Passed the 6000km

Distance 46.5km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 6006.4km] Week12

Monday, 17-Mar. 10km

The day started off with heavy rain as I was driving to work and it rained off and on throughout the day. I would have to decide if I ran tonight based on the if it was raining by the time I got home. As it turned out, the rain stopped when I was at home but it began to rain again as I drove towards the beach. It did stop by the time I started running. I was left with quite a lot of surface water which made it very hazardous when the surface changed to smooth paving, several time I felt my feel slide from under me and I had to shorten my stride to stay upright, I was aqua planing. I wouldn't have wanted to have slipped backwards and bashed my head on the floor, that would be both painful and embarrassing. On the way back I diverted off the dangerous surfaces and ran on the road for some sections and onto the grass on others. Even the concrete could be slippery if there was enough water on the surface. It was a great run this evening and my t-shirt was was heavy with sweat by the time I got back.

 

Wednesday, 19-Mar. 13.3km

As we only have a few weeks before the end of Australian Summer Time and the sun will be setting an hour earlier I need to make the best of the good weather as it will soon be winter and I'll be running in the dark.
A perfect Autumn day, 25C and light winds but of course the sea breeze was a bit stronger when I got to the beach. I parked by the Grange Cafe and ran to the small boat launch ramp at the end of Barcoo Road, turned around and ran back with the wind behind me. I did 2km on the beach, the tide was high and running in the soft wet sand was a bit slow but not everything is a race.

Saturday, 22-Mar. 15km

The cool overnight temperatures meant the sand was cool but not cold enough to numb the underneath of my feet as I did the jetty to jetty run today. High tide was only a couple of hours ago and there wasn't much flat sand to run on and the remaining sand had been well trodden by the horses that are trained along the beach in the early morning. You have to be careful not to put your foot into the holes left by the horses hooves as it really gives the tendons in the ankle a bit of a jerk. I ran back along the road and grassy areas behind the houses, only managing to collect a few sharp seed cases in my soles this time. A good run.

Sunday, 23-Mar. 8.2km

A cool day with a breeze from the south which would be more apparent if I were running on the beach but the lake offers some shelter. The last of the activities were taking place this week, some more Dragon Boat racing and a triathlon. I missed most of the runners in the tri as I turned up later than usual and they must have finished the final run leg by then. A good run and I have also broke the 6000km barrier.

Easy week

Distance 17.5km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5959.9km] Week11

Thursday, 13-Mar. 9km

The wind is back as I run down to West Beach, not too strong but blowy enough. The run was good on the way down but I must have pushed it a bit hard on the way down trying to keep up with a guy who passed me around halfway down, a fruitless effort on  my part and all I managed to do was make my ankle sore. It started to ache on the way back so I did a bit of a stint on the sand but that was very soft and the tide was high and it only made it worse so I resorted to walking the last 1.5km.

Sunday, 16-Mar. 5km + 3.5km

First taste of a bit of wintery weather overnight, rain and wind as I went off to sleep. In the morning it was cool and breezy as I drove across the city to meet up with David and Cathy for a run along the river course. It began raining quite heavily in the car as I drove to the meeting spot but then, the sun shines on the barefoot runners and it was all fine again. The ground felt cold with the wet surfaces but the feet soon warmed up. We had a good run, David is getting faster these days I noticed. We had a variety of surfaces to run on, the bitumen, paving and soft green grass of the parklands, that was the best. Runners with shoes on just don't know what they are missing, running barefoot through soft wet green grass is fantasticly soothing.
After the run we headed to the deli for a coffee.
As I prepared dinner later that day my only onion I had disintegrated a long time ago. I could drive to the shops before they close in 30 minutes but why should I do that when I have a good pair of feet to take me there. I put the shorts on again and did a barefoot run there and back for my onion and saved the planet a bit of petrol usage.

Neil

Autumn Again

Distance 36.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5942.4km] Week10

Monday, 3-Mar. 4km

Well, after the good runs of last week this time I'm finding it hard work. The nice still weather that we enjoyed over the weekend is still here but it's all down to a timing issue. In the morning there is little wind, by late afternoon there is a strong sea breeze of around 30kmh. The combination of running in soft sand and fighting against the wind made my legs feel heavy and slow. By the time I had run from jetty to jetty I decided I'd had enough. I came off the beach and ran back along the road.

Thursday, 6-Mar. 9km

Much better run today although still facing the same issue of the 40kmh strong southerly wind blowing in my face for 4.5km the having it behind me on the way home. I stuck to the road all the way this time and put in a good effort which was shown by the sweat soaked t-shirt by the time I got back to the start. I have not been timing myself recently because my Heart Rate monitor has not been working. I think there is a problem with the pickup belt. I should give it a thorough clean to see if I can get it working again. Looks like I will miss the Beach Bash this year, I'm not trained properly to enter it so I'll see if there are any other races coming up before the end of the season.

