Week 7 of 12 (Borneo 09)

Total mileage: 72.4km in 5 days(1st totally barefoot week)

Mon: 11.2km(barefoot)

Tues:

AM - 11.2km(barefoot)

PM - 10.5km(barefoot)

Wed: 16.8km(barefoot)

Thurs: 17.5km(barefoot)

Fri: Pull-ups / Swimming

Sat: 5.2km(barefoot) {2 x 2.4km(5min rest) - 10:25, 10:01. + 400m.}

No blisters this week, but soles are sore and on fire daily. Reluctantly took a break on Friday as I wanted to rid myself of the soreness on my left heel due to downhill running.

Had intended to do 6 x 2.4km(5min interval) on Saturday. Discovered a big bloody blister on one of my toes after the second run. The third run felt weird as I avoided gripping the ground with my toes, and I gave up after 400m. 7 blisters were spotted after the run, and a total of 9 visible after washing my feet around the toes region. This was totally unexpected as I had been running on asphalt for almost 7 weeks and this was just rubber.

Lessons learnt:

1. Running on asphalt slowly and gently did not condition the skin at my toes region to withstand faster running. Simply put, my toes 'sux'!

2. The 2 x 2.4km done at 10:25 and 10:01 was with minimum effort and gave me a good gauge of my current fitness level. It was unfortunate that I was unable to complete at least 6 sets.

Week 6 of 12 (Borneo 09)

Total mileage: 25km(2 days)

Mon: Rest

Tues: Swim

Wed: 14.7km barefoot (hilly asphalt)

Thurs: Swim

Fri: Swim / 10.5km barefoot (hilly asphalt) / Swim

Sat: Swim

Sun: Mt. Kinabalu Recce

Recovering well from the swelling on my right foot, and recovered full movement by Wednesday though there was some minor swelling and ache still.

Sun: Had initially planned to to ascend to laban rata at 6km+. Slipped on shoes within several hundred metres, made a u-turn @ 2km instead. Enjoyed the rest of my walk barefooted again.

Lessons learnt:-

a) Not withstanding the fact that I am new to barefooting, the terrain is uneven, full of sharp stones and a tough hell of a mountain. Don't expect a good timing if you were to do it barefooted; doing so in itself is already achieving a great feat.

b) My ears hurt terribly from the pressure once above 1.5km with 7km more ascending to the peak. Major acclimatization problem.

c) My fitness level now probably allows me to run moderately long distances on flat terrain comfortably. I lack alot of the strength that is required for hill/ skyrunning.

Full recovery from the pain in my right foot, praise the Lord! I want to enjoy my running as much as I should, and I plan to jolly well do that for the next 4 weeks before tapering instead of pressuring myself. It does not matter how fast I run this race, it's more about how much I enjoy running fast. If not I will still plod on with the biggest smile.

Week 5 of 12 (Borneo 09)

Total mileage: 60km in 5 days

Mon: Rest

Tue PM: 12.6km barefoot(asphalt, hilly)

Wed PM: 20km

Thurs PM: 12.6km barefoot(asphalt, hilly)

Fri PM: 10.7km barefoot(asphalt, hilly)

Sat PM: 4.1km barefoot

Breaststroke(slow)

Calves aching from Saturdays' hills, so no running on Monday.

The thing about downhill running is that your toes tend to try and grip the ground, resulting in abit of torn skin on a toe.

Ran in the pouring rain on Thursday, just love it. Feet are fine and good for Friday, transitioning very well.

Stopped short of completing my barefoot run on Saturday due to sore skin and a blood blister.

Could be due to a couple of reasons:

1. Skin still sore from 2 consecutive days of running.

2. Afternoon asphalt was too hot at certain areas.

3. Too much reliance on right forefoot as I just cut a thick piece of blistered skin off the heel.

Decided not to add another shod run to make a decent weekly mileage as the top of my right foot has been aching/swelling for a few days and seems bad.

Week 4 of 12 (Borneo 09)

Total Mileage: 109km in 5 days

Mon

AM: 20km barefoot

PM: 7km (1 warm-up, 6 steady)

Tues

AM: 4km fartlek

PM: 20km (7.5slow, 5fast, 7.5slow)

Wed

PM: 20km (12 fartlek, 8slow)

Thurs

PM: 28km (21km hilly)

Fri

Rest

Sat

10km barefoot (Hilly, 3km steep)

Starting the week strong with my longest barefoot run yet, with some minor consequences though at the soles. Legs feeling good and well rested, ready for some good speed sessions again.

Am also toying with the idea of running my first barefoot marathon a little sooner than planned after being inspired by BarefootJulian, a sub 3 hour barefoot marathoner who completed his first barefoot 42.195 in 2:55 after 3 months of barefoot running.

Thursday's run reminded me of my first LSD 4 months ago . 21km was 10 x 2.1km around a hilly asphalt course. Back then on my 9th round, my knees felt like they were going to break. Got the usual black toenail from the downslopes but I must say this run was a breeze compared to several months ago.

Decided to add another rest day on Friday as I will be hitting those steep inclines again. Yes, those hills that destroyed me for almost an entire week. And barefoot this time round, so quantity would be subjective as this is my first trail run barefoot.

Good barefooting on Saturday. Did only half of the steep inclines compared to 2 weeks ago. Being well rested and probably due to some slight improvement, I should ready for another fantastic week ahead. Moderate mileage this week, but a well balanced one.

Week 3 of 12 (Borneo 09)

Total mileage: 40km in 2 days

Thurs: 20km slow

Fri: 20km faster than slow

Was down and out since last Saturday's hill running for 4 days. Basically almost every muscle and joint ached in the legs, especially the quadriceps and the knees.

Only 30mins of barefoot running on warm asphalt on Thursday. Was glad I stopped short of the initial plan of 1 hour, as the heat and rough surface is a good formula for blisters. Trying to walk barefooted whenever I step out of home.

Was asked by my hill running friend for another session on Saturday but I politely declined. The hills will do more damage than help for my marathon preparation. But I am very sure I will be back regularly to tackle those steep slopes after my marathon; will need them to become a more balanced runner.

No training on Saturday for me, a long weekend rest. Planning on coming back in full force on Monday.