Thinking Big

"You cannot get what you don't go after."

--Ray K.

Umstead 100 Miler. Just the very thought sends my mind someplace else...to those well-groomed carriage trails, to last year's race, to that seemingly torturous hill after the second main aid station (the one where I clutched my stomach after learning my limit of M&Ms, and where I had a woman stop her race to help offer me Tums...), to how I do not plan on spending time inside the lodge, to how I want to PR, to how strong I need to run to do this.

I haven't had the best training, I know. Backpacking seemed to take a priority over long runs (Hello, beach! Hello, surfboard! Hello, rum! Hello, awesome new friends! Hello, Cacao Shaman! Goodbyes all around!), and while in Central America, though I did run 1-2 hours nearly every day, I still didn't get in my usual amount of long runs. The weather back home was so miserable that instead of laughing around Bear Mountain, Rockefeller, and Minnewaska, I probably would've been slogging miles in paved Central Park with the dreaded iPod.

But - more than anything else - I have the desire. The want. The burn inside. Ray K. told me we could do 18 hours - I don't know if this is possible. My sister wants me to run as fast as possible ("If you finish before 11 o'clock, we can still get a table at this restaurant!" "The quicker you run, the more time you'll have to eat."), my mom is sad I plan on spending less time at aid stations, and others doubt if I can do it. I'm not sure.

When yr crew has a spread, grabbing what you need is easier.

But I'm still going to TRY.

But if I have a good day - and I'm planning on having a good day, that's what I marked my calendar for! - I can run strong and fast and well and have fun. I hope to stay with Tony and Ray in 10 minute miles for the first 50 miles. I'll have to learn to get in and out of aid stations quicker - have Lissy and my mom prep water bottles for me, and give me my extra bottle of coconut water, my savior, and whatever delicious snacks I'm desiring of. I'll have to plan my drop bags out a little better than I have previously.

Prepping drop bags cluelessly before my first 100miler

Next week - I'm serious - sleep. Lots of it. Lots of carbs, good food. Just a little running, to keep the legs in motion - but getting lots of rest. I'll cut out caffeine (Makes that 5 hour energy shot kick me into gear a little stronger!). I'll stretch. I'll make my sister promise to force me into an ice bath (and she can be fierce, so I know she'll make me do it).

And victory...I want to taste it. I want it so bad. I need to go after it in order to get it.