May can be a fickle time of year when it comes to weather.
As it happened the run was sandwiched between two days of inclement weather. At the end of the week and up to Saturday it was cold, wet and windy. Sunday was calm and sunny then the rain returned for Monday, good fortune indeed.
Our small group of myself, Cathy, David and Michael was this year joined by Zac Cook who is a certified MovNat trainer.
Our run was a short 4km out along the pavement from Grange to Henley Beach then returning along the beach.
It felt good to be running in a small pack as we passed plenty of other runners coming the other way.
As we were all experienced at barefoot running there were no issues of correct technique as we silently padded along the path.
I am looking forward to taking part in Zac's MovNat training in the future as I believe it will be a good complement to barefoot running.
After the run it was time to head to the local cafe for some coffees and breakfast.
 

IBRD 2014 - Zac, Michael, David, Cathy

IBRD 2014 - Zac, Michael, David, Neil