Preparation H (hundred miles)

The best laid plans of mice & men often go astray-Robert Burns

It's race week.  The Superior 100, a foggy goal in the distance for so long, is finally upon us.  The hay is in the barn so to speak, no more time to cram in training, no more dreaming about what it will be like, no more planning now it's time to go.

I've been asked a lot, "How do you prepare for something like this??"  Best answer I can give is, I don't know...I've read books, blogs, chatted with people, picked brains, watched movies & YouTube films but in the end I feel like it comes back to what a guy I ran part of the Eugene Curnow Marathon told me this year, 'Every runner is an experiment of one.'

With that in mind, I tried my best to train.  Running tired, hitting Afton to run trails and hills, running in the heat and soup of a Minnesota summer, running in the cold and rain, also of a Minnesota summer.  Running at times I don't usually run, back to back long runs, walking to and from work to get time on my feet, biking as much as I can so as to not wear myself out running.

Will it be enough?  I don't know I hope so but there's only one thing I can do at this point, just trust the training.  Trust that you are strong enough to finish what you started.  It's not only the physical training; will my mind be strong enough?  When rough times hit, and Lord knows they will, can I overcome them, embrace it, then let go and move on?  Have I trained my mind as much as I've trained my body?  Can the two of them team up to get me through?

The devil's in the details they say, with that in mind I've mapped out as much as I can for my crew.  Directions to aid stations, rough estimates of when I'll be there, what I may need at each spot packed into bags, all labeled, that can be easily transported to the aid stations so I can change socks, drink Gatorade or crush some dark chocolate espresso beans.  My crew has been great, putting up with my constant emails, talking about this non-stop, allowing me time to train and finally agreeing to come along for the ride!

Some will run, some will drive, but they will all be a huge help to me.  It's tough to describe the emotional lift one gets upon exiting the woods and seeing familiar smiling faces handing you homemade cookies.  The lift carries on long after I've dipped back into the woods; cookie crumbs still on my lips...can't thank you guys enough for joining up. 

So the bags are packed, the details are done, only thing left to do is run...how do you prepare, are you prepared, we'll find out!