Conquering A Fear

There are many days, and it is probably quite obvious on this blog, where I question training for the JFK 50 miler.  As mentioned several times before, I am dreading the over 26 miles along the C&O canal towpath.  I find it boring and I can still vividly remember running Freedom's Run in 2010 and just dying to get off that thing.  Please give me some rolling hills!  Usually, a good way to conquer something I'm dreading is to blast some loud music and power through it.  This was my game plan for the dreaded 'Road Across the Sky' in Highlands Sky...and it worked.

However, for JFK, there is a strict no-headphones policy.  Suck.  I ran the Gettysburg marathon music free and it wasn't that bad...but I had my rolling hills and I wasn't trying to force myself through 50 miles.

On Saturday, a running friend and I were up and at it early making the drive to the nearest point where we could hop on the towpath.  20 miles later and I conquered a fear of running long on that damn towpath sans music.  My friend and I talked a little bit during the run but mostly we were both in our zone.  Also, we both sadly realized how much shorter the days are getting.  We got to the path and it was still pitch black outside. We didn't have headlamps and the first couple of miles were a little rough not being able to see anything!

I'm dreading that section a little less now.  Of course, that was until I realized that come race day, I'll have to do the run we did last week, what I did Saturday plus 15 more miles.  This is the first long, long run that I've done in awhile and while overall it was pretty good, I was quite ready for it to be over in the last few miles.

Last week, Oliver was my Miles and Mutts running buddy and he got me moving on tired legs.  For some reason, I still attempted to run on Monday (Mondays are usually a cross-train day) since it was Labor Day and I had the day off and I thought Hannah could use a run.  She didn't seem up for it so my legs got some rest and the rest of the week looked like this:

Monday:  1 mile, run with Hannah.  She was lazy, I was lazy.  This turned into a walk.
Tuesday:  5 miles treadmill followed by 4 miles with the dogs in the morning.  3ish miles in the evening with Hannah (oh, no, now I'm incorporating 2-a-days with the dog!) at the rail trail to prep her for the upcoming 5K.  She didn't do so well with other people and dogs on the path and was easily distracted.  I seem to always forget how comfortable she is running in our neighborhood which doesn't translate as well to new locations and race settings.
Wednesday:  5 miles
Thursday:  4 miles treadmill followed by 4 miles with the dogs in the morning
Friday:  2 miles with Miles and Mutts dogs (it was hot, new dogs in the mix!)
Saturday:  20 miles canal towpath
Sunday:  4 miles with the dogs followed by 3 miles with Zeus for Miles and Mutts.  My hip hurts a bit from the long run.  Suck.

More hounds into the Miles and Mutts pack!

Happy dogs, post-run Friday evening