Daily Affirmations

Well, here we go again!  My third 100 mile race is in just three days.  Am I ready?  No.  The several weeks since White River 50 Mile have been pretty mellow.  50 miles a week, and a longest run of 2:20.  I could go on and on with reasons why this might not go my way, but what good would that do?  These things are very mental anyway, and I can't change where I am with my fitness, so here are some daily affirmations:

- Although lacking the really 'big' weeks, I've been consistently around 60 miles per week for a very long time (with a few weeks topping 80).  This is probably better than taking a bunch of down time from injury, and then ramping up to 100+

- Experience is my friend.  Sure, many Ultra guys and gals have much more than me, but I like to run smart, and try to take lessons from each big run or race.  San Diego 100 was just a couple of months ago, so I think those lessons are pretty fresh in my head.

-Nutrition.  These things are run on strong legs and a strong stomach.  I have been practicing my ability to take gels every 20 minutes.  It's not enough to keep up with the calories going out, but it's more than most people take in, and that's going to help me keep a positive mental energy all day.

The plan will be to go out fast enough to avoid getting stuck in traffic on the first climb.  From there I'm going to try to keep up a good pace and put the miles in before dark (this one starts pretty late in the day at 10am).  I'm going to respect the heat and the climbs, and try to be mentally ready to capitalize on the flat and downs.  I'm going to really try to run hard on the 'Trail From Hell' (where people often take two hours to cover five miles), crush the smooth gravel road climbs, before and after the Trail From Hell, hang on on the Cardiac Needles section, and then hopefully have enough to run strong on the steep descents to in the final 10 miles to the finish.

My beautiful Mishelle, and our sweet boys will be out there to see me start, finish, and even watch me come through the mile 23 aid.  This is enough motivation for me to keep a smile on my face, and run as hard as I can.  Terry Sentinella will be pacing me for the last 27 miles, and this guy knows the course, and knows how to run a good 100.  Hopefully I can listen to him after 18 hours on the trail!

100 miles and over 20,000' of climbing.  Cascade Crest 100 here we come!