Well it is April Fools Day after all.
Wednesday was a rest day from training, I had to attend a function that night anyway, a dining in with 3RAR, paratroopers, so you can imagine what that was like. I managed to turn the week end into an extra long one by taking thursday off. My lovely wife had to work, bless her cotton socks, so I was going to hit the trails again.
I dug around in the shed, and rummaged through cupboards looking for a hydration pack. I found quite a few, from discount specials from sports warehouses, to name brand (CamelBak), to cobbled together solutions. The cobbled together solution consisted of a decent daypack (Modan I think) with an articulated suspension system and good hip belt. I liked how it placed the load on the hips, not the shoulders when you ran. It had an internal pocket for a bladder, but wasn't ideal. As I was only planning a short run I opted for a small Camelbak. Now to find a bladder. Had I realy failed to clean that many damn bladders?
Eventually I got it sorted, with my VFFs' in the small mesh pocket on the back, and a gel, I found languishing in the back of a cupboard from my days over a year ago when my long run was 30Km and filled with excrutiating knee pain.
Out the house, turn left down a trail, and a small goat like track takes me to the Prince Henry Clifftop Walk just before Lyre Bird Del, a nice little waterfall. I turned right and started off, it again felt great to be out barefoot, the track was damp and cool. After passing Gordon Falls I started to come accross a few hikers out for the day.
Ahead there was a young couple trying desperately to not get there shoes wet by stepping from rock to rock holding each other for balance. They looked up and saw me padding and splashing towards them along the water logged track.
"You're crazy," the guy said.
"At least you don't have to worry about getting them wet," I offered back.
A little later a nice Scandinavian tourist said with concern, "Have you lost your shoes?"
"No, I'm fine thanks," sarcasm on hold due to her genuine concern.
It again felt great to to be out running over these trails in bare feet, in fact too fine. I had planned to just repeat the 40 minute loop I had use for my first bare foot run but the exhilaration got the better of me.
At one point a fellow said to me, "Barefeet?"
"It's the way we were born," I replied cheerily.
"what about everything else you're wearing?"
"If I was naked I'm sure your wife would complain, I know mine does."
I didn't want to stop, I just kept going, past Leura cascades, turned left to go down via Federal Pass through Leura Forrest, and then on to the Grand Stairway, a climb of 970 steps that ascends from the valley up the Three Sisters.
This little jaunt took 2 hours. Once at the top I was famished, I put my paleo principles on hold and grabed two cinnamon donuts, a gatoraide, donned the VFF's and headed of on a trot home, a 5.5KM road run.
The stairs summit to the left of the three peaks 
This was a little demoralising 
Some of the hand cut stepsOh what an April fool.
It was too far. My calves are no where near conditioned enought. All that stepping down on to stairs constructed by securing a rough hewn board with star pickets, filled with dirt that errodes away, so you lower continuously onto a 1.5 inch part of your forefoot pad with no support for your heel. That combined with the oxygen debt of the climb out was too much.
The next day I hobbled out of bed, the pads of my feet were tender, my calves stiff. Friday was definately a rest day, maybe a gentle walk with our dog Eddie up to a nice cafe. With activity the stiffness and pain eased, but not enough to consider running.
I'm sure this has slowed my progress, but what a great lesson. Things I could do easily with my old heel-toe shod foot strike were beyond me. It showed how much my body had deviated from the ideal running animal.
It will take time, it won't happen overnight, but it will happen.
I will return to that running ideal.
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