Barefooting the soft Bathonian snow

Frozen man in the snow...Bath Abbey.

I'm not sure quite why we did it, but the other day myself and my barefooting friend Alex (who, I can confirm, is also going to be running the Bath Half this year barefoot) at about midnight ran down his road to Moorland Road in Oldfield Park, and ran back up it again.  I was dressed as a machine, with five layers on my top half.  Alex was stripped down to just shorts.  It is clear that he wanted the refreshment aspect, whilst I just wanted a little stroll to air my feet.

Anyway, we were both barefooted, and it was Friday night.  Lots of snow everywhere, about 4-5inches deep I predict all across Bath.  As my feet touched the outdoor ground, they felt joyful.  They didn't feel cold, they just felt free.  It wasn't actually so cold, anyway.

To compare the cold, I will relate a story from my Christmas holidays.  I stayed at Skanda Vale, a sanathana dharma Hindu community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with my mum over Christmas.  She hadn't been there before, but I'd stayed for a combined three weeks previous, so it was all wacky for her but pretty decent and expectedly unexpected for me.
On Boxing Day, a big group of us staying there (possibly 30 of us) went down to Tenby for the Boxing Day swim.  At least 15 of us were actually due to be going in for the swim, including myself, and we all dressed up for the occasion.
We got there ridiculously early.  I was expecting us to be working on Indian time, but my understanding of Indian time was that you always arrive late for things.  We were an hour early.  We all got into our costumes, and just hung out on the beach mostly doing the Gangnam Style dance at odd occasions.  When the time finally came to assemble with all the other swimmers, it appeared that we'd been fooled.  We had to stand around with the other swimmers for a good 10 or 15 extra minutes, in the absolutely pouring and freezing rain.  My feet were freezing out - I already had lost feeling in the outer edges of both feet, and was a little worried about them.  The sand at Tenby, let me tell you, was absolutely freezing this midwinter morning, and the rain puddles didn't exactly help.
Eventually, the loudspeaker guy said that we would be have our mad dash into the sea in #countdown5minutes.  A minute later, there was a bang and everyone was confused and then people at the front were running and so I leapt for it, sprinted with the one goal of the seas glorious encapsulation in my mind.  I had a warrior mask on, which gave me tunnel-vision.  All I could see was the sea in front of me.
When I got to the sea, it wasn't actually so bad.  I just sprinted into it, but didn't dive in.  I got to about waist-deep, and was confused, as it got a bit cold.  Within a few seconds of pondering over things, I was rugby tackled into the sea.  A big rush overcame me.  I started swimming, but everything had gone numb.  It was like my body was piloting itself: my mind had completely disconnected itself from the body.
Anyway, we stayed in there for some 10 minutes or so, and then came out, got given a medal, I was given a cup of mulled wine (I completely gave up drinking about 9 months before, but this didn't mean anything when I had this warm wine in my hands), and I tried getting dressed.  It was all well and good, until I realised that my feet could not fit into my shoes anymore.  I couldn't feel my feet, so I didn't know what was happening, but I knew I had to be very gentle with them.
My decision was to lay in front of the big bonfire they'd got going on the beach and to thaw the feet out.  This worked terrifically - otherwise I would, for sure, have had frostbite.

So the point of relating to this story is to show how cold my feet could get, as compared to what I had the other day.  I could not feel my feet anymore when I was in Wales.  I had the potential of losing feeling in them for years, if I hadn't acted upon it straight away.  The other day, there was a little bit of cold under my feet, but it felt nowhere near as cold as what I experienced that day on the beach in Tenby.

One thing I noticed, the other day, was the sharpness of some of the snow.  This could be where the big issues are - and this goes for runners with shoes alike.  I stepped on some chunky bits of icy snow, which seemed to go right into the arch of my foot.  These bits of icy snow didn't feel so constructive...

We both managed to get down the hill and up again without too many problems.  It was a little slippery going down the hill (when normally I would deliberately slide down with my big walking boots on), but going back up was fine except for the bits of ice sticking out of the ground.

