Or something like that anyway. It’s amazing how quickly time passes and all of a sudden February 9th is just around the corner. That fact is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Thrilling because it is the first step in the Transcendence journey I will be undertaking this year. Terrifying because I don’t really know what I’m getting myself into. It all seems so simple on paper. Three complete circuits of the Stories course - Red, Green, Blue and Purple then Red and Green for good measure. That’s all I need to do and I’ll have the distance I need. Theoretically, under perfect conditions I would have been able to do that in the 15 hour race.
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| January 9th - a perfect day for running at CMPS |
But there is nothing perfect about ultra running. Every day is a work in progress, a series of lessons to build upon for the next event. I know that. I have to anticipate that something - perhaps many things - will go wrong. And so I’m hedging my bets and doing 30 hours. That gives me plenty of time to enjoy the day - and maybe the night. It will also allow me to chill out and not feel rushed at any point, even if conditions are far from perfect. The goal is simple, I have all day to finish the distance I want. I don't need to beat myself up to run as a fast as I can.
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| A pair of Red Tail hawks from Racoon Ridge, just before the start/finish |
The unknowns are pilling up for sure. On a perfect day, like January 9th when I ran at CMSP, the trails are in great shape and the running is really easy. But on a day like today - January 11th - it's snowing, wet and cold. Besides the physical aspects of running in those conditions are the trail aspects. CMSP does not do well wet. It has to be dry or frozen. There is no middle ground. If it's dry, the trails are fast. If it's frozen, there might be some patches of death ice on Cougars Shadow and Blackmere. But if it's wet and snowing? A fate far worse then death ice - peanut butter mud. The kind of soul sucking mud that clings to everything, adding pounds to your feet and mucking up the trails something awful. If it's mud, then all bets are off and the strategy may have to completely swap. And I to have an idea of how to manage all aspects of that. What I want to do if the weather is perfect and trails awesome. What to do if it's cold, windy and snow packed. And then utter worst - if it's muddy. Then there's something in between all of those aspects. I have to ponder clothes, shoes, socks... Some of that can't even be developed until closer to the race, when I have a better idea of what the weather and trail conditions will be like
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| Running into the sunset |
In some ways, this seems more complicated then most races. Most ultras I've done have been out in the woods, with huge distances between each aid station. Not much to really think about there except what I need to get from point A to point B. This time, due to the nature of the course, the loops are short. It's harder for me to plan for that. I want to take advantage of having aid so frequently, but at the same time, I don't want to spend all my time in the aid station. Time suck alert! So it's balancing carrying more then I need for one lap so I can just keep motoring through or plan detailed stops at each loop. Red is only 2.65 miles, with the Purple lap at 7.24 miles. But if I stop for even 2 minutes after the end of each loop, that's over half an hour of just dinking around. I almost think it would be better to have a quick pit stop at the end of the circuit, with crewing bringing one or two things down to the start finish at the other times. I can get something to eat, stash it in a pocket on the downhill out of pit and then eat it on the climb a mile or so later. The pit stops don't even need to be that long - change shoes, clothes if need and get some food. My crew can do things like filling up my pack while I'm out on that short red loop. Keep the forward momentum up. At least that's the thought right now. Again, a lot of this will have to be fleshed out as the event gets closer.
Of course, there's also the competitive side I have to silence. Any time there's a timed event like this, with the goal to get as many miles as possible in a set time, I start thinking. This course, on a good weather weekend, is perhaps one of the easiest ultra courses in the state. There's far less elevation gain here that at any other race and the trails are pretty chill. Add in the easy access to crew and the brain starts churning. I have 30 hours.... Could I possibly make this the 100m instead of the 100k? Just keep going, keep sauntering along through the night and into the next day instead of stopping early? How hard will it be for me to reach my goal and then call it a day if the weather is good and other people are still out there going strong? In my mind, I know that I can reach my target goal comfortably with the training I've done. Adding in those extra miles, no matter how easy I take them? That's a tall order - and one that might set me back for the entire summer. So as tempting as it sounds, I need to stay focused. The 100 will come under the Rainbow.
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