An Experience

"We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."
-- Emil Zatopek

You may as well put the word "ultra" in front of the word marathon at the end of that quote. Zatopek, a ridiculous distance runner in the 40's and 50's, is describing perfectly what this ultra has become to me. Idealy, I would be perfectly rested now. I would have already peaked, knocked out my last distance run, and be well on my way to 100 miles. However, like everything else involving my training, this past week has been quite the experience.

So I'm tired. Boo hoo. What else is new? The big qualm here is what does being tired mean this late in the game? It's hard to say exactly. It may not mean much other than I should rest before finishing my last week of tapering...or it could mean I'm setting myself up for failure through exhaustion. I tend to believe that it is the former. But, this race has become an experience for me in both body and mind. I can't help but question myself over and over. I scrutinize my training non-stop throughout the day. " Am I doing enough? Am I doing too much? Should I try a different method?" It's mind numbing, really.

There is comfort in Zatopek's words, though. While this creature may be driving me insane, there are those on my team to whom it has done the exact opposite. This beast has changed them. They are in awe of it. While my reactions and behaviors are surreal to me, my team recognizes real progress. They calm me down and reassure me that I am on track. I am ready. I am in peak shape. That I am going to cruise through 100 miles with little more than a sigh.

God willing, that sigh will be a sigh of relief. A mouth-watering cherry on top of this experience. The 100 miles is only the ending. The real experience has been trying to get to April 25th.

Run hard, run slow.