She'll be comin' 'round the corner when she comes. Race day is fast approaching. It's funny when I try to track back to when I committed to this race. I've come down to 3 specific instances. The first is sometime in January when I was building out the fall schedule and left an open weekend for September 12th-15th. That was the big move, creating an opportunity to race. I don't think I was committed then, more like interested and leaving my options open. But, had I not done that I wouldn't be sitting here with a pile of clothes, food, and gear in my living room.
The second instance is when my badass wife decided to run the Scout Mountain Ultra. When she started training in earnest it made this race seem like a no-brainer. At that point we were a couple with lofty endurance goals. Of course, Nat is way more disciplined and forward thinking than I am. I assure you she did not have a pile of gear, clothes and food in the living room the day before the race.
The third instance was mid June when I had the privilege of working a NOLS course with Kait Boyle. Kait is a mountain biker. She rides her bikes fast and far. She, in fact, gets paid (not enough of course) to ride her bikes really fast for a really long time. I believe her title would be Professional Ultra-Endurance Mountain Bike Racer. It was serendipitous that I got to work with Kait for a lot of reasons, but in the context of that pile of clothes and gear in the next room she helped galvanize a vision for how I would actually do the thing. Over the course of a week, Kait helped me understand what it was I was actually going to attempt. She patiently answered my questions gear, food, mental planning, strategy, and training. Most importantly she made it seem like an event I could actually complete. By the end of our hiking course I had motivation and a training plan. Up until that point I had only a vague understanding of how I was going to get ready to ride.
Well, over the next 3 months I faithfully plodded along with the training plan, slowly acquiring bits and bobs to put on my bike and my person for this attempt. By the time school started I was a few weeks out, tired, and worried about getting sick. The last 3 weeks has been a balancing act of "cross training" on the river for classes, and trying to keep the fall sinus infection/cold train at bay. This put a major damper on my final ramp up/taper of the training plan, but I figured I wouldn't do anyone any good if I just imploded. So, here I sit on the eve of the race wondering if I put in enough time, if I am bringing too much gear, if I am not bringing enough gear, or if it doesn't matter because my body is going to self destruct either way.
I have been assured by people I trust that I am going to be fine. I bet they are right. There is a well established pattern of anxiety and stress before a trip that settles down once all the other options and responsibilities slip into the rear view as the trip commences. I am patiently looking forward to that sense of inevitability tomorrow as I roll down the Boise greenbelt in a pack of 60ish riders. If all else fails, I hear that the food is great out at Smoky Bar.
Mike
The second instance is when my badass wife decided to run the Scout Mountain Ultra. When she started training in earnest it made this race seem like a no-brainer. At that point we were a couple with lofty endurance goals. Of course, Nat is way more disciplined and forward thinking than I am. I assure you she did not have a pile of gear, clothes and food in the living room the day before the race.
The third instance was mid June when I had the privilege of working a NOLS course with Kait Boyle. Kait is a mountain biker. She rides her bikes fast and far. She, in fact, gets paid (not enough of course) to ride her bikes really fast for a really long time. I believe her title would be Professional Ultra-Endurance Mountain Bike Racer. It was serendipitous that I got to work with Kait for a lot of reasons, but in the context of that pile of clothes and gear in the next room she helped galvanize a vision for how I would actually do the thing. Over the course of a week, Kait helped me understand what it was I was actually going to attempt. She patiently answered my questions gear, food, mental planning, strategy, and training. Most importantly she made it seem like an event I could actually complete. By the end of our hiking course I had motivation and a training plan. Up until that point I had only a vague understanding of how I was going to get ready to ride.
Well, over the next 3 months I faithfully plodded along with the training plan, slowly acquiring bits and bobs to put on my bike and my person for this attempt. By the time school started I was a few weeks out, tired, and worried about getting sick. The last 3 weeks has been a balancing act of "cross training" on the river for classes, and trying to keep the fall sinus infection/cold train at bay. This put a major damper on my final ramp up/taper of the training plan, but I figured I wouldn't do anyone any good if I just imploded. So, here I sit on the eve of the race wondering if I put in enough time, if I am bringing too much gear, if I am not bringing enough gear, or if it doesn't matter because my body is going to self destruct either way.
I have been assured by people I trust that I am going to be fine. I bet they are right. There is a well established pattern of anxiety and stress before a trip that settles down once all the other options and responsibilities slip into the rear view as the trip commences. I am patiently looking forward to that sense of inevitability tomorrow as I roll down the Boise greenbelt in a pack of 60ish riders. If all else fails, I hear that the food is great out at Smoky Bar.
Mike
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