This time next week, Lord willing, I'll be in the midst of my first attempt at the 100 mile distance. On this coming Friday Dave and I will be off to the "other corner" of our great state of Pennsylvania to compete in the Oil Creek 100 miler. For Dave, the veteran among us, it will be his 10th ultra and second or third 100. For me it will be my sixth ultra and my first attempt the 100 miles. The anticipation is beginning to build and I'm trying hard to both embrace it while at the same time curb it to some degree. After all, I need to focus on my family and work and a few other things between now and then. Also, I don't want to make the same mistake I did back in June for the Laurel Highlands ultra. I hyped it up so much in my mind and when it came time to start the race my race plan just blew up and subsequently I blew up along with it. I am trying to maintain a similar mindset I had prior to the Mahlon Mayhem 75k in which I ran in August. I put no pressure on myself, I just wanted to finish and enjoy the day and run well for as long as I could. Essentially, that is my plan for Oil Creek. Here are the things I am keeping in mind (you'll notice how simple they are):
1. No time goal, just finish the race--Having never run a 100 miler before I really don't know what to expect. I have read reports of others and I know it will involve much weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is what I can expect. I would love to go sub 24 hours...but I have never gone this distance before and the course is difficult the whole way (+17,000' of climbing).
2. Keep eating and drinking--I usually do not eat enough and I drink too much that my stomach gets a little nauseous. I want to hopefully find the balance out there on the trails.
3. Keep it positive as much as possible--At Laurel I went into a mental "valley" and did get back out. I could have walked more, ate more, etc. and pushed through it. That is a lesson I hope to carry over here.
My training has gone very well. My legs are feeling great and I'm enjoying the extra sleep during the taper now. My highest month was September in which I logged 312 miles. My weekly mileage also peaked out at 102 miles. During that week and that month my legs held up surprisingly well. I'm grateful for where my fitness is at the moment.
On another note, I'm also excited to get to Titusville and possibly meet some of the other runners who will be racing. Here are a few of the more well known runners who will be there: Glen Redpath (Montrail Ultra Cup champion), Nick Pedatella, Jimmy Dean Freeman, just to name a few.
All in all, I know it will be a great experience and I just want to honor God with the gifts and abilities He has given me.
Have fun out there! My in-laws live about 45 minutes from Titusville, so Oil Creek is on my to-do list. It will probably be my fall goal race in 2011 - the 50K distance.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff! I'm going to try to enjoy it for as long as I can and embrace the pain :-)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I forgot to mention that the Oil Creek 50k sold out in like a week or two this year. So i suggest signing up the first day of registration in the spring when it opens.
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