Silent in Sligo

The Wednesday morning long run. An Ironman training staple for this endurance athlete. The idea is NOT to put a long run and long bike on a Saturday/Sunday and toast you. Do the long run on a Wednesday and then a long bike on a Sunday. This gives you time to recover and also to get other workouts in between the marathon sessions.

Yesterday, I was heading out for a 12 miler. I was to meet my running buddy at around mile 5 of the run and she would stay with me until mile 11. It was still dark when I got out and it was quiet. Definitely humid, however. I was drenched with sweat 1 mile into the run and was glad I had lugged two 8 ounce Fuel Belt water bottles with me. I would be passing water fountains at Dennis Avenue and Wheaton Regional Park, too.

The meeting point was at Dennis but no sign of the buddy. I slipped into Chad's Chambers real quick to pee and got back out on the path in a jiffy. Still no sign. So, I ran off towards Wheaton as the HR had slipped down under 100. Looked like I was flying solo.

Long, solo runs are actually pretty peaceful. And, there are a lot of deer in Sligo and Wheaton Regional. I saw at least 10 deer, some of them little fawns. I wished I had brought a camera as they didn't run off and I could have gotten some nice pix. It was very quiet save for the distant sound of traffic. Quite serene, actually.

The humidity wasn't much of an issue for me other than the sweat. My shoes got squishy and my arms rubbing against the sides of my chest would make funny sounds sometimes. When finished, I had knocked out 12 miles in 107 minutes. Average heart rate was 136.

I'm heading up to Deep Creek Lake this evening to join in some training exercises. I plan on lifting some weights today and I have GOT TO GET IN A POOL. My swimming is already off from 2006 as evidenced by my swim times at the training tri and the NJ Tri. I just don't know if I'll have time today and I'm unclear on the swimming commitment this weekend at DCL. Everyone seems teed up for biking and running... I don't know if there is the same willingness to get time in the water.