Cooling down

Distance 56.3km [total: minimalist 269.6km: Barefoot 2622.3km] Week 16

Monday, 16-Apr. 12.5km

Sunset is now at around 5.48pm, I got down to the beach at around 5.15pm, later than usual as I had to call into the shops to pick up some food. I thought it would be good to run up the beach as far as I could and turn back when the sun had fully set below the horizon. I put on a fast pace, the sand was good in places and also soft in places but I thought I could make it to the road at Semaphore. As the sun started to touch the horizon I could see the rocky breakwater up ahead, I thought I would make it my the time the last of the sun disappeared but no, it must have been further than I thought. I carried on running until I reached it around 4 minutes later. After a brief rest I set off back in the fading light. By half way along it was getting quite dark and I had to concentrate on the ground in front of me to make sure there were no rocks or holes. My feet also played their part in sensing the ground even though it was hard to see. With a couple of km to go I was on some nice flat sand and felt like I was flying along in the darkness, it is quite a strange experience, running but not being able to see the ground. I made it back to the jetty which was dark against the beach, only a few lights along the top giving it away. I did pass another runner in the dark, a girl, running in the same direction. I waited around to see if she made it to the jetty but she must have turned off as the beach was totally dark now.

Wednesday, 18-Apr. 10km

A 30C day today but the bite has gone by the time I begin my run at 5pm. I ran along the beach footpath from Grange to West Beach, my favourite 10km run. The legs felt great as did the feet. I put in a bit of extra speed when I thought I had some running competition trying to pass me, I eased up a gear, listening all the while for footsteps. The threat I was expecting never eventuated, they must have turned off when they realised I was outpacing them. I managed to push my heart rate up to 144 though so that was good. I always find the brick footpath on the way back, in the last couple of km hard going, mostly the unaligned edges that can dig into my feet if I land on a jutting brick

Thursday, 19-Apr.  11km

This was a lake path run but extended to run the length of Delfin Island, I can't recall running this route at all during the summer. It adds another 3.2km to my Sunday run distance. I ran the last km along the wide concrete path by the road but I was a bit tired by that time to put in much speed and as the light had faded I didn't want to end up landing on a small stone that I didn't see. I need to get to the gym again as all the running has made me drop fat and muscle in the upper body, I need to balance up again.

Saturday, 21-Apr. 15km

Well, the fine weather broke today. Rather than waking to blue sky like I have for most of the last 2 weeks it was an overcast sky, still fairly warm though. I went for my long beach run but I felt pretty flat today. The gym session yesterday had some leg presses and some calf raises in and they were stiff today even after I gave them a roll on my Thera roller before heading to the beach. Going up the beach wasn't too bad, I just didn't have the springiness though. I slowed right down coming back. The gym exercises left me with tired calves and sore backside. They should be ok tomorrow. I evaded the rain even though it rained on the way to the beach and stopped when I got there. The bulk of the rain started after midday and carried on until early evening. The forecast is for it to continue into next week.

Sunday, 22-Apr. 7.8km

A blowy morning but no rain for now. The legs still had some stiffness in from the gym on Friday which is expected as it takes around 3 days for the muscle fibres to recover. I had a bit of spring in my step but not the full amount. The feet were a bit tender too as the landing control is compromised when you have sore leg muscles. Still I managed to get a bit of a sprint in at the last km along the concrete footpath, running into the wind and rain that started up. After the run I headed for the gym where I did some weighted lunges as the only leg exercise, the rest was confined to back and core strength.

Neil