The Mental Game

"...DETERMINATION ALONE IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU TO THE FINISH.

EVERYONE WHO STEPS TO THE GATE WILL BE DETERMINED AS HELL.

DETERMINATION IS A PRE-REQUISITE.

SUCCESS TAKES A LOT MORE THAN DETERMINATION."

 ----- LAZARUS LAKE

The iconic Lazarus Lake spoke these words when considering the guts and gumption of the few brave souls chosen to attempt his annual Barkley Marathons at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, widely regarded as the most difficult test of endurance running going today. So few have finished this event that some consider it nigh impossible. But some do finish Barkley. In considering the task before me, his words struck a chord as I considered the intestinal fortitude that I'll have to find to finish the Slam.

I would be lying if I didn't admit right off the bat that there are not only tiny seeds of doubt coursing through my subconscious when it comes to completing these 4 races, but fully grown fields and forests of the stuff. It's really not so much the distances involved. As Karl Meltzer famously said, "100 miles is not that far." My philosophy is pretty simple - one step at a time, one aid station at a time. Don't look too far ahead, stay in the moment, and keep moving forward. It's easy to say that now but I am all too familiar with the tendency to lose focus and start thinking about the "big picture" in the heat of the moment.

As I look at the races themselves, there is one that far and away causes my stomach to tighten in knots more than the others : Leadville. Much like its famed Hope Pass, that race stands as the towering roadblock in my quest to finish the big four. The complications Leadville presents to the aspiring sea-level-living finisher include the altitude, the relatively short time limit (30 hours), the altitude, Hope Pass itself, and - did I mention the altitude? Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of being able to take a 2-week hiatus from life to gallivant through the mountains acclimating myself to the low oxygen one tends to find at 9,000' elevation, so I am already at a stark disadvantage. I am unsure of the science (and turned off to the cost) of altitude tents. So planning for that race will occupy a disproportionate share of my attention. And just to add to my anxieties, Leadville happens sport the highest drop rate of the 4 races:

From an excellent blog post by Will Cooper: http://www.willrunlonger.com/2016/07/grand-slam-drop-rates.html

Don't think the irony of my being concerned about Leadville here in January is lost on me - even now, I am looking far ahead and not staying in the moment! It's so easy to fall into that trap and I haven't even toed a starting line yet. Right now the focus must be on some solid early-season base mileage, cleaning up my nutrition, working on some race-day fueling strategies in tune-up races, and - this is important - RELAXING. I need to trust that the plan will come together and take it one day at a time.

Memes are fun.

Getting back to Lazarus Lake's quote - so if it's not just resolve that separates the finishers from the wannabes, what, then, will it take to get this done? Surely many who fell short of their goal were determined. They were prepared. Trained. They had planned. And yet....things just didn't come together.

So, what am I going to do?

Be determined. Prepare. Train. Plan. And, most importantly....RELAX. If, by God's providence, I should make it to - and then, through - this experience, it'll be something I will look back on for the rest of my life. I'd do well to make sure I savor the adventure every step of the way.

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Off and running......

The beautiful, rugged hills of Bandera

Last weekend was the annual running of the Bandera 100k in the lovely Texas Hill Country near San Antonio. While I was not technically a participant, I had a great time keeping my FOMO in check by volunteering, crewing, and pacing out on the rough-and-tumble course that seems to breed more rocks every time I get out onto those trails. It enabled me to revisit the ghosts of my disappointment at the 2016 Cactus Rose 100 (where I was forced to drop after 50 miles) and hopefully exorcise those demons along the way.

In looking ahead at the spring calendar, I am considering a few different events that could serve as tune-ups for the summer's big events. The most likely candidates for training "races" would be local events like the Cowtown 50k and the Grasslands Trail Marathon - and while neither of these would remotely resemble the terrain I'll face in the summer (Cowtown is entirely on roads for all intents and purposes), they would give me a chance to work on a new nutrition plan and get some decent training miles in. I had planned on looking into Jemez 50 in New Mexico as a training run in May, but it sounds like that race may be a little high on the difficulty scale given its proximity to Western States. We'll see.

Training has begun in earnest, with time trials, hill repeats, and strength work taking center stage. My mileage is still relatively low - in the 40 mile/week range - but that will certainly increase in the coming weeks and months. While it feels good to get back to work on the roads and in the gym with a definite end-goal in mind, what is most exciting to me right now is my partnership with Meredith Terranova of Eating & Healthy Living LLC. We are developing a new nutrition plan focused more on metabolic efficiency (reducing my need for carbohydrate calories during training and racing) and looking at a number of the variables around race day nutrition that could be affecting my performance. It has been an illuminating beginning, as I feel we are getting to the root of many of the problems I have had in long races over the past couple years.

Between working with Ryan Knapp at M2GE and Meredith at E&HL, I feel very confident that I'm working with a great team who will give me the tools I need to get to the finish line at Wasatch. I feel like we're off to a good start!