Quieting the Mind

It’s been a challenge this week - keeping focused on the day to day and the final hard workouts. Two weeks is such a long time and yet so close. So much to do, so many things to think about and the date drawing ever closer. There is no more questioning if I am ready - the work has been done and there’s no taking any of the training back or adding to it at this long. Now is the time to figure out the final plan - or the framework of the ideas to take me 104 miles. I have to balance the planning with accepting the unknown.

There will be plenty of unknowns. A 4:00AM start - which seems so much harder then simply staying awake until midnight! The 6:00 AM starts are easy for me - I’m normally out running or on my bike at that time. Granted its usually just for a short workout - less then two hours. Its just a few hours earlier then usual for me. I don’t have an issue getting up and eating well before a 6:00 AM race. But 4:00? I’d be getting up at 2:30 to eat and such. Would it be better to run the first 8 miles and then have my breakfast when I hit Music Meadows the first time? Or should I just eat what I can when I get up, know that I won’t need to be running hard in the first miles. Eating and running is part of ultras. If you can’t do it, you won’t succeed. Perhaps a nice big breakfast before the start will keep me settled and not going to hard in the start! I’m hoping that I don’t have a repeat of Sheep Mountain where my stomach was cranky before I even started. 100 miles is a long way to go with a cranky stomach!

Night running isn’t as much an unknown for me as most people. Last Call was a great experience for night running and last weekend’s MoonShadow Half served as a good reminder for the art of night running. As with Vapor every year, I haven’t had as much experience with my lights as I would have liked. But unlike at Last Call and Moonshadow, most of the night running will be in the back half of the race. So I highly doubt I’ll be running the 9:00 miles of MoonShadow or even the 10:30s of Last Call! Hopefully I’ll be in a solid ultra shuffle and maintaining 15:00 miles average! I have two awesome Exposure Light Joysicks with my home made headbands. After Last Call, I know I need the looser headband for the long night when the temperature drops. I’m going to be wearing a hat for sure at some time and the looser headband will be ideal. A memory from Stories. The first few hours will be fine with the tighter headband. I’m also thinking that I need to use the newer, brighter light for the last half. That way I can run the longer mode if needed. I know how long my lights last and have the confidence to use them.

So much to think about in the next two weeks. Ponder what I really need in my drop bag. Do I really need a complete change of clothes and shoes? But if I don’t have the dry clothes and we get bad weather, will I regret not having dry socks or a shoes? My gut feeling is yes - and given the maceration I had starting at Last Call, it’s a real risk for affecting the race. Same for the rest of the clothes. It’s a long way to run and I have the gear to stay physically comfortably for the duration. I just need to be smart and use the opportunities provided - both from the race, drop bags and Nick’s support. Then I have to turn my attention to food. Not too much, but what I’ll really want to eat. General food I know I’ll be able to get at the aid stations - ramen, quesadillas, candy, wraps - but anything specific my stomach craves I’ll need to have. No short little loops to get back to pit area - if I don’t have it on me or in my drop bag, then I’m SOL. So more planning to hopefully be prepared for any uncertainty that might arise.  

Two weeks. It will be here in the blink of an eye. It seemed so long ago when I hit the button to register. And now, after a summer of training, a summer of learning the final exam is just around the corner. As with any major test, I have to quiet my mind and not try to cram. What’s done is done - knowledge is power and I have to use what I have learned to achieve a passing grade.