Under 10min

Distance 17km [total: minimalist 132km: Barefoot 930.4km] Week 6

Monday, 31-Jan
The start of the week was notable for the hot temperatures.
Monday was 43C, far too hot to run, at least if you want to stay safe so I opted for a workout at the gym, postponing the run until the middle of the week when the temperature is a more reasonable 34C.
I tried an exercise at the gym I have done only rarely namely hamstring deadlifts, I've done plenty of hamstring curls so I thought these would be a breeze.
I was only using 25kg and they were fairly easy, I was making sure I had the correct form so I didn't injure myself as I have had back problems in the past.

Wow, next day my hamstrings were sooooore, I only did 3 sets of 10 with a light weight. I'm expecting them to be sore tomorrow as well.

Wednesday, 2-Feb. 7km
Not as cool as was forecast, it hit 36C today but luckily a cool change came through when the wind changed direction to blow from the south dropping the temperature down to 30C.
The hamstring were still sore and I was a bit worried it might mess my running form up and my timing.
The run was good, just tiring as I had no power in the hamstrings as it was a bit painful to really run at a fast pace. They felt better at the end of the run and I think tomorrow I'll be back to normal.
Obviously hamstring dead lifts are a powerful exercise and something that I'll have to incorporate into my strength training as the hamstrings are one of the key muscles used in Pose running.

Thursday, 3-Feb. 4km
I was hoping to do a fast run this evening to get my speed sharpened up but my hamstrings are still aching, I guess I am fortunate I didn't lift a heavy weight at the gym or else I wouldn't be able to walk for the week.
I did my short jetty to jetty run but found it hard going today, the heat and it felt humid as there was some cloud cover.
Running south was fine as there was a slight breeze, coming back the other way and the breeze could not be felt then the sun pops out from the clouds and and I can feel my head overheating.
I took my singlet off and tied it around my head, that helped keep the sweat out of my eyes and shielded me from the sun.
I had to stop a few times on the way back as I was just too hot. Interestingly my time on the way back was 12:20m while on the way down it was10:46m.
The slower time was around the same time I ran the Beach Bash last year but my time this time included a couple of rest breaks.
Hopefully the March temperature will not be as hot as the Jan-Feb temperatures.

Sunday, 6-Feb. 6km
(2km x 2) lap 1 10:08.8m, lap 2 9:52.8

The cool change is here, the temperature was just 15C at 8am. The sand felt cold underfoot just like in winter.
There was a nice strip of around 4 metres of wet sand left after the retreat of the tide, some a bit too soft and spongy but higher up more firm.

I did some warm-up Pose drills first to get a bit of blood moving before setting off. Faster paced running is so hard mentally, always the voice in you head telling you to rest, your lungs bursting and pulse racing.
It takes around a kilometre for my heart to steady and to get a regular breathing pattern, the running feels better then but still hard.
I completed the run in 10m 8.8s which was one of my better runs but still not below 10m.

After a rest for a few minutes at Henley I set off back, this time I felt more relaxed, in my mind I felt I was running slower but wasn't concerned about time, just keep a steady pace. I pushed it a bit harder towards the end.
What a surprise when I checked the stopwatch to find I'd run this in 9m 52.8s, 16s better than my first time and now I can run below 10m for that distance.
Compared to what I could run in my early 20's though it is slow, I should be able to cover the distance in 7m 15s, wow I think that would kill me now.
It felt good to get under 10 minutes though, I need to do that on a regular basis now.

I found some good You Tube clips of Zola Budd running in the 1980's what a fantastic barefoot runner she was.
Zola Budd 1984

Just completed a second bit of training for the day. I did 400m x 5 laps around the local oval, no one need get worried about any world record times being broken here, I was averaging around 1:45m per lap, only a one whole minute slower than the top runners, oh well you have to start somewhere.

Neil