On Monday I could not sleep so went out for a run at around 05h30 in the dark on one of my normal runs using a head-torch.  It's quite a different way to run as the limited light means you need to tread a little more carefully.  As I had more time than normal for a run I decided to run to the little stream where I knew I could get a cold water dip in.  And as it was so dark once I got to the woods I decided to strip off my shorts to get maximum cold exposure and got around 10k of the 14 k run in that state.  It was not that cold (maybe 5C) but it was a little misty.

Once at the stream I took the plunge and spent around 5 minutes in the water and then carried on with my run.  I dont know what the temperature of the stream was but it did not feel much colder than the air and my body got used to the temperature quite quickly.

I warmed up a bit on the run home and then took a cold shower to wash the mud off me.  I did not shiver much on the run, swim or shower but as I was warming up afterwards I did shiver quite a lot.

I am away from home for a few days now and have been pursuing some more cold weather and cold water activities that have been interesting.  I am further north in the UK than my home town and the water  out of the tap is definitely much colder.  So today I also took a long cold bath after I woke up.

I managed around 20 minutes.  The shivering started at around 8 minutes and lasted quite a while.  I managed to keep my head under the water for a few minutes too which is an improvement over past times I have tried that.  I noticed that towards the end my heart rate had slowed a bit but did not have chance to see how much slower it was.

I shivered quite a lot afterwards while warming up but my hands and feet were OK and seemed to recover mobility quite quickly. 

The weather is due to get colder tonight so I may try and get out for a run in the morning in below freezing temps around where I am staying.  I will let you know the outcome. 

Back in Circulation

I know it has been around 5 weeks since my last post but I have an excuse - I was on vacation.

The pic on the right was my everyday view (yes, sunny skies, >30C every day and cool, clear water for swimming in). Sorry for the poor quality but it was taken on my phone rather than with my digital camera. Still working on some more pics to post here in the coming days.

Spent 3 weeks in Greece replenishing my Vitamin D content (i.e. nude sunbathing to get an all-over tan). Also did a fair amount of walking, running and swimming (a lot of that was done naked too!) as well as trying to not eat too much (mostly clothed to eat, unfortunately!).

The effort seems to have paid off as since I have been back in the UK I have seen a slight improvement in my time for running my standard route and also am less breathless during the latter stages of my run - also I am managing to run the complete route now too which I found very difficult before.

It has also had an effect on my weight - which, depending on when I weigh myself, occasionally shows below the 66kg mark (today was 65.9kg so very close to my self-imposed goal weight of 65kg). There is definitely not a lot of fat left on my body but I don't have the tools to get an accurate body fat assessment.

Am still running shirtless all the time and do not intend to run with a shirt on through the winter either. Looking for a local running partner in the hope of improving my fitness further.

The cold showers are more like luke-warm showers at the moment, but still have one after my run to cool me down as I am normally very hot when I get back after around 40 minutes of solid running. Haven't measured the water temp since I have been back but it is certainly not that cold.

Till the next post......

Day13 - Snow!

Well, Snow overnight - most in nearly 20 years they say (about 8 inches here)

Start the day with a barefoot walk in the snow in the garden wrapped only in a towel then come inside for a cold shower (5 minutes). Get dressed and down to work. No exercise, didn't need to warm up.

Boring day really. Went for a walk tonight in the snow (9pm) - about and hour of which 20 mins was shirtless. Found an open space in the field where I stripped off completely and rolled and lay in the snow for a while. Covered my body too by scraping the snow from around and let the cold soak in. Great feeling, have to do that again, and soon.

Heading off on a business trip so dont know if I'll get a chance to post tomorrow.