Saturday, 8-Mar. 15km

Here I am again out and running before breakfast to beat the heat and the UV. I find it a real pain to put sunscreen on each time I go out so the only way to beat it is to get out before the UV levels get too high. I set off at 8am and got back around 9.45am. Having not eaten for around 13 hours means my energy levels are pretty low as I head back from my long run. The tide was also up so I had to run along the edge of the waterline to find some firm sand. I'm finding it harder to get up in the mornings as we move into Autumn and the darker mornings mean I wake up later, that si one reason I have been running before breakfast.

Sunday , 9-Mar. 8.2km

Even in the Autumn we can still get the hot days as this long weekend it proving, a couple of days of 35C before dropping back into the mid 20's again by the middle of the week. The dragon boats were racing again when I got to the lake, I did a few drills before setting off on my run today. I had emailed Michael to see if he wanted a run today but it probably got to him too late as he didn't show up. The humidity was higher today so within a few kilometres my t-shirt was pretty wet and I ended up just taking it off when I was half way around the course. It was a good run today and I just had enough energy at the end to push myself down to the gym for an hour of weights.

Neil

Best time of year

Distance 39km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5906.2km] Week09

Tuesday, 25-Feb. 17km

After not feeling too good in the morning and calling in sick I managed to eat some breakfast at around 9am. I felt a better, the stomach not as rebellious. I went out to get some sun and had a jog along the beach that turned into a run much longer than I thought it would. The conditions were perfect, the tide was out, the temperarture was around 20C, sunny with some light cloud. I ran from Grange jetty to the Glenelg marina then back, I still felt quite good at the end, I did stop when I got back to the jetty but it did cross my mind to keep on running towards Semaphore but I reigned that thought in. A very enjoyable run.

Saturday, 1-Mar. 15km

It was cool overnight and sunny during the morning which lead to good running conditions. The tide had passed it's high point a few hours ago and was slowly on it's way out leaving some clean fresh sand to run on and check the footprints to see if they were even. I started the run before having any breakfast so I started slowly giving myself plenty of time to warm up. The beach has quite a camber when the tide is high and it's hard to find some firm flat sand to run on. I ran back along the foreshore from Semaphore jetty then onto the sparse grass behind the houses by the beach. It was a good run and I don't seem to get the problems of running without food like I did years ago.

Sunday, 2-Mar. 7km

Its that time of the month again when I get together with the shrinking band of barefoot runners for our monthly run. The venue this time was Henley Beach, meeting at the jetty at 9am. I got there early and did some short sprint drills to warm up. Cathy and Michael came on the run today, Cathy doing here own shorter course as she has only recently started running completely barefoot. Michael and myself ran to the West Beach caravan park at a good pace then back along the beach. The weather was just fantastic, the best is can be, mostly still with a very gentle breeze. These are the sorts of runs I want to commit to memory for my old age when I can't run any more, I can remember how wonderful it was. One thing I do know is that barefoot running has saved my joints and will probably enable me to run for a very long time yet. I was so lucky to read the BTR book and take up the challenge of rebuilding my running style despite people telling me it wasn't possible. What I have learnt is that the more people say it can't be done the more it should act as encouragement.

Neil

Cool again

Distance 41km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5867.2km] Week08

Monday, 17-Feb.10km

The cool running weather is a bit of a relief after all the heat of the last few weeks, the one drawback is of course the wind which is always blowing at this time of day. The calmest time to run is in the early morning around sunrise, by the time it gets to 11pm the wind is usually strengthening and by afternoon it will be a strong bluster. It wasn't too bad today breezy but not a battle against the elements. Shortly we will be in autumn once more and the weather will be cooling down and nights drawing in and I will have 5 months of cold feet.

Wednesday, 19-Feb. 10km

Here I am again battling against the strong south wind that is keeping the after work runners off the road, I seem to be on my own today. Maybe I should have gone to the gym rather than tackle the 40kmh wind, it is quite exhausting. Even when they wind is behind me on the way back it is not that rewarding as it pushes me too much and disrupts my stride. By the time I got back I had sand in my eyes and in my mouth and it was a relief to get into the shelter of the car. I got my run out of the way for the day.

