JFK Preview- Appalachian Trail

I had an interesting day on our little AT section of the race. 13 miles in 5 hrs 15 mins. I was planning on doing a slow 3.5 -4 hr exploring run/hike. I started out great. Then I went up and up and up an incline that seemed to last for ever. I was wiped out. It was at the 3.5-5.5 mile marker of the course that they said was on pavement during the race. I saw a road but I went on the AT at that section. Maybe the road part is easier. I hope. Some of the trail is very runnable. Most is extremely technical. I will have rocks in my dreams for nights. I fell bad once. Thankfully I missed all the rocks. A huge thunderstorm hit the mountain that almost wiped me out. Tree branches were falling everywhere. I got hit in the head by small branches. I finally had to stop and hide next to a big sturdy tree that had few branches on it to wait out the storm. I'm glad I did. There were several big trees that fell on the trail where I was headed. After the storm the trail was pretty much flooded and unrunnable. I slipped and slid on in with a good "time on feet" workout. The trail is beautiful, but I'm just a little nervous about some of the ridiculous rocky sections. That 26 miles on the tow path may be welcomed after all.