Ditto what Matt said about race week and the shadow.  This line in particular – the mind and body starts playing tricks on you. All insecurities come to the forefront.  Too true.

Photo courtesy of stuant63 on flickr

I generally feel confident about my training, even though its not a traditional approach.  I sure enjoy it, anyways.  But that goes out the window about 2 weeks ahead of an ultra, especially this time around.

I make the mistake of reading what everyone else has done that’s so different from what I have done and it sinks in.  I keep thinking that I should have done more, should have done different.  Those insecurities take deep root, and I try fight them off with the more accurate rationalizations:  there is no playbook for ultra training; what works for one can ruin another; I trained in a way that matches our overall family lifestyle, and addressed the things I think are most critical for me.  Like another commenter on Matt’s blog said – the hay is already in the barn.

One of my favorite race reports ever was Julie Berg’s 2008 Javelina Jundred report.  It contains the best single piece of ultra advice I have heard:  Quit thinking about the problem and begin to think about the solution. That is my race strategy in a nutshell.  For everything that seems to go “wrong” I remind myself of something that is going great, and stay positive.

No matter what, the Zumbro 100 Mile Endurance Run will be a blast.  I have an awesome crew.  It might be a training run for Superior 100.  It might be my first 100 finish.  My optimistic son even asked “what happens if you win?”  Not too worried about that. 😉  Either way, I will have learned something new by Saturday afternoon.