suffering

The dog days are here! It's been in the 90's in CT and very humid. I never really mind this weather until I have a run like I did yesterday.

I had a small window in the afternoon to get in some training. Denny White gave me a call to see if I wanted to get in an open water swim at Pinewood Lake in Trumbull. His friend and doctor owns a house on the private lake that sits directly across from the beach. We usually swim across to the beach and then back (approx. 3000 yds). Neither of us wore wetsuits, which was good considering that at some parts of the swim, the water felt so warm that I think I was actually sweating. The swim felt nice though, and the lake was peaceful. I hit the beach on the other side and climbed onto a small dock to wait for Den. There was nobody at the beach, except for a few guys dressed in plain clothes that were busy setting something up. The parking lot was filled with old 1950 style cars. Denny swims up and informs me that they are using the beach and lake for part of a movie shoot and that they must not be finished yet. He mentions there are some famous actors in it but hasn't a clue who they are. We head back across to the docs house. He was home when we returned and informed us that the two main actors are Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. I didn't think, or would never hope, that is was possible to have a Titanic II.

After the swim, I planned on stopping at the rail trail right down the road in Trumbull. I headed out and nobody was in the trail - it's usually quite occupied with walkers and runners. 2 miles in I began getting lightheaded and slowed down my pace. I then struggled through the remaining 6 miles. I should have turned at the 2 mile mark where I was lightheaded but I can be a stubborn fool at times (most times according to my wife). I was sweating like Costanza after the Kung Pow upon finishing this run. I think that I was more calorie depleted than overheated. I think I was actually bonking more than anything. The day before I ran in the heat of the day and felt great. Sometimes though, I'm still depleted from the day previous. Usually I experience one or two of these days per year - these real suffer sessions. The good thing about them is that they somehow physiologically help me acclimate quicker, once recovered.

I was able to weasle my way into the full Timberman 1/2 in August. I have heard great things about this course. If anyone has raced it and has any feedback on the course, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers,

EH