Mileage Reporting 37th week 2013

My big hike/run didn't happen. It rained all night, no visibility in the mountains, and my wife watching a flash flood clip in the Zion area made the decision easy.

So I ran 10 miles barefoot instead. Perfect conditions. Light rain, soft ground made the gravel sections tolerable. Started the run with 5 dogs and one son. Son dropped off first and then the dogs one by one. Two of the fitter dogs finished the distance and loved every minute of it. I'll try to get that longer hike in later this week.
 
5 hours of walking barefoot. Gravel, the sharp kind, grass, mud, turkey bones. You may have guessed it. I went back in time to the Renaissance. I got to the fair quite jovial to be able to spend the day bf, then a wench- (that's what they are called)- said you can't come in without shoes. I did put up a little fight this time since it was all outdoors, she said it was state law. I put my soft stars on then went in for 5 minutes shod of an otherwise bf day. Me and my wizard the only barefooters.
 
I probably ran about 3.5 miles this morning. Ran today because the next 3 days are going to be hot and humid, so I took advantage of today. Wore the Xeros because I wanted to run some of it faster, so when I got out that one sign after a short steep uphill, I then went up to that tempo pace and cranked along a stretch of road that rolls with gentle slopes up and down. When I finished that all up going out and back on it, I walked comfortably home. Tomorrow it's back to work.
 
stairs, dips and push ups for 40 mins.
 
Another 5km beach run that turned into 7.1km because I didn't want to turn around. 7km seems to be the new 'standard' run for me now. I was also happy to see that it is now light at 6AM in my part of the world, so no more running by moonlight. When did that happen? I don't know.

I tried again to overcome my sore BOFP issue by pushing off my big toes, and it seems to be working - no soreness, and I felt much springier as a bonus. No increase in pace, but I'm happy enough to be a little bit closer to the magical FGLG.
 
I'm not running til after work today, but yesterday I had another great time out on the golf course and barefoot. The best part was when I finished up and was walking towards the parking lot with the bag on my back. There's a biking/running/walking path that the county has which runs along the course in one place and then cuts through between the front and back-9s. A woman was walking two dogs as I came up and got on that path to go to the parking lot, and she saw me.

She asked, "You don't really golf barefoot, do you?"

I said, "Yeah, I sure do, it's great."

We talked a bit more as we went along the path and she was very positive and you could see her thinking that maybe she might trying going around barefoot more. She told me that as soon as she gets in the house, she takes off her shoes. I said you just need to strengthen and toughen your feet and there's a lot more that we can do barefoot than most of us think.

And I'm definitely becoming known as the Barefoot Golfer on that course. I joined up with a threesome on the 6th hole and one of them asked me if I knew I guy named Rich. I said maybe, it's hard for me to keep all the people I end up playing with since I walk on as a single so much and join up with whoever. He said that his friend Rich had told him about playing with a guy who was barefoot.
 
I only wish it were my handicap. It was just a username I plucked from the head some years back, but in no way is reflective of my golf handicap, which is around 12 right now. To be a scratch golfer is really an accomplishment, at least sub 3-hour marathon sort of ability and dedication. I probably have neither the ability nor dedication to achieve those golfing or running. But I love the game, just a beautiful and wonderful game.
 
I only wish it were my handicap. It was just a username I plucked from the head some years back, but in no way is reflective of my golf handicap, which is around 12 right now. To be a scratch golfer is really an accomplishment, at least sub 3-hour marathon sort of ability and dedication. I probably have neither the ability nor dedication to achieve those golfing or running. But I love the game, just a beautiful and wonderful game.
More like sub 2.30 :)

I tend to view it as "a good walk ruined" - but that's because everyone I used to play with was hyper-competitive and I wsa a hack!
 
6.5 easy fun miles around the ponds. Good thing I wasn't trying to run fast, because the Russian olive tree seeds were quite the nuisance. Next time I may have to take a broom! Saw a couple of gorgeous osprey flying near. Didn't think quickly enough to snap a photo with my phone, but here is a photo from the web that depicts it http://www.flickr.com/photos/598845...abj-fs75mw-buBKyj-bMQ6LR-f8qywU-7Pcjrd-cCm3Fs
A couple of fun interchanges will go on People's Rxns thread.
 
back/hips
 
Yesterday I went a little crazy and was out on a 6 km walk, did row+dips+chins cardio in the gym, was out for a 7 km run and then I went to the gym again and did shoulders for almost an hour.

Today I "just" walked 6 km in the morning and in the evening I did legs and arms in the gym for an hour.

Right now I feel a bit like a truck has run over me. In a good way.
 
Woot.

So last week I applied the winnings I got from summer bowling league to buying a new Timex ironman watch. Not really winnings so much, since it's kind of a refund of weekly dues, although I did get a $14 prize for having the 2nd highest handicap score game. I took the watch with me to the short run I did at the township park that's near where I work and has a paved loop that covers .82 miles. Because of that, I've done lots of loops there back in 2007 to 2010. The loop has posts set every tenth of a mile, so today I looked down at the watch as I loped by easy-like since it was hot and I wanted to run easy, looked down and saw that the first tenth of a mile had been covered with 51 seconds showing on the watch face. Yikes. In the past, I've only run that fast when it's wonderfully cool and I've been fully trained and cranking up for a speedier sort of loop.

But there I was, running easy, and the first tenth of a mile had clocked in somewhere under 52 seconds. It's a little downhill, so it's not really 8:40 pace, probably something like 9:00 pace. And so I cranked along and was rewarded with covering the loop in 7:21.75 or 9 mm pace. Easy. I wasn't stressed for breathing or legs, although I could feel the heat. I'd imagine if it had been cooler today I probably would have shaved some time off that. Then I ran a half-loop more and said that was good after doing 3.5 miles yesterday and the fact that I was already dripping sweat after 10.5 minutes of easy-paced running.

My running log tells me that I've had very few loops covered under 7:21.75. And I've only ever had one sub 7-minute loop. I could have run one today.

I earnestly believe that barefoot running has been teaching me proper form and building springiness into my legs. It's making me faster. That's pretty damn cool. Now bring on the fall weather.

Then all drunk on my new running awesomeness, I pulled off the Xeros (still waiting for that nick to fully heal) and walked back to my car. I tossed them on the car roof while I got the door open. After starting the car and AC and cooling it off some, I headed for home.

Headed for home until about 2 miles away I realized I had left the Xeros on top of the car. At a stoplight, I quickly rolled down the window, reached up and felt nothing there. I pulled into a parking lot and turned around and then watched the road carefully as I traced my way back.

When I got back to the park, still hadn't seen them off in the road or anything. But I'm thinking, shit, they're gone, I was stupid and they're gone.

But nope. Fortune smiled on me again today and they were laying in the parking lot, just a short distance from where I had been parked. I picked them up and went home.