November always seems to be a bit of a 'down' time for me. Not sure why, but I think it may be due to the imminent onset of summer. The night-time temperatures creep up to low 20s and the days peak at the low 30's and the humidity starts to build. Plus the mornings get lighter earlier - you can read in natural light at 5am. Every year it takes a few weeks for my body to get used to this and I struggle to exercise, sleep or motivate myself. It's all too easy to get back after work and just collapse on the sofa with a book and a cold beer, making the most of the evening breezes blowing through the flat. In the middle of summer that's all that anyone can do, but at this time of year my fellow Australians don't notice it much and keep on keeping on whilst us ex-pats pant and sweat to keep up - or just give up and veg out.
There's always a couple of weeks of 'early summer' in late October / early November where it seems intolerable, I can't believe I have to endure this for 3 more months and in my head I start to book tickets back to the Old Country. Then there's a lull in the conditions and I start to acclimatise. The fans come out, the hair gets shaved off (not happened yet this year but it will do soon), I think about getting the air-con in the car degassed (but never quite get around to it) and I start being sensible about exercising in the heat.
So last night I went out for a run after work. I've been running once every fortnight or so recently, but decided it was time to make it more interesting and go for a trail run at Daisy instead. Trail running is a secret vice of mine - I really enjoy it, although I have to keep it quiet because my bikey friends can't understand why you'd go to the effort of driving out to singletrack and not take a bike with you. I think it's also much better for you than jogging on the street - the varying conditions on the forest floor mean that you're not always impacting the same muscle groups every step.
All in all it was a great night - that is once the headache went away, the aching subsided and I could walk again.
There's always a couple of weeks of 'early summer' in late October / early November where it seems intolerable, I can't believe I have to endure this for 3 more months and in my head I start to book tickets back to the Old Country. Then there's a lull in the conditions and I start to acclimatise. The fans come out, the hair gets shaved off (not happened yet this year but it will do soon), I think about getting the air-con in the car degassed (but never quite get around to it) and I start being sensible about exercising in the heat.
So last night I went out for a run after work. I've been running once every fortnight or so recently, but decided it was time to make it more interesting and go for a trail run at Daisy instead. Trail running is a secret vice of mine - I really enjoy it, although I have to keep it quiet because my bikey friends can't understand why you'd go to the effort of driving out to singletrack and not take a bike with you. I think it's also much better for you than jogging on the street - the varying conditions on the forest floor mean that you're not always impacting the same muscle groups every step.
When I finish a street run my shins are sore for days afterwards, but when I finish a trail run the ache seems to spread itself throughout my entire body. Particularly my thighs - presumably I'm lifting my legs higher to step over and around things, plus there's a lot more climbing to be done - but also my arms & shoulders, I'm guessing because there's a bit more balance and drive required from my upper body.
Normally I run 5km in around 30-35 minutes on ths street. Last night I ran just over 6km in 50 minutes, and my body was reminding me about that extra last km all the way to the end. Plus it was 26 degrees and humid, so despite loading up with water I still finished with a dehydration headache.
I got home and after cooling down I helped out with dinner - roo steaks on the barbie with chargrilled zucchini and fennel. And a couple of cold beers to help with the temperature control. Perfect.
All in all it was a great night - that is once the headache went away, the aching subsided and I could walk again.
No comments:
Post a Comment