The training I've put into this 100 miler is different though. I remember when I used to ask my mom when I was very, very young, "how do you know that's the right person?" in regards to things like marriage and love. It wasn't until I met my wife that I really knew. That question was answered.
I now, often find myself asking the same question in terms of racing and training. "How do you know you trained enough, or how do you know you trained right?"
Looking back at my training for events like the Ironman World Championships, I don't think I was 100% confident in my training. How do I know that now?
Well, for once, I feel 100% confident in my training and what I did to prepare for the AT100 next weekend. I've never felt this level of confidence in my training, and let me tell you, that it's awesome! I think that when I reach those dark spots (that we all know will come)that I'll get to in the 100, hopefully I'll be able to reflect on the training and be confident that my training was enough. That my training was accurate.
With exactly 8 days till I'm at the starting line of my first 100 I'm finding myself reflecting A LOT on my training, but also visualizing my race. I find myself thinking about the pain, and focusing on the pain. Those small discomforts that I know will be oh so amplified by mile 85.
I try to think about what could go wrong and how I'll react to that. I try to think about, "What if I want to quit?" scenarios. How I'll try and react to that. Quite a few times, I think about the miles that I'll be running with my friend Brian, and the things we'll talk about. How we'll pass the time and the miles.
I also think about what I'll do if I realize I need him to continue with me after mile 83.9. Will I ask him to continue, knowing good and well that he's probably not ready to run that far, but also knowing he won't say no.
If you don't know by now, Brian and his Dad (of course, getting to his dad was the only reason I hang out with Brian!) are going to crew for me. I've asked Brian to run miles 67.7 - 83.9 with me. I know good and well that Brian can run that distance, but he's never gone beyond a marathon, much less on trails or jeep roads in my case.
We've both talked about it openly while out on our early morning runs, and I think we've both agreed that that decision will be made when it's made.
Regardless of the outcome of my run, I'm already unbelievably grateful that Brian and Lynn are crewing for me. Hopefully not letting them down will be a big motivating factor in those dark times.
In terms of training, I finished my big week ending this past Sunday with a total of 95.8 miles. It's been an incredible experience running those kind of miles each week. My body has reacted SO well. SO much better than I ever imagined. I'm recovering faster than I ever have. I've been able to run 27 miles one day, then run another 20 the next as though the first run hadn't happened.
This week I'm planning on logging around 37 miles, then tapering even harder next week. Nothing over 4-5 miles. I've done an EXCELLENT job in maintaining intensity, if not too good a job. My runs have gotten a little faster.
I'm meeting up with Brian and Lynn this morning when I get off work and we're going to finalize all the small details and get ready to do this thing next week.
I bought a small handheld video this week that I'm hoping Brian and I will carry around miles 67-83 so we can do some video interviews that I can post. We'll have to see how we're both feeling at that point.
Any first time 100 miler and 100 miler taper advice is always welcome.
For now I leave you with some reflective music.... haha :)
-Jacob
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