Battles

When running a long distance race, the most common mistake I make is going too fast. This race that I am going to be training for is going to be one of those raves where I cannot afford to make mistakes. A mistake at the beginning of the race means that the rest of the race is compromised. In order to run this race at pace, I am probably going to do one of the things I hate doing. I am most likely going to walk part of the race. I dislike walking with a passion because I am not moving fast, but in a twelve hour race, if used correctly, a walk will give you exactly what you need.

My plan of action for the race is to attempt to average ten minute miles. Should I finish the 3.1 mile loop faster than my goal pace, I'm going to walk until my goal time is reached. This would somewhat maintain the average and would provide me with the break that I would need. During my walks, there are lots of things that I could do. One would be to rest. During my walk, my body would use that time to recover from the loop and therefore, last longer. Also, during my walk, I would have more than enough time to eat and drink. During the race, I will definitely use a lot more energy than the marathon. Therefore, I will need to intake about the same amount of energy as I am using, so that I would be able to continue on.

While I've prepared for the physical course of action when it comes to the speed of my run, there's going to be a lot more to the battle than meets the eye. When I ran the fifty mile race in October, we started early in the morning and continued throughout the whole day in the mountains. The course was hilly and it was fall. The temperature was perfect for running and the mountains made sure that I wouldn't go too fast. However, according to the website, the course in Asheville will not be mountainous, but will have a few hills. This will mess up my pace and encourage me to run faster. The mental battle of the race starts at the beginning of the race. The course will encourage me to run faster while I will be telling my body to run slower. Another aspect that in going to have to be aware of is the temperature. Because of the date and time, the temperature is going to be hot. Being hot, it'll tax my body and test my endurance as water drips off my body with each step I take in the sun. I need to make sure to monitor myself so that I would take in the right amount of water and electrolytes as my body constantly loses a lot of water.

The important battle, if we look at it as a general thing, is balance. I new to balance my running with walking, the food intake and energy output, the loss of water and replenishment of it. Should I get off balance in any one of these areas, my pace will suffer. What's important about this is to go over and over how my body is doing after and during each loop. I need to measure the amount of water lost and how much I need, as well as checking my pace and energy storage.

Although it seems like a large sun of the race is based off of the balance of these three groups, there is one other battle I would like to address. Though science can explain how the body works and how certain circumstances will occur in a given scenario, there is one thing that science has a difficult time measuring. Resolve. Resolve cannot be measured by science. It is the willpower an individual has to push on beyond the limits of the body. We can only guess where we are, regarding our resolve. But when we get to that point where we push ourselves beyond where our bodies can handle, we find out how much we have within us. I plan on training my mind and continually remind myself of how badly I want to win this race.

Today, I cycled 10 miles in 35 min on the stationary bike. I needed to go to my sister's graduation so I had to cut my training short. She graduated, and I was there to see her. It was totally worth not going out and running.