In my opinion, running in the snow is just like running in any other conditions, except with the possibility of a little less traction and some sharper bits here and there.  There is no need to be scared of it: just train up your feet to be used to the cold.  It's such a nice feeling, anyway, to come back into a warm house after your feet have become cold and callussed.  The feet tend to buzz a little, like after receiving a massage.

For those who are interested, here are a couple of pages that I found useful to read whilst writing this blog entry:

Winter Barefoot Running - is it right for you?
7 Barefoot Running Myths: Barefoot and Minimalist Running


Now, on the complicated general side of things for me:

I haven't been running properly in a few months, as my hip has taken major toll over the winter months.  I've had it scanned, and re-scanned, and had an arthrogram and then an MRI arthrogram, and they tell me that it's osteoarthritis.  Hence the difficulties I've had over the last few months - it reacts to colder and damper conditions.  They say that there are some bone spurs/osteophytes on the joint that they would like to remove, but they'll give me a shot of steroids in the joint first to see what that does.  I'm hoping that the steroid shot will sort things out in the short term, and then I'll have the surgery sometime after the Bath Half, and after the badminton season has finished at uni.
For now, though, I'm still taking it easy so as to avoid causing unnecessary inflammation.  I've experienced a lot of inflammation in my hip before as I used to cycle until just under a year ago, and the inflammation can have such a long-lasting effect.  If I were to be training now, I would probably be able to run once a week and have to rest it off for the other 6 days of the week.
My solution, then, is to wait for the steroid shot, and start running again after having this.  If it doesn't have the desired effect, I will just keep my fitness up with non-demanding activities (badminton doesn't have such a toll on my hip, and neither do some yoga postures, etc.) and run the Bath Half on the day without having ran in preparation for it.  I will keep my leg muscles up to strength (I know, from my experience of running last year, that the legs can get some serious cramp if they're not prepared for the run!), and generally be very easy-going in my buildup to the run.
This doesn't stop me working on my barefooting, of course, and as I explained before barefooting is very beneficial for my condition, taking a lot of strain off of the hip when I am trodding my ways.  Therefore, I will continue to go barefoot.

Sorry I haven't posted a route to run on, again.  I felt, though, a duty to send out a barefooting message to you all!

Until next time, stay safe!

A awesome run around the park

So I know this blog is supposed to be about local running, but I had to post about my experience today in Central Park, New York; as much to commit it to my own memory as anything else.

I may be stuck here due to cancelled flights, missing my family and all the fun the snow, but this helped go a little way to improving my mood.

Picture this: 6.30am on a cold NY morning and I began my run around Central Park. The sun wasn’t up yet and the running track through the park was lit in a dull glow from the streetlights. Then, in a city of however-many million people, I looked around and saw I was running practically on my own. Wonderful.

As the sun began to rise and I headed down the western edge of the park, I felt like I was in a movie, Calvin Harris was banging away in my ears and life felt very, very good. Then, coming back up the east side of the park, the sky scrapers running the opposite length began to glow a radiant terracotta and seemed to be utterly relishing their own magnificence. You know how Bath looks in the autumn sun? Well, it was something like that. Awesome.

Including the jog from the hotel, my morning’s run took in: The Empire State Building, The Plaza Hotel, The building used in Ghostbusters, The Tavern on the Green (also in Ghostbusters), The Metropolitan Museum, The Guggenheim and finally a glimpse down Broadway to the lights of Times Square.

So the moral of this story? If you’re a runner and you go to NY City, take your running shoes and add a run in Central Park to your ‘to do’ list. It’s a 6.1 mile loop, a little hilly, but you don’t really notice this with all the sights to see. I have to say, though, that I do have half an eye on running a marathon if I can get through the Bath Half intact, but thinking about running a distance equivalent to four and a half times round this loop makes me think twice about the wisdom of such an undertaking. On the plus side, I comfortably managed these 6 miles in 55 minutes, so that equates to me finishing the Half in just under 2 hours… doesn’t it?

Freezing fog, rain, sun and rainbows: What a week of running!

