Thursday, May 26, 2011

Training for a 100 Miler

I have to say that training for this 100 miler is taking its toll both mentally and physically.

Physically, I am starting to feel like an old man, and I have aches and pain just about everywhere. Nothing major, knock on wood, but everything kind of hurts. Guess that will happen at age 45.

I'm running every day but Monday and sometimes twice a day. I'm up to about 55-60 miles a week, which is the most I have consistently run in my life. And yet - it's still not enough. At this stage of the game, I should really be at around 70 miles a week, which is proving to be untenable. I'll get there, I guess - but I'm just not sure how or when and I'm starting to run against the clock.

The mental problem I guess is associated with the above. The other issue is that my Saturdays - a critical training day - are essentially shot, between baseball games and swim meets (which I am not willing to give up). So I have been super stressed about that.

But last week - while running (surprise, surprise) I decided to cool out and just be zen. It is what it is. I've come to the conclusion that in all likelihood, I'll be going into this race a bit undertrained. I'm going to absolutely give it my best shot, as is always the case. IfI don't make it, there's another 100 miler in my backyard (literally) one month later, so I have a fall back of sorts.

Once again, it is what it is. I can't let this completely consume me - got too many other things going on in my life right now. So - let the chips fall where they may.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If it you makes you feel better, I've been doing a bit of reading and the conclusion I've come to is that while training is good, completing this event is going to come down to how well we do 3 things:
1 - Hydrate
2 - Consume Calories
3 - Replace Electrolytes
It's going to be a delicate balance between over and under consumption and I think this is what is going to be the make/break factor given our level of training and experience at this distance (or lack thereof).

Finishing would be nice, under 24 hours - great, but my singular goal is to just enjoy the experience and have fun with my friends and family. If we accomplish that, then we'll all be winners at the end of the day.

-TB

GoldenTrailsDave said...

I'll be pullin' for both of you at Vermont.

(And if worst comes to worst, I'll be pullin' one of ya at HH).

gailaj said...

Hey, I'm behind on my blog reading....but wanted to add my encouragement. Since you've been doing long races and good quality training, I think you'll do well.

(Hoping to do a 100-miler in the coming year...not this year as originally hoped; just gotta get my training and asthma in line....)