I had a great summer training. I managed to run about seven hundred miles and over 100k in elevation since June. Not bad for being in Indiana. Admittedly some of those miles were in California, Virginia, and Ohio.
Friends of my wife and myself, who live in Southern California, opened up their home to us for a week. We went on several runs with long periods of sustained climbs that ranged from 300' of elevation per mile to 4k of elevation per hill (or mountain in the latter case). It was a great time and a great opportunity to pick the brains of two accomplished runners. (Most importantly a technique to run hills more efficiently. Always good to have.)
I managed one 50k race (Not Yo Momma's 100) as a training run and managed to come in 3rd overall. I was shocked at my placing but really feel like it was a fluke. Just a luck of the registered runners (or those who didn't register actually). The overall winner of the race came in an hour ahead of me. Nonetheless it was a challenging course and it's probably an event I'd do again. Maybe a longer distance though. The event had several distances 25k,50k,75k,100k, and a hundred mile all on a 25k course. The start/finish line was a campground where my wife and I hung out after the race. We had a great time. Plus they give out sweet trophies.
Since that overly successful training run I just focused on elevation. Something I love to do. I made up a training workout called the "Devil's Marathon" located in McCormick's Creek State Park. Basically there is a hill there with one service road, two trails, and a staircase. I did a circuit from the top of the hill down to one of the aforementioned things and repeated over and over. The total length of each circuit is less than a third of a mile with about an average 175' of elevation gain. I ended up with 27 miles with just under 7k of elevation gain. This thing was ridiculous and mind and leg numbing.....but it left me with the confidence that I can handle anything elevation wise.
Towards the end of the summer I started getting really bored of running the same trails over and over. Part of this boredom led to the "Devil's Marathon" idea. Totally illogical, "I'm tired of running these trails. I'll just run the same 1/3 of a mile over and over and up and down." Then I started getting in contact with another local runner who grew up in the area and knows all the nooks and crannies of all the local parks, state forests, and surrounding areas. Fun and exciting things like bush whacking and running down country gravel roads and just exploring made the last several weeks of training more interesting.
So now I just have to sit and wait for the race day. My "hay is in the barn" as they say. I cannot do any more work or preparation. I had a couple of niggles show up the last week of running. So the last week has been babying those. I've been loading up with nutritious meals and stretching. Letting my legs rest and repair. I have no idea what race day will bring. Victory, success, and possible disappointment. If anything, it will be a fun day in the woods with friends. Unless it rains...that will suck.....but as the saying goes "attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure"
