21km Barefoot Run
After a day's rest (Monday) post Kuantan, I started again with my running. Wk4 Act1 completed on Tuesday, followed by a 12km barefoot run on Wednesday. Thursday was just a simple ECP-Coastal-ECP on my trusty Z3 (after re-gluing my rear tubular tires 2 days prior, I think I did a much better job this time around!). I've not done Wk4 Act2 yet (which is basically a fast 10km run) and decided to put in a special run instead : 21km on bare-feet. Mostly to pay homage to 5 months of minimalist+barefoot running (which Ryo inspired me to do and got me back into running with less pain!) and also partly because I'm so close to that 250km mark for the month!
Friday morning 5am start. I hid my slippers at the same corner and started running. Headed towards lagoon first. Somehow, my body will just go for a slow pace, knowing that I am trying to complete a longer distance...what laziness! Started with a sub 6 pace but quickly went into 6:40ish after lagoon. My barefeet was not familiar with this area and I proceeded with some caution. It's really a tough place to run as its quite sandy and dark. With no shoes on, I could feel everything and it gets kinda painful.
The run towards the end of East Coast Park at the Safra resort was a lonely one. Its a creepy stretch but thankfully saw 2-3 guys running as well after I u-turned at the end as well as a couple of lone bikes. It about 9km now and its the point where the soles get a bit 'tender' and 'sensitive'. It was quite torturous going through the path back to the food centre due to the foot tenderness. After the lagoon, the park stretch was much better and I could up some speed back to 6:30ish pace all the way pass my underpass (15km point)
Spectacular sunrise at this point!
Only 6+km to go from here to fort road and back and on familiar roads, I managed to speed up. My cardio was good and had a lot of room but the soles of my feet were aching so much I could not pick up the pace any further. Completed 21.5km in 2hr 22mins thereabout with an average pace of 6:38min/km. As I walked over to my slipper hiding place, the pain from the sole became more and more evident (strangely, it was not as bad whilst running!). I finally checked the soles of my feet. A blister on each foot....both at the same place : midfoot below the pinky toe. Strange. Perhaps going long distance bare-feet have evolved my running!
The legs are more tired than running with shoes!
Ok gross pics alert below : Blister location!
Friday morning 5am start. I hid my slippers at the same corner and started running. Headed towards lagoon first. Somehow, my body will just go for a slow pace, knowing that I am trying to complete a longer distance...what laziness! Started with a sub 6 pace but quickly went into 6:40ish after lagoon. My barefeet was not familiar with this area and I proceeded with some caution. It's really a tough place to run as its quite sandy and dark. With no shoes on, I could feel everything and it gets kinda painful.
The run towards the end of East Coast Park at the Safra resort was a lonely one. Its a creepy stretch but thankfully saw 2-3 guys running as well after I u-turned at the end as well as a couple of lone bikes. It about 9km now and its the point where the soles get a bit 'tender' and 'sensitive'. It was quite torturous going through the path back to the food centre due to the foot tenderness. After the lagoon, the park stretch was much better and I could up some speed back to 6:30ish pace all the way pass my underpass (15km point)
Spectacular sunrise at this point!
Only 6+km to go from here to fort road and back and on familiar roads, I managed to speed up. My cardio was good and had a lot of room but the soles of my feet were aching so much I could not pick up the pace any further. Completed 21.5km in 2hr 22mins thereabout with an average pace of 6:38min/km. As I walked over to my slipper hiding place, the pain from the sole became more and more evident (strangely, it was not as bad whilst running!). I finally checked the soles of my feet. A blister on each foot....both at the same place : midfoot below the pinky toe. Strange. Perhaps going long distance bare-feet have evolved my running!
The legs are more tired than running with shoes!
Ok gross pics alert below : Blister location!
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