So then, this week has been a great week of running for me with three very distinct runs all with various weathers to contend with – and also to relish…

The Friday morning run with Sandra and Let’s Go Run was a short affair and a good thing too. We met at St Andrew’s school and ran for 40 minutes through icy rain, slowly losing the feeling in our extremities but giving ourselves (all 3 of us) a smug feeling of how hardcore we were to be so committed that we would run in such horrible conditions. Also, please bear in mind that as I’m new to running I haven’t yet acquired thermals and was doing this in shorts and a t-shirt only. Bring it on!

Midweek I ran out with Gavin (another TB runner) and we did about 5 miles including a timed one-mile tempo run. What was remarkable about this run was the fog (freezing as it was). As we emerged into Bath city centre and the whole place was lit up with a backdrop of Christmas lights and shrouded with a dense layer of grey fog I had one of those “I love running” moments. We slowly approached the Abbey tower and got have a proper look as it rose eerily and majestically into the foggy winter night; what a treat. If, however, I were seeing this from my car, I'd probably have about two seconds to admire the view before having to pay attention to the taxi about run into me or the suicidal tourist about to jump in front of me. Yes, if you want to see Bath in a new light, go running. Of course you could walk, but why anyone would be out walking on a night like that, I don't know.

On Sunday I joined up with Let’s Go Run again and we did a wonderful 10k run. Again the weather was odd and we found ourselves running in glorious sunshine at one point with rain simultaneously beating down on our heads (never did get that). From there we were literally chasing a rainbow as we ran through the park. The run itself took us from the sports centre, along the river, up through Victoria Park and The Approach and then into yet another area of Bath that I haven’t been to: We went off road on the Cotswold Way and up the hills to a very muddy Primrose Hill. Along from there we emerged by Kingswood School and then finished off the run with a very fast and hugely exhilarating belter all the way down Landsdown Road and back to the sports centre. Once back in town, it was fun trying to make our way around a bunch of Sunday shoppers with just over a week to go until Christmas, but we just about managed to zigzag around them with no collisions. 

View from the Cotswold Way (taken by somebody else on a sunny day)

If we (the TB runners) do collate our runs into some form of 'Transition Guide to Runs Around Bath', this 10k will definitely go on there. It’s great training as the long slog up the hill really works you, but the scenery is fantastic and the blat down the hill at the end is great – says his inner child. This run comes highly recommended; thanks Sandra for showing it to me. 

Do You Get Fog In Woods?

You have to love the longer evenings.  If for nothing more than being able to cosy up and chill out in front of the log burner and now for my new found love of night trail running.

I had my first experience of this back in March when I completed an adventure race on exmoor.  Since then I have been out running at dusk on easy tracks and trails.  Last night however I ventured off with PJ for an exploration over the Bath Skyline.  For a first night trail run I would of thought this would have been easy.  Its a course we both know well and the route is well marked.

It soon became a navigation run as we ascended onto the hills into dense fog and the challenge became finding the path, dodging cows which are difficult to see when lying down and generally trying to stay on 2 feet.

If you have never been out night running I highly recommend it.  Its a chance to see nature in a different light.  Hear new sounds and see paths and familiar landscapes in a completely different light (literally).   Its amazing to sit overlook the city and see the glow from the street lights in the fog.  To the red and green eyes of the creatures of the night reflecting off the head torches.

More fantastic adventures night adventures to follow...

A Run With a View

I love being in Bath during the early evenings.  Standing outside the Abbey with the Christmas Market sheds being constructed and watching 3 lads recording a rap video, and the peacefullness of standing in a place which is so often busy and full of tourists tonight was beautifully calm and relaxing.  It was great way to begin the run and hopefully a great way to finish in the coming weeks with a little mulled wine at the end from the market too.

This is a great little run with a few variations to offer in the day too out to the George and back via the Cannel.

If you like Hills and want to take in the view of Bath running up Camden Crescent is worth it just for that.  Heading out to Bailbrook will give you some spectacular views.  Running the course in reverse to grab a lovely sunset and stop to snap a few pics is a definite must.

Thanks Gareth for leading us on this one.