Friday, May 24, 2013

Kettle 100 Jitters

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.

2 comments:

SteveQ said...

Best advice I can give is to be determined not to stop at the 100K mark - it's very tempting, especially if you sit down, because it's an official finish and you're at the 100M finish line.

stillwaterrunner said...

That IS scary Steve. Thanks for the advice. I have fallen victim to "the chair" in the past and know its lure well. I will think of you at 100k and I hope to keep moving.