Today's long run was 14 miles, and it came with a little more excitement than I would have preferred.
Around mile seven, a stocky-looking dog started barking and came running after me. My first instinct was to stand my ground. I barked back and made myself look as big as possible. Fortunately, that was enough to make the mongrel think twice about following me. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, and I definitely ran through a few scenarios in my head in case the dog didn't back off. Thankfully, it did. This is only the second time I've ever had a dog come after me while running.
This run was also another opportunity to work on my fueling strategy. About every four miles I took an electrolyte tablet, and I had a gel about halfway through the run. I sipped small amounts of water throughout. My stomach seems to be handling this approach well, although I still didn't feel great going into mile ten.
I didn't try to push the pace today. Instead, I focused on keeping the effort steady from start to finish. The temperature has dropped a little over the past few days, but it's still warm enough to make these longer runs challenging.
With today's run, I finished the week at 52 miles. This is one of the higher-mileage weeks of the training cycle, but I know there are bigger weeks still ahead.
One of my favorite parts of today's route was crossing the river and running through downtown. There's something about running through the city that always feels a little special. Maybe it's the scenery, maybe it's the energy—but for a few miles, it feels surprisingly metropolitan.
