Barefoot hiking
Hiking in Vibram fivefingers!
I had a fairly good training week - didn't feel like doing a single one of my workouts (except the hikes) and then ended up having a fabulous time. The highlight was probably my first barefoot hike in my Vibram FiveFingers (www.vibramfivefingers.com). I decided to take the dog for our usual 'training hike' in Cecilia Forest, setting out at 6.50pm on Saturday night. Felt like Spiderman going up the mountain, and I actually ran for short distances on the some of the hills, it felt so good. Coming down was a whole different story. Because of gravity, and my body weight, I felt every stone underfoot coming down, and it was a fairly slow process. Added about 15 minutes to the total time. At that point I actually missed my over-cushioned Salomon XT Wings with pronation control, in which I usually jog down the hill. Felt the hippy in me come out though - felt cool and earthy to walk 'barefoot' and feel the ground so close to my skin.
The other highlight of the week was some recreational swimming which turned into a mini training session. Once the kids got out of the pool, my friend Andrew gave me some impromptu tips to improve my stroke, and I learned to do a tumble turn - a first for me. Swimming with contact lenses and goggles was pretty great - can't believe it took me so long to get to this point. I'm actually looking forward to going to Silvermine at some point an attempting to swim the width of the dam (versus the usual 'trembling with fear' at the thought). Gotta plan to do that before we head to Kenya on the 20th.
So anyway, for those who are interested, this is what the last week looked like:
Sun 29 yoga
Mon 30 rest
Tues 1 hike/ run (5k)
Wed 2 run – time trial 5k (31’03)
Thu 3 spin (v-cycle)
Fri 4 rest
Sat 5 hike (barefoot) 1h10
Sun 6 yoga + swim practice
The other highlight of the week was some recreational swimming which turned into a mini training session. Once the kids got out of the pool, my friend Andrew gave me some impromptu tips to improve my stroke, and I learned to do a tumble turn - a first for me. Swimming with contact lenses and goggles was pretty great - can't believe it took me so long to get to this point. I'm actually looking forward to going to Silvermine at some point an attempting to swim the width of the dam (versus the usual 'trembling with fear' at the thought). Gotta plan to do that before we head to Kenya on the 20th.
So anyway, for those who are interested, this is what the last week looked like:
Sun 29 yoga
Mon 30 rest
Tues 1 hike/ run (5k)
Wed 2 run – time trial 5k (31’03)
Thu 3 spin (v-cycle)
Fri 4 rest
Sat 5 hike (barefoot) 1h10
Sun 6 yoga + swim practice
My Salomon XT wings, still a winner on the trails!
