The 100km Jurassic Ultra is in just over two weeks and I've had to start planning for the day itself. It helps hugely to have an idea of what the day should look like if all goes well, of course...
"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" - Mike Tyson
Last year I had a plan for the 100k. Last year I got punched in the mouth and my plan went to shit. But that's OK. I was pretty on target until the feet drama occurred and saw me withdraw at 84Km.
Just because plans change and there is always the unforeseen that can happen (weather, injury, sickness, etc), doesn't mean we shouldn't make them. In fact they help visualise the challenge and really make you think about practicalities, targets, timing, conditions, obstacles that can happen and how you might overcome them (stiffness, blisters, energy, etc.). That makes the plan valuable.
When you are a novice like me, you have little actual experience to draw from on something as big as a 100km continuous run. We tend not to do them very often! The planning forces you to research, test and build confidence that you have at least a good chance of finishing the challenge if the Trail Gods are kind (though they'll always make you earn your 'Finisher' status with blood, sweat, tears, pain and swearing... lots and lots of swearing).
I know more than I did this time last year. But there is still a shit-ton more to learn. But I am where I am, and this time I know more about running this 100km course than I did last year. And that's a good thing. I know how fast I was going while fresh and without the blisters coming on. I know how fast I was going once the blistering took hold. I know how fast i was going when my Achilles flared and really started to bite. That helps me this year significantly in managing expectations. I also came in almost 15% quicker in my recent 50km than I forecast before the challenge. This means my planning is good and not unreasonable. It appears that all of the data I've collected about pace, distance, etc from my training is pretty useful. This time around i will also have my best friend Graham supporting me through rest stops and this will be an immense help given he knows both this course and what it takes to finish a 100K challenge. That'll cut time in stops waiting for stuff, forcing me to check feet and body for any issues that may be creeping in (you tend to forget shit like this when you get tired), sorting kit changes, refilling water, bringing me bits of kit to help stretch, giving me a talking to when it's needed, etc. I'll post about planning for a support crew in a following post to go into more detail.
This gives me confidence that the target I've set is possible and I've given serious thought as to what it will take, and how I will get there.
There is a caveat here though in that plans do change. I need to be prepared for that (mentally, emotionally and physically) and to adapt accordingly. And that might mean sacrificing my time target to execute the finish successfully for instance. The finish is priority 1. Priorities listed in order are:
Finish 100km
Finish 100km in under 24hrs
Finish 100km in under 24hrs in style (or at least as much as I can muster when I do)
...You see a pattern here?
It's about the finish.
No room for doubt. No planning for defeat. Simple - focus, execute, deliver.
I cannot afford to let thoughts in about anything other than this. If they are there, even if they are small, they will grow when it gets really hard, and the pain sets in. The demons and the doubts are never far from our minds when stepping way outside our comfort zones. There is nothing for them here. Not in my head. When they start to show themselves (and they always do), I'm ready and will trust in the training in order to squash them.
That said, here is the initial draft of my plan to run 100km. I need Graham to run through this and give me his thoughts and if there's anything I need to consider that I haven't at this point. Fresh eyes and experience will be valuable here and I value his... highly.
The plan...
Weekly update
As a quick update on the training, I put in 30km at the weekend on what is my final big run. I had an issue with my left hamstring and lower hamstring tendon flare up quite badly towards the last 6Km. This meant lots of walking towards the end.
Not great but I'm glad I learned this far enough out (3 weeks) before the event. I suspect it's a bit of tendonitis so rest, ice and have taped it up for a little extra support. It feels like an overuse issue as I've pushed pretty hard the last few weeks. Now I'm listening to my body and getting the treatment and rest needed. The big mileage is done and now I'm in a taper so I'm taking the next 5 days off and see where it is at at the weekend. If I have to rest up now the next couple of weeks then so be it. Most is stretching, mobility and rest, anyway, in my original plan. I'd like to throw in a few 5k's over the next 10 days but no point in making it worse. I just need to be smart about it and not take any chances. I'll be hitting the ice/heat hot-cold contrast therapy for the next couple of days with ice pack and hot water bottle to see how that helps. If it's still painful after that, then it'll be more bastard-shakti-mat-bed-of-nails and scraping Graston massage. Awesome.
In more positive news... I have a biomechanical assessment (Graham's amazing birthday present to me, for which I'm very grateful!) which will be fascinating. But I'll have had a week off running entirely by this point and it shouldn't be too intense. I'll tape up the hamstring tendons for that regardless as a precaution. The hope is I find out how my form is causing these problems. I'll let you know how that goes though.
Thanks for reading!
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