Two Days Out:

A Couple Thoughts on Preparation...(or, see what happens when I’m thinking instead of running)

So here we are. The start of the Hawk Hundred 100 mile Trail Race is about 50 hours away. I guess the taper is going well because I’m feeling frustrated and restless. Focusing at work this week has been tough but it’s a short week following Labor Day and I’m taking Friday off to get rested up before the race and to start getting my mind right. “Get my mind right”; what the hell does that cliché mean anyway, and can you ever really get your mind right about running 100 miles?

As a former football player, I remember trying to get focused before a game. There was the physical aspect of staying off my feet and resting. There was also the busy work aspect of knowing my stuff; the game plan, the 10-play script, my keys, the hot reads, personnel packages, etc., etc., …and then going over it all again and again. There was also visualization. Seeing the game unfold in your mind….the perfect read, the perfect pass, what you’ll do given a certain scenario. Some of this works for ultra running, too.  We taper and rest to take care of the physical aspect. Most ultrarunners have also put in the miles and “know their stuff” so the technical game plan for the race can certainly fill the busy work of preparation bill. However; I’ve found that visualization doesn’t work anymore like it did when getting ready for football games. Maybe it’s the difference in event duration. A football game was over in a couple of hours, ultramarathons can take a full day or more (ahem…like this weekend). Football is short bursts of violent action with tons of structure on every play requiring constant reading and reacting while running an ultra is a more sustained and maybe mentally abstract event, allowing the mind more idle time. (not to say that running trail doesn't require reaction...I'll be reacting to some gnarly terrain this weekend).

So I feel rested. My gear is together and I have a race strategy that I’m going to go over again and again. But is my mind right? Hmmm, I can draw on some recent ultra successes over the past year and a half and remember the highs and lows of those races in an effort to inform what could happen on Saturday and mentally get ready for it. The low points that is. And therein lays the difference. Not too many Quarterbacks visualize themselves throwing interceptions, fumbling, or feeling pain. Sports psychologists who talk about visualization usually do so from the positive mental image creation standpoint (remember…the perfect read, the perfect pass). In getting mentally ready for an ultra, I’ve found that rather than drawing from my football days for inspiration, I’m better served looking to my career as a Marine. You’re going into a situation that you’ve trained relentlessly for, it’s going to be difficult no matter how much you’ve trained, there are going to be some really dark times, and things are going to go wrong at some point. Getting your mind right can be as simple as taking a deep breath and making the decision to do whatever needs to be done.  
 

So here we go.

Race day is almost here and I’ve got to thank some people in advance. Its been a long time coming but no matter what happens this weekend, I’ll be at the starting line of my 1^st 100 mile race because a ton of awesome people have helped get me there.  Trail Hawks, Trail Nerds, Marines, friends and family; whether I pull this thing off or not, I’m gratefull to so many. Especially Jessica, Alyena, and Ayden my real “support crew”.

Anyway, its time to work on that “rest” part. I can’t wait to see everyone and run with you all on Saturday. It’s going to be great sharing the trail with so many ultra runners out there doing what needs to be done.

Let’s do this