Thursday, September 22, 2011

One Week 'Til Nats

Grocery run #1. Natural Grocers I love you. 
I first heard of 24 hour racing 13 years ago in a bike magazine about Chris Eatough's feats. I thought how dreaming it would be the easy part but had no clue how to ever sets goals to achieve it. Fast forward 13 years and I'm confident entering my first 24 hour solo which happens to be the nationals one week from Saturday at noon. I'll be entering the abyss once again this season which is what I make every season about - going bigger, going deeper, and finding the way to suffer more. To fight in the dark and convince yourself that failing is not an option is a great space to challenge yourself and see what exactly you're made of. For the most part, I have failed to break myself this year. Mentally yes, it was done but was quickly turned around at the summit of Granite Peak at Vapor Trail 125. Maybe it'll be at the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs Nats and that'll be ok since I'll finally feel where the ceiling is...for now. I may be a virgin to 24 hour solos but something tells me this is only the beginning to pushing this kind of limit. This race will put the "ultra" in endurance racing for me and I can't wait for the test. Not sure what exactly to expect but I'm sure my own intimidation will be enough to chase and push me through the course which Ben Welnak and I checked out earlier today. I'm very satisfied with the course, err, maybe the sand traps could be saved for the golf course but I got some great tips from Ben today so if I can stay upright and smooth, things should pan out well. Easier said than done. Thanks also goes to Jonathan Davis for giving us the hookup for GPS course routing. The course is like a plate of spaghetti and even with the Garmin course uploaded, we still got lost!

Hydration fuel of choice, CarboRocket. Half Evil 333 was on backorder so Brad hooked me up big time with sample packets to hold me over!
Thank you Honey Stinger!
Not sure if I'll need the ginger ale any longer since Ben has taught me the delicious homemade version, so good!
Homemade ginger ale and working towards eating more raw foods! I could've used this recipe all summer long!
Fully equipped with Honey Stinger, Starbucks DoubleShots, Snickers, and of course, Coca-Cola.
Funny the influence of other racers have on each other. Got the Sour Patch Kids from Lynda Wallenfels, Twizzers: Michael Scott, Marie Calendar's Pot Pie: Bill Martin, good ole peaches from Eszter Horanyi, and the Detox tea influenced by the obvious. 

See you on the trails,

Tim