A Salute to "the Purist!"

Today I had a 5.5 mile run to complete my goal of 50 miles this week.  Around 2.5 or 3 miles into the run, I was running toward a rain shower quickly moving up the road in my direction.  I welcomed the rain, but I feared the damage to my Ipod.  I tried to protect it as much as possible.  This meant running without my tunes.  I tried not to be deterred.  Ok, the purist say they enjoy the sounds.... I listen to my breathing....I do not appreciate this noise.  Don't get my wrong, yes, I am very thankful for every breath that I take, but hearing the in out, in out, in out of my breathing is not calming, comforting, or enjoyable.  I notice the birds singing....nice for about a half second.  I hear the splash of my feet hitting the soggy pavement.  Splat, splat, splat, splat - again I am not amused.  I think my landing is too hard.    I also hear cars passing and splashing water, I hear window a/c units, I hear a generator running on a boat that is parked in the bayou, I hear dogs barking,  I hear the rain.  Quickly I turn from noticing all the sounds to wondering????? How do the "purist" find this so great?  I can NOT figure it out!  Thankfully, after about a 1.5 miles, I no longer need to try to figure it out.  The rain has passed and with the very light sprinkle, I am safe to put my Ipod back on.  Once again, I am thankful, really thankful for my hearing.  Thankful to hear my tunes.  It's through my tunes that I find my joy in running.  
I salute "the purist" who can find enjoyment in running with the sounds of nature, because I am NOT amused.

I had a great week of training.  As mentioned, I started the week with the Labor Day 5k, I also ran again Monday pm on the treadmill to start the week with 10 miles.
The rest of the week went as follows:

Tues. Sept. 7th - 9.5 miles with Tracie behind Anatomies in The Trace subdivision. 8:58 pace for the run with some breaks.
Wed. - walk 30 min, core work, stretch
Thurs - 11 miles am with Terri (she ran 13), Vicki (she ran 6), Dawn - ran 8. I averaged around 10:00 pace.
Fri.- 14 miles - @ Canebrake - 2 miles at 9:38 pace, 12 miles with/ behind Tracie & Michelle. I averaged 9:10 for the 12 miles. Happy with that pace after the 11 on Thurs. Glad to have T. & M. out front. It helped me to push, and maintain my pace. This was a tough run. I started at 6:40 am, and it was HOT and HUMID. (ice bath after this one)
Sat. - 5.5 miles - easy - 10:00 avg. 8 X 15 second sprints near the end of the run.
Ending the week with 50 miles, 1 yoga class @ Spiers Fitness, a little core work, a few weights, some stretching, some push-ups - finding it hard to fit all the "extras" in like I want to, but I am happy with this weeks training. Last 50+ mile wk was at the end of March.

Tues., Thurs. and Fri - I was tired.  I think I had an adjustment week.   The good news is...today I felt good on the run, I ran slow, but no longer tired.  Now I have Sunday off, (off from running - Sunday will be a walk day).  Also, next week is a "step back" week in my training.  It's actually my last week prior to my official start of my 12 wk program for the Rocket City Marathon.  I am excited about the rest week, but I am VERY excited to finally get started with my training program.   (90 days until the Rocket City Marathon, Huntsville, AL)