The Sounds of Slience

Sometimes I just need to get away from human noise. When I refer to human noise, I mean, noises that are the direct result of humans - voices, cars, hammers, jets, phones, etc. I turn to the sounds of silence or as close to silence as I can get. I find this silence on the trails. The only things "human" about the trails are related to me - the rhythm of my breathing, the pitter patter of my shoes hitting the stones, sand, and roots. You can open up your ears on the trail - the birds chirping and flirting with one another, the little creatures rustling through the brush, the wind playing the leaves, creating nature's white noise. All playing at once like nature's symphony.

This run was special. I ran 5 miles to the trail and spent the next 4 miles at nature's concert and then 5 miles back. It was a solid 14 miler with a rythm like I was the conductor of the symphony. I picked up the pace once I came off the trail. The roads are still rurual at that point but there is human noise. My last 5 miles were much faster than my first 9 miles. I don't run many negative splits, if any, but I am finding that a good relaxing, easy start affords me a strong, well-paced, energizing finish. I just now need to remember this for races!

Overall, I had a solid 3 days of weekend running putting in 25 miles for 3 days and 40 for the week. The most encouraging aspect was that each of the 3 weekend days was strong and relaxed. That is how I like to run, strong and relaxed.

The body as well as the mind need the sounds of silence every once in awhile. When mine do, I head for the trails!