Strong wind blowing north to south, so set off at a cracking pace. Running back up into the wind and blowing sand was harder though. Had a short rest and then repeated the loop but at a slower pace on purpose. Worse the Evoskins for the first 3 quarters of the total distance but they started to hurt my left foot so I pulled them off for the last quarter and ran barefoot.
First run in Evoskins on tarmac. Was going to re-run my first run 2 years ago today (2.7 miles) but after half a mile my feet (mainly between toes, and a bit of ball of left foot) were sore so I cut it short and just did the first loop. Running in the evoskins was good, very very flexible, like barefoot but without the sensitivity in the sole of feet. You can feel every twig or small stone you step on. No probleams running forefoot landing, and was even letting the heel just touch down too.
(again forgot running hr strap so had to use swim watch and strap)
Frst proper openwater swim. I did a 56 mile bike ride at 6am, so had spent the rest of the day lounging about at the beach. The sea at Barry Island was literally dead clam, barely a ripple at the beach. I wanted to be dressed similar to how I will be at the Llanelli tri in 2 weeks (no gloves or shoes allowed) so I put on my jammers, the tri-wetsuit, a silicon hat, big wide goggles and that was it (gps watch under hat to track swim). The water was cold on my feet, and hands, but otherwise OK.
Took a moment or two to properly get my head underwater, so I did breastroke for a little while, then finally got going with crawl but had to breath every other stroke as it was so cold I was gasping. After a few minutes I managed to start breathing every three strokes like I do in the pool and it was OK after that.
The biggest problem was direction! I tried keeping the beach to my left as I breathed on that side, but every now and then hit the bottom with my arm (so silty couldnt see beyond my elbow, if that) - too close to the beach. Every now and then I stopped crawl and did a little breaststoke, just to get my head out of the water (though dont recall having a particularly cold head). Got to the other end of gthe beach quicker than I expected, touched the rocks and turned around... and nearly stopped! There was quite a current swirling around at that end, but nothing serious. I soon got over near the beach again and headed back. Took my rests going back.
When I got out my hands were purple, but didnt feel too bad. Showers there are great, but very very cold without a wetsuit on.
Anyway, onto the run. I did it an hour or so after the swim, and it was mainly to try out the inov8 evoskins I got cheap. They're very good, by far the closed feel to barefoot I've tried, without the direct sensations of the tiny stones etc into the sole of feet. I ran into the water, got them full of sand etc and no problems (even wore them to walk back to the car and drive home). The run was fine.
