More Bird Crap

The birds were out in force for today's run. Honestly - is anyone else having this many issues with birds or is it really just me? Today's run route took me by a slightly boggy area with lots of cattails. Guess which birds like to nest in cattails? Yup. Red winged blackbirds. My biggest fans. No joke - I was attacked by a swarm of them this time. I'm talking mosquitoes at feeding time here. There were at least six circling around me and doing mock charges and dives. Fortunately it only lasted for about 100 yards. On mile 14 several more took turns diving at me from telephone wires as I ran past another forest preserve area. I can't wait until the starlings start swarming in the fall - then it will be truly like running through an Alfred Hitchcock movie...

Tomorrow I'll be biking out to a town called Maple Park - the same route where the attacks first began a couple of years ago. I'm anticipating more. I should bring my Lacrosse stick for the ride. The net will make a great bird swatter.

Also - had another falcon sighting this morning at around mile 10. They are extremely rare in this area so it was quite a treat. He too was being chased by a couple of smaller birds. I had to stop running because I was laughing so hard at this.

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Workout Summary

2800 yard swim - 50 minutes (yesterday)

15 mile run - 2:20 - LSD

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Weekly Summary
Took Tuesday off to recover from Triple T. My brick workout on Thursday went well - good energy and good form all around. They're finally done renovating the health club and it was good to get back to "normal".

Friday long swim went good as well - no soreness in the shoulders like I was having during the Triple T swims. I think the wetsuit throws off my form a little bit - instead of using my lats to pull I use my shoulders more. Without the wetsuit my pull comes from my lats and I get no soreness whatsoever. Something to focus on during my next open water swim.

For today's long run I started playing with nutrition - going out with four 8 oz water bottles - three filled with Cytomax. Also took along some Accel gels. I'm done with the Accel gels. I came home and threw my remaining gels away. They work well - the problem is they're impossible to get open when you're sweaty. I ended up biting a hole in the bottom and squeezing it out from there. Not worth the hassle.

The run itself went very well - aside from the multiple bird attacks. I do think it's time to replace the shoes though - I noticed my form felt smoother if I rotated my ankles out a bit so I think the arch support in the shoes is shot.

Looking forward to my bike ride tomorrow - last long bike before TOMRV next weekend.