Barefoot in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

Hello Barefooters,

Singapore by Headlamp

Rainy Indonesia

God is good and by His Grace I was able to run in a brand new country this month:  Indonesia.  I also ran once again in both Malaysia and Singapore this past month as well as many runs right here in Indiana.  The middle of the month was consumed by a 10 day business trip to Asia but this allowed me to get away from the rainy Indiana weather...only to find even more rain over in Asia!  While I basically went to all the same places as last year on my Asian trip, this time we stayed overnight on the Island of Batam (Indonesia) which allowed me the chance to get my first ever run in that country...fourteen barefoot countries, and counting!   

 

Malacca Long Run

It was a pretty uneventful trip overall, but I always enjoy the early morning headlamp runs (wherever I am) to help reset the body clock and overcome the jet-lag.  That being said, I've been back for over a week and feel like I'm just now getting back to normal sleeping habits.  Linda and the girls are now out of school so we are getting fully into the summer mode...hopefully I can still get up early enough to get in some long runs before work each day. 

Last week was my biggest week of the year so far mileage wise (45 miles) and this was also my biggest month of the year (147 miles).  I seem to have finally gotten out of my winter-funk and can string together some longer runs...so far this week I've already run a 13 miler and a 9 miler...so this morning I slacked off with a 1 miler.  Sometimes you just have to rest a little!

Welcome back to Indiana - stubbed toe!

A couple of days after getting back from Asia I was on a nice 13 miler and feeling pretty good when all of a sudden I dragged the left toe (again) just slightly and stubbed it pretty good...really made me mad too since it has been over a year since I did it last time!!  This picture is actually 24 hours later but it was still throbbing pretty good the next day.  Even though I had this injury, I never took a day off and it never really affected my running (although I have been a lot more CAREFUL lately!)


I also got the pool open once I got back from Asia and was pleased that it only took a couple of days to get going (chemically) with no major equipment repairs this year...although I did find a few tadpoles living in the cover since I got a later than normal start this year with the business trip and also the cooler weather.  This also changes my morning routine as I'm able to dive into the pool after each morning run...although 70 degrees is a little cool for a morning dip...hopefully warmer temps are just around the corner.

Pool is open - green to blue in 48 hours!

We didn't go to the Indy Race (as usual) but did have a nice relaxing Memorial Day Weekend.  On Monday we took the girls over to Turkey Run State Park and got in a couple of nice trail hikes despite the huge crowd which apparently had the same idea! 

Memorial Day Hike at Turkey Run SP

The "strenuous" trail was quite nice and offered some great views between the 3 different wooden ladders which are part of this particular trail.  However, the most strenuous part was waiting behind the 3 dozen other people at the top and bottom of each ladder.  But, all in all, it was a very enjoyable day with excellent weather. 

Our family is looking forward to a nice relaxing summer.

God Bless,


Barefoot Dan


(May Mileage = 147.4 miles)

Barefoot in Belize, Honduras, Mexico, oh...and Nevada too!

Hello Barefooters,

Windy Day in Costa Maya, MX

A rainy April in Indiana has come to an end...and it is still raining!  But what else should we expect for April?  Actually we have had some really good weather this month, although you wouldn't know it from looking at my mileage.  I've sort of been taking it easy and just getting in some minimal miles each day so I didn't have to post a ZERO!  (reminder to all--this is a good reason to keep a running log--it does provide daily motivation!)  Looking back over my past monthly totals, this was my lowest monthly total in over two years!  But it feels good to take it easy and not feel like I have to kill myself every day with miles...


The month started out on the 25th anniversary cruise which was fantastic.  We left out of Tampa with stops in Roatan Honduras, Belize City Belize, Costa Maya Mexico and Cozumel Mexico.  We had only been to one of these stops before so it was a big adventure.  We travelled with my brother Dave and his wife Annette who we had shared our wedding day with back in 1992.  So when we got to Belize we found a nice secluded place and renewed our wedding vows.  It was a neat experience.  Time flies when you're having fun and we're praying God blesses us with another 25 years as well.


Each day on the ship I was able to get in a run on the deck of the ship.  The track on 10th deck of Royal Carribean's "Rhapsody of the Seas" is advertised to be a quarter of a mile but my Garmin shows it to be a little short.  Each day (Monday thru Saturday at least) I would go up and get in 12 barefoot laps on the semi-rubberized surface.  Each day was quite different with the surface sometimes wet, sometimes dry and the conditions sometimes hot, sometimes cool and almost always a little windy.  Some of the days we were already "in port" and other days we were out at sea, so it was always interesting to see what my Garmin GPS watch would give me for the supposedly 3 mile total.  Based on the in-port days I believe the 12 laps gave me 2.72 actual miles but the three "days at sea" totals were 8.16, 7.72 and 3.91 miles, each of which depended on how fast the boat was moving on those days.  And on the particularly windy day coming into Costa Maya, the 3 miles also felt like a run through a mountain pass due to the pitching and rolling of the ship and the brutal "stop you in your tracks" headwind on one side of the ship followed by a "knock you off your feet" tailwind on the opposite side of the ship!  But I did appreciate being able to get in at least this minimum amount of exercise each day, since I was basically gorging myself the other 23 and half hours of the day on the excellent food which was constantly available.

Business Trip to Reno NV

The only other travelling I did this month was a trip out to Reno NV to visit a supplier mid month.  This afforded me some cooler, low humidity runs in the mornings, although I didn't get too adventurous and pretty much kept to the 1 mile loop of concrete sidewalks around the hotel.  Still, I did log a twelve miler the last day there before flying back...sadly, this was my longest run of the month!! 


The rest of the time back in Indiana I concentrated on lawn care and some outside projects including cutting down 3 trees...with probably still about 3 more trees to cut plus some other basic tree trimming activities.  My golf league also started up in April...so see, I have lots of excuses for my low monthly total!  Maybe I will pick up the pace a little in May (or maybe not!)


Enjoy the Warmer Weather!


Barefoot Dan
(April Mileage = 86 miles)