64 minutes barefoot run. Rockhopping-Nik

I went out the door after reading Charlie’s race report, like a bat out of hell.  The shoes seemed so light.  I seemed to almost be falling over, forwards.  The only way to stop the fall was to run faster.  I took an unusual route down to the beach, I passed some guy and his dog, he said “Wow, you’re flying.”  It felt like it.

Decided to run along the coast into the city via the ‘industrial wasteland zone’ and see how the Merrels handle slippery beach pebbles and seaweed, now that I have worn them in.  Surprisingly well.  The Vibram soles are so hard that they lack the natural grip on rock/wet rock that rubber has.  I guess that it took a while to abrade them enough to lose that slick texture.  Beach pebbles are really hard on the feet in the Merrels, I can feel every stone.  It’s like having the soles of your feet beaten with a rubber hose.  Might be good for circulation though.

I ran the beach defenses on the way out to Salthill for the first time, as previously the Merrels were too slippy to risk breaking a leg, but finally they are doing fine.  Timed my run home from Nimmo’s Pier, which was a respectable 18 minutes even.  After the pounding I took for three quarters of the run up to that point, I feel good making the return from Nimmo’s in 18.

 

I needed that run.  Good to be back in my running shoes.  Confidence soars!

Short, short run in 33:55-Nik

A nifty run.  Barefoot.  Did my stretch and plank routine.  Planks are now up to 45 seconds.  Hit Nimmo’s Pier in 17:15.  Solid negative split coming back in 16:40.  It was an ugly, lumpy run, no grace or light-footedness, but fast.

The barefoot 9-miler-Nik

I didn’t train the first 3 days of this week at all, then Thursday, Friday, Saturday I did 3 home Yoga sessions, so I felt good for a run this Sunday morning.  I feel almost bad that I have only run once this week.

I felt relaxed and reasonably strong on this run, so the week break from running seems to have benefited me.  Originally I was planning a short, short run, then a short run, but the run just progressed as I ran into town.  The last couple of barefoot runs have left me limping for 3 days afterwards on a knotted right calf, so I was cautious.  The calf seemed fine.  I got to the diving board in 35 minutes, headed back and made a point of running on sand and a bit of rock (the Vibram soles are hard and don’t grip well on rock…).  I wanted my legs and especially lower legs to get as varied a workout as possible, as I am still running hard surfaces, because the ground is sodden.

Flagged a bit on the way back, felt that calf start to tighten up during the last 20 minutes, which was at the same time as I started to run properly: fatigue=form.  Had a finishing kick for the last 5 minutes, felt strong and steady.

Finished in 72:40, which considering I made the course more difficult on the way back and I seemed to be slowing, was pretty good.

I’ll aim for another run on Tuesday or Wednesday.  I want another Power Yoga class, before then.

Barefoot 6 miler, with a kick finish-Nik

Spent 25 minutes doing my plank and stretch routine.

Headed out into a blustery, cold, but dry day.  I lost 2 minutes crossing the bridge, as my headphones and beanie came off and I just couldn’t get them back on right, whilst running.  Had to take my gloves off and stop.  Decided that there was no point timing the rest of the run.  Still managed to hit Nimmo’s Pier in 19 minutes, despite the hold up.  Decided to make the run a 6 miler, so ran on along the coast a little.  Back to Nimmo’s Pier.

Timed the run back from Nimmo’s Pier.  I was hammering along and just got faster.  Ran the last 400 meters at an 80% sprint.  Got back in a time of 16:45.  Best time for 2014.

Total time of 45:45.

Turned into a great run.  I’m still sweating 15 minutes after the run.

Barefoot 4.7m. Calf cramp-Nik

My 3’rd barefoot in a row.  Cramped half way through.  Stopped and stretched for about 30 seconds.  Limped for the rest of the day.