Saturday, 22-Feb. 12.5km

My body seemed a bit creaky and slow to start today so I had to just relax and take baby steps until it began to want to run a little faster. Not the easiest of runs today, it was more a labour than an enjoyment. The ankle is still a nuisance, it has been getting better but it must be a case of two steps forward and one step back, it can be hardly noticed one day then reappear the next. I didn't run from jetty to jetty today but turned around as I reached the start of the Espanade at Semaphore then ran back along the road and grassy area behind the houses along the beach

Sunday, 23-Feb. 8.2km

A perfect running day this morning, just a light breeze and below 20C as I got to my usual start point at the car park at the south end of the lake. Lots of activity on today, a triathlon on the east side of the lake and where I am now there are a six Dragon Boats about to begin racing against each other down the length of the lake.
I padded along quietly watching all the events unfolding, a few Sunday morning runners came around in the opposite direction looking a bit more pained and laboured. I had a bit of a race with some of the triathletes when my path crossed onto their course, that gave me a bit of incentive to speed up and catch a few of them. A good run today.

The Heat and the Rain

Distance 45.9km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5826.2km] Week07

Monday, 10-Feb. 7km

A warm day in the mid 30's, it was slightly cooler by the beach but too hot to run along the road so I stuck to running on the sand. I had a game of chase with a friend of mine who was running a shorter distance, I gave them a start of 3km which really was a bit too much to make up the distance over a 7km run. My handicap run didn't work and my friend was back at base with 10 minutes to spare. This certainly gave my lungs a good work out though as I treid in vain to catch up

Wednesday, 12-Feb. 8.2km

A scorcher of a day at 43C, luckily I was able to enjoy the air conditioning at work for most of the day. When I got back to my small flat it was around 32C inside, not a good night for sleeping. I called around to my uncles to collect my mail and decided to go for a run at the same time. I set off for a run around the lake just after sunset in a temperature of 38C. The ground was warm but not blisteringly hot, the concrete was good to run on, the brick on the eastern side of the lake was the hottest. After just 3km my throat was parched. I didn't carry any water with me as it was only a short run. I kept chugging along in a good rhythm without overheating. When I got back I drank around 6 glasses of water to replenish that fluid lost.

Thursday, 13-Feb. 10km

The promised rain came in early today, I wasn't expecting it until the late afternoon or early evening. It had been a hot uncomfortable night with a temp that hadn't dropped below 30C outside. We have now broken the long standing record of days above 40C that was set in 1897 of 11 days. This has been one hot summer. I went on a late evening run, setting off at 7.30pm. The rain had stopped but it was still warm, I ran along the foreshore from Grange to West Beach. The path was damp and felt good underfoot, the humidity was high so it sapped my energy, I'm so used to running in hot low humidit, the change takes some getting used to. I ran the last 2km along the almost dark beach, only coming across one or two stragglers who had not left the beach yet.

Saturday, 15-Feb. 12.5km

Felt flat as a pancake today, was it the heat of earlier in the week or the now cooler humid air left over after a day and a half of rain. Still can't shake the tendon stiffness, it gets no worse and it gets no better it is just there and makes my running less enjoyable. I set off from Grange on my run to Semaphore, my longest run for a while. The wind was behind me on the way up and in my face on the way back. It was pretty draining. I was glad to get it over with today. I had to will myself to run those last few kilometres into the wind. The humidity was around 65% today.

Sunday, 16-Feb. 8.2km

A cool morning with a strong southerly breeze. I felt tired this morning and got up at the last minute and headed down to the lake. It took me a while to get the running engine going but it did fire up after a kilometre and it ended up a half decent run. I couldn't see any more 40C days forecast for the week so that is good. All the temperatures are in the mid 20's.
All in all I did a decent weeks running, more distance than I thought.

Neil

Heatwave

Distance 12.2km [total: minimalist 329.1km: Barefoot 5780.3km] Week06

Wednesday, 5-Feb-14. 5km

We are heading into a week of horribly hot temperatures with some more 40C+ days. I have not know a summer of such heat in all the time I have been over here.
People always ask about injuries to the foot while running without shoes and I give them the story of getting glass in my toe, not while running but while walking around the house.
I now have another injury to add to the list of ones picked up while indoors. While moving around the breakfast bar I my little toes did not clear the edge as I moved my foot resulting in a lot of pain. Through the next few days my little toe swelled up, then turned black and purple. The toe stubbing incident happened on monday. I decided to go out on a test run on Wednesday, a slightly cooler day of 34C.
I ran on the beach on the soft sand and my toe felt ok, I didn't have any weight on it and only did a short distance. It looked swollen at the end of the run but not much pain.

Sunday, 9-Feb-14. 8.2km

At last the wind has switched around to the south west and cooler air is blowing off the sea, replacing the heat of yesterday where where it got to 41C yet again. It took a long time for me to get to sleep last night with the heat and the neighbours making a noise.
I got out for my run at 9.00am and it was wonderful to be running in a cool breeze of a mere 20C. I have missed more runs due to the heat than I miss in winter due to the cold or wet conditions. My toe feels better, the black purple colour has gone but it still looks a bit larger than the toe on the other foot.

Neil