Today's 19 mile run took me to many familiar places - some of which I have visited recently, others I haven't visited in over a month. I started up the Mount Vernon Trail, headed across the George Mason Bridge to Hains Point, ran up the Rock Creek Park trails into Georgetown, took the Key Bridge back to Rosslyn, and down the Mount Vernon Trail where I turned around and came home when I saw the fork in the road for the Four Mile Run trail.
I desperately needed today's long run to build my confidence. I was nervous going into it for a couple of reasons. First, my last long weekend run was extraordinarily mentally tough. Second, my most recent run, my Thursday 8 miler, was cut to a 5 miler because of a trots attack on the trail. It was the only run this season that I had not finished to completion. That being said, I put those episodes behind me on these familiar trails. I had received a quote in my inbox from Runners World that I would hold in the back of my mind: "Relish the bad training runs. Without them it's difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones." -Pat Teske. I decided that, even if my 19 miler didn't turn out as planned, I would take it as a learning experience. That being said, it is my longest run so far, so I had hoped it would turn out alright.
I am happy to report that the run did turn out well. I had no intestinal or breathing issues. My finishing time was five minutes faster than predicted. It was so refreshing to get back on my favorite trails and see the familiar landmarks that have seen me through my toughest miles. My muscle memory kicked in, and it was like a huge linking of my favorite runs. My only issue is that my inside tendons on my ankles were tight the entire run, so I might want to put some ice on them tonight.
Over the course of the run, I saw so many different sports being played - both summer sports to finish out the season, and fall sports to kick off the season. I saw a boater with a jetskiier trailing, flag football players, soccer players, golfers, sand volleyball players, and more. The most interesting athlete to me was a girl on Hains Point who was dribbling the ball backwards through her legs, as she was drilled by a coach. She was short but obviously looked like she competed at high levels. I also saw the normal (and dreaded) cyclists and rollerbladers on the trail. Most of them were courteous to me so they get a free pass this week. Overall, if you were active and not outside today in the DC area, you missed a great day of camaraderie with your fellow athletes. I am glad I was able to enjoy watching all of these different sports.
I also noticed countless running groups - some of which I have seen before, others I have not. I saw Team to End AIDS, AIMS India, Potomac River Runners, Pacers, Georgetown Running Company, and more. I even saw some members of the Arlington Road Runners as I connected back to the Mount Vernon Trail in Rosslyn. The best part about all of these running groups is that they have support/water stations scattered throughout their runs, so if my Powerade ran out, I could theoretically request some water from one of these groups. (Luckily, I measured out my Powerade perfectly.)
My favorite moment of the run came when I was heading up the Rock Creek Park trails, past the Lincoln Memorial, and I got accidentally sucked into a running group. The XMP group (Montgomery County Road Runners' advanced marathon training program) came from out of nowhere. They were 15 or so strong, and they were all about my pace. When I realized that I would be running with them for a little bit, I decided to break the ice. It turns out they were heading toward the Capital Crescent Trail. They were doing 22 miles this week, and they said that on their stepback weeks, they do about 16! Clearly they are an advanced group! Even though I had not planned to run with anyone else, it was nice to have a chance to make conversation and run with that group.
There are only 57 days until race day. Although I had some bumps in the road recently, my strength on today's course - that includes a lot of the same paths as the MCM - has me feeling that I will do great on race day, as long as I continue to train smart in all aspects. Next week, I hit another milestone with my first run of 20 miles. I expect this week to be a strong week, as today's run definitely helped to build my confidence.
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