Second Guessing
Less then two weeks out from Stories. I'm trying hard not to watch the extended weather, knowing that it will change every time I look. After the last winter series race, I know a lot more about the trail conditions - but again that will be completely different by the time 6:00 on Feb 9th rolls around. If the current long range weather holds, there will be some sections completely dry, some sections of mud and some packed snow and ice. Humm.... Sounds like trail running in Colorado in the winter! Hopefully there will be more dry sections then muddy sections. Either way, everyone will be running in the same conditions.
I find myself second guessing my goals and my preparation for those goals. I started out just wanting to cover 100k over the 30 hours, keeping it simple. Just me, my car for an aid station and the goal of forward momentum. That's all changed over the last few months. I have a great crew team with ultra running and ultra crewing experience lined up. (Thanks so much Kelly and Christy!!) Nick decided that even though I told him I wanted to do this on my own, we were going to do it right. If I have a crew, I will have the full pit for them to hang out in and stay warm. And as that changes, the goals also changed ever so slightly. From just wanting 100k and being "comfortable" getting that distance done for the Transcendence Series to pondering can I do 100k in under 15 hours to why no look at 100m? It could be easiest 100m in CO simply because of the lack of elevation gain - 12,000' as opposed to 20,000 at Sangre. But...
As Sherpa John has said, no one is ever "ready" to run 100 miles - there's just too much outside of our control to approach a race distance like that with the confidence that you will finish. I was nervous about Sheep Mountain 50m, but confident that I would be able to finish. Maybe misplaced confidence, but I was still confident in my ability to cover the distance. Heading into Stories, I don't have that same confidence. That might be a good thing, given that overconfidence is a weakness. I know I can cover at least the 100k - just chill out and keep it steady. It's "only" 8 miles more then Sheep Mountain the year I did it. (Bonus miles....) But just like the jump from 50k to 50m is so much more then 19 miles, the jump from 100k to 100m seems unfathomable to me right now. Over a 50k more of time on feet. How can I ever be ready to think about that kind of distance? Every time I look at my basic plan and see the numbers for circuit 5 to reach 100m I get nervous.
It doesn't help to look back at the training prior to Sheep Mountain and compare it to what I've been doing for Stories. I had huge weeks prior to Sheepy, with back to backs of 25/15 and 30/18. I was running 50-60 miles a week consistently for months prior to Sheepy. On top of that, I was preping for Growler and getting in long rides of 5+ hours as well. I had weeks in a row of TSS over 1000 - which mean more to me as a coach. Looking back, I feel very under prepared for Stories. I've gotten plenty of long runs between 20-30 miles in since last July, doing three 50k races and one marathon. Weekly mileage has been between 40-50 miles consistently, with some true recovery weeks after the various races. No back to back runs though and nothing really intense on the bike. So just looking at the numbers, its pretty clear why I'm nervous and feeling under prepared But there's more to training and racing then the numbers - something I've learned in the 2.5 years since Sheepy. More is not always better and there's a strong chance that I was over-trained going into Sheepy. I felt exhausted prior to Sheepy and it took me a long time to bounce back. I'd dug a hole but forgotten to leave some steps for climbing out! This time, listening to my body has been more important. I may not have done as much prior, but I've felt better doing it. The long runs haven't been challenging like before and it hasn't felt like work getting out the door - even on the cold days.
Hopefully the joy will carry me through the miles!
I find myself second guessing my goals and my preparation for those goals. I started out just wanting to cover 100k over the 30 hours, keeping it simple. Just me, my car for an aid station and the goal of forward momentum. That's all changed over the last few months. I have a great crew team with ultra running and ultra crewing experience lined up. (Thanks so much Kelly and Christy!!) Nick decided that even though I told him I wanted to do this on my own, we were going to do it right. If I have a crew, I will have the full pit for them to hang out in and stay warm. And as that changes, the goals also changed ever so slightly. From just wanting 100k and being "comfortable" getting that distance done for the Transcendence Series to pondering can I do 100k in under 15 hours to why no look at 100m? It could be easiest 100m in CO simply because of the lack of elevation gain - 12,000' as opposed to 20,000 at Sangre. But...
As Sherpa John has said, no one is ever "ready" to run 100 miles - there's just too much outside of our control to approach a race distance like that with the confidence that you will finish. I was nervous about Sheep Mountain 50m, but confident that I would be able to finish. Maybe misplaced confidence, but I was still confident in my ability to cover the distance. Heading into Stories, I don't have that same confidence. That might be a good thing, given that overconfidence is a weakness. I know I can cover at least the 100k - just chill out and keep it steady. It's "only" 8 miles more then Sheep Mountain the year I did it. (Bonus miles....) But just like the jump from 50k to 50m is so much more then 19 miles, the jump from 100k to 100m seems unfathomable to me right now. Over a 50k more of time on feet. How can I ever be ready to think about that kind of distance? Every time I look at my basic plan and see the numbers for circuit 5 to reach 100m I get nervous.
It doesn't help to look back at the training prior to Sheep Mountain and compare it to what I've been doing for Stories. I had huge weeks prior to Sheepy, with back to backs of 25/15 and 30/18. I was running 50-60 miles a week consistently for months prior to Sheepy. On top of that, I was preping for Growler and getting in long rides of 5+ hours as well. I had weeks in a row of TSS over 1000 - which mean more to me as a coach. Looking back, I feel very under prepared for Stories. I've gotten plenty of long runs between 20-30 miles in since last July, doing three 50k races and one marathon. Weekly mileage has been between 40-50 miles consistently, with some true recovery weeks after the various races. No back to back runs though and nothing really intense on the bike. So just looking at the numbers, its pretty clear why I'm nervous and feeling under prepared But there's more to training and racing then the numbers - something I've learned in the 2.5 years since Sheepy. More is not always better and there's a strong chance that I was over-trained going into Sheepy. I felt exhausted prior to Sheepy and it took me a long time to bounce back. I'd dug a hole but forgotten to leave some steps for climbing out! This time, listening to my body has been more important. I may not have done as much prior, but I've felt better doing it. The long runs haven't been challenging like before and it hasn't felt like work getting out the door - even on the cold days.
Hopefully the joy will carry me through the miles!
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| Random running photo from Winter Series 2 at CMPS! |
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