My long run this week

     Okay, so I have been a bit lazy this week.  After doing a pretty tough ten miles on the trails of Lake Redman which involved 1400 ft. of elevation gain and another 1400 ft. of elevation loss, through streams with water-logger shoes, tunnels that were 500 ft. long and 4 ft. high filled with 4-6 inches of water and in a fairly warm day of 80 degrees.  It felt great and I enjoyed nearly every moment of it, but I took a couple days off, three to be exact.  Yesterday I got back out there with a short run of only four miles.

     I decided that on Sunday I am going to go long, longer than I have in over a year....fifteen miles to be exact.  I am going to have Angela drop me off in Glen Rock, PA at the Rail Trail and I will run to York.  Last week I did twelve on the Rail Trail, going down six and back six.  That is really rough on the return because you are looking at the same things you saw on the way down.  It makes the second half seem twice as long.  By starting in Glen Rock and running straight through to York, I hope to eliminate the monotony of the miles.  We'll see how it works.

     This run would will equal half of what my long run must be prior to my fifty mile race.  According to some things I have read, by running a thirty mile long run at some point before the full race, I will be able to gage my endurance and get a solid feel for what is in store for me come August 27th.  I hope to do a couple thirty mile runs before the race so I can be sure my body, mainly my knees and back, will be able to withstand the pounding of fifty miles.

     My feelings are still going back and forth, from excited to scared and from confidence to self-doubt.  I know that through preparation and metal fortitude the human body is capable of amazing feats.  As of now my position is train hard, prepare both mentally and physically and stay focused on the goal, finish.