8 Weeks to Grindstone

Tonight I clicked over to my training schedule for the week and my attention was immediately drawn to the header: "8 weeks to Grindstone."

To quote from the event's website: "Grit, endurance, temporary loss of sanity. You might need all of these if you want to attempt Grindstone. If you want to finish, well, just keep in mind this is, without a doubt, the hardest 100 miler east of the 100th meridian. Now that you’re hooked, Grindstone is going to be an incredible adventure for each and every entrant. From the beautiful start/finish location at Camp Shenandoah to the monster climbs and the solitude of single track ridge running, you just can’t beat Grindstone… but you can try!"

Gulp. I am happy to say that my training has been progressing quite well - I feel good, my weekly mileage has gradually increased over the past couple months from 40, to 50, 60, and now 70 mpw. I'll step it back this week to rest, then push on toward 80 and maybe even get to 90 before the tapering starts. And yet the voice in the back of my head is asking, "Is it enough?"

The challenge in preparing for this race is that, well, there really is no way for me to adequately prepare for this race. I can work on long slow climbs using a treadmill, but that won't simulate the extreme technicality of the course. I can get on some local fire roads that are steep and rocky, but they are very short and don't offer sustained climbs that will remotely resemble what I'll face on race day. 

All I can do in this case is prepare in the best way that I am able and bring whatever game I have to the race. It'll be an exercise in grit and determination, with a pinch or 2 of positive thinking thrown in for good measure. I'll have to remember the mantras: "Trust your training." "Have a plan and work your plan." "One step at a time." "Run your own race." 

They say the race itself is simply the end of a very long road that began with the start of this training cycle a few months ago. All the miles on the roads and trails, all the hours in the weight room, they all will bring me to that final 100 miles. It's just up to me to finish it. Would that I have the strength and perseverance to do so.