Another Good Long Run Today and a Cleansing Ceremony

First, you need to go look at the pics of my Tiki Hut and Assorted Other Important Things Cleansing Ceremony! As per the set description, I received the copper pyramid 2 days ago from my friend Susan who lives near Vegas. I knew right away what I needed to do with it, only I didn't have time until this morning (Tiki Hut pics are usually taken quite early in the day).

I had my alarm set for 4:30AM, but I woke up at 3AM and figured I'd just get up and get going, so I had time to cleanse the Tiki Hut and other stuff.

I actually started running around 5:45AM (at Waterfall Glen), and it was nice and cool--maybe 54. I was even a bit chilled as I started out, but this is ideal running weather, so it wasn't long before I was quite comfortable. I ended up doing 2 out-and-backs--the first was a little over 10 miles and the second 4+, for a total of almost 15 miles. My legs were toasted when I started, as I've been hitting it hard for many weeks now. But the coolness helped, and I didn't feel that badly on the first out-and-back. On my way back in on that one, I stopped to talk to a birder, and asked what she was seeing (I had already seen another 2 Indigo Buntings). She told me she's conducting a bird count based on hearing songs and sightings, and she listed off a bunch of birds that are in there. One she mentioned is cuckoo! So now I need to spot one myself.

I saw a couple of deer, about 6 packs of cross country boys and girls (and I was running well whenever they came by, THANK GOD), and a group of 3 runners where I know one of them. I guess I'm just in 100% HTFU mode, because I showed my fist with the HTFU bracelet and yelled at them, "HARDEN THE FUCK UP, PEOPLE!" I was smiling as I said it though, because I was already about 9 miles into my run.

I made today's run harder by running to the Mile 5 marker on my first out-and-back. Mile 5 is a lot of downhill, which means you climb out of this hole on the way back. Yes, it's still hard, no matter when I do it! After that, I noticed that my hamstrings felt pretty shot, but surprisingly, not my quads. Oh well!

Near the end of the run, I saw 2 girls with these fabric things that I thought were flags, but they were draping them over the foliage on the side of the trail. I stopped to ask what they were doing, and they said they were trying to capture ticks! I assumed deer ticks, and they said yes. Deer ticks that carry Lyme disease are quite small--I've seen many regulation dog ticks in there. Speaking of dogs, there were several totally well behaved ones in there that I stopped to pet. Katy, the Irish Setter, and Dupres, the border collie mix. I told the girls that I rather despise ticks, but I do realize the ecological niche they serve.

When I finished, there were two State Police parked right near my car, and I asked one of them to take the picture of me you see. Most people have no qualms about taking pics, but they seemed a little surprised. I told them it was for my blog. Maybe I should have said it was for evidence?

As usual, I drank Coke while I ran, and I guess I'm doing better than I thought I would be by this point in the day, because I've been able to not only stay awake at work, but also get in 55' of lifting! Tomorrow I am taking the day off from work and doing a 3800m TT swim and then a 1:30 ride. Looking at my training schedule, I'm riding Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday! Lots of riding--just the way I like it--also 2 brick runs on the weekend, so this is plenty intense training if you ask me!

But I'm feeling pretty good and I think some of the "cleansing" I did this morning is already working :)

Thanks, Susan!