Today's run

The air was very smokey but I think I have gotten used to breathing in smoke over the past few days. The sun was bright orange and you could look directly at it without hurting your eyes.

I followed one path I'd never been down before, but I guess sometimes paths just lead nowhere.

I didn't want to go down too many other little trails because I was not sure if a crazy girl in a red skirt running off into the bush would look like a firebug. Smoke was still smoldering from a fire two days ago.

Fires

The past week has been a national tragedy. Last Saturday Melbourne reached a record temperature of 46.4 degrees. Christmas Hills and Kinglake which I have posted about and visited several times since, have been burnt to the ground, as have other towns. Homes and lives have been lost. Everything. Gone.

The Maroondah Dam run has been postponed to March but I have a feeling it could still be cancelled then. I can hardly imagine the trails being cleaned up by then when there are more important things to tend to.

Even locally I find it hard to run around my local streets and trails. The smoke makes it difficult to breathe. It does make for an interesting sunrise though.

Donate to the Victorian 2009 Bushfire Appeal via the Red Cross.

Wildlife Victoria also need donations to help wildlife who have suffered burns.

The RSPCA is providing free vet care for people's pets. They need financial assistance too.

In times like this, we need a picture that has been doing the internet rounds. Sam, the famous koala:

I haven't been running very much lately. Three days in a row last week saw temperatures at 43-45 degrees. I did try 1 or 2 runs in the morning when it was a 'cool' 35 but really there is no point. I am taking this as an opportunity to rest my achillies (not that resting makes any difference) and do core workouts infront of the air con.

I did go for an unbelievably slow run this morning. I've now taken out the heal lift and the insole in the Nike Frees. After 2km my achillies warmed up and I felt almost no pain. The Frees are much better without anything inside them, and I think trails will be better with my feet closer to the ground. I still dream of finding the perfect pair of flats for trails and long runs, but I think I only think about shoes so much when I am in some kind of pain. Stretch and ice, stretch and ice. That's what I'm doing lots of.

It is interesting over these past few days with little or no running, my weight has actually dropped 2kg. Sure, I'm eating slightly less, but I am also eating gelato and vegan ice cream, and on Friday my boss handed out beers to everyone coz it was so hot. So less running + icecream + beer = -2kg. I think when I run regularly that maybe my body holds onto water more. I don't know if there's anything scientific to back that up, but that's just the feeling I get.