In one week I will be somewhere on a lonely stretch of
singletrack in the Southern Kettle Moraine trying to do something that I find
pretty intimidating; something that is simply an unknown for me. I am going to try to run 100 miles in one
day. Thousands of people do this every
year and they aren't falling apart from the experience. I know I can do this too.
My trepidation comes from that unknown quantity; it’s always
the unknowns that give us pause. Will my
body keep it together, or will it let me down?
I know my body will be aching for sure, but how will my mind handle the
experience? Will I be able to while away
the miles, or will each stride be a step closer to going absolutely nuts? Will I see monkeys? Will I barf?
Will I yell at my crew? Will I
get a (gasp) blister?
Tapering for my first 100-miler has become a pretty
nerve-racking experience. I can’t
imagine life past 6:00am on June 1st, 2013. Part of the deal is, I am as prepared for
this race as I can be. With a high-fat,
low-carb keto-diet, I am a lean & mean racing machine at 140 lbs. I've been putting in the miles and hammering
the hills for the last 5 months, through snow, mud and rain. I've also never been this uninjured and
healthy in preparation for a race. My
energy levels are fantastic, and my legs are pretty tough.
I know I’ll be fine.
I will feel like a million bucks after I cross that line sometime on
June 2nd, and all those questions will be answered. It’s going to be long, and rough, and hard,
and painful. But it will be nothing I
can’t handle. Unless there are
clowns. Then I’m done for.
