10 days until my first ultra marathon and I'm still excited, which is strange...
I've suffered from moderate to severe anxiety leading up to every full or half Ironman and open marathon so far. But for some reason a completely unknown 80k trail ultra just excites me. Perhaps ignorance is bliss, and I just don't know how bad this is going to hurt. But that's the reason I signed up for this, I knew the 50km would be too "easy" and that 80km would ensure suffering.
When I finish I won't get a belt buckle - need to go 100 miles for that - but I expect the satisfaction will be quite substantial. I'm 10 days into a wonderful 3 week taper, which I'm certain is the main driver behind my positivity.
My race plan is to pace, eat and hydrate. Specifically, 13 minute/mile pace, 300-400 calories per hour, and drink to thirst. My Merrell All Out Charge trail shoes are broken in and ready for the distance and I'll have a fresh dry pair of socks for every lap.
The taper process is great, especially for an ultra. The main goal is to drastically reduce or eliminate fatigue leading up to race day. This may sound easy however after 80km training weeks it's taken close to a month of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) to flush the complete exhaustion from my legs. I did my final glute workout on Monday and really hammered them hard. I'm confident that my quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and soleus' are in as good of shape as possible. If I have anything left on loop 4 I'm going to pound the downhills, but after 60km I'm sure there won't be much left in the tank.
That's all for today. 10 more days of anticipation, then onto the course -- can't wait!
I got 1.5 miles into my run today and gave up. Granted I was a tick hung over and just wanted to go back to bed, but 80km sounds like an amazing adventure. It is so beyond my capabilities that I just love hearing and learning about your training. Good luck this weekend. I'll be cheering you from the deep south.
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