Normally, three months would seem like a long time until race day, however, the Moab 240 is not just any race. I am feeling confident that I am putting in the hard work required to be able to complete the event (and not die in the process) and "enjoy" the experience.
One of the reasons I wanted to do such a long, demanding race is that it's right up my ally. Long. Slow. My strength is NOT speed, but it is determination and an unwillingness to quit. The last three years continue to teach me that when things start looking, and feeling, dire, I just have to put one foot in front of the other. Just like life, when things get overwhelming I just need to focus on doing the next right thing, stay in the present, stay in the mile I am in. When asked HOW I will run a 240 mile race I usually say "one mile at a time, I'll run mile 1, then mile 2 and so on".
I can only run so many miles so this spring/summer has included some different types of training: weighted vest climbing on the stair-stepper (very hard and a personal favorite), weight training, increased core straining, hill repeats with weighted vest, running with 3 liters of water (basically a weighted vest), swimming, power hiking practice on a steep incline treadmill, and of course heat training twice a week in the suffocating hot steam room at my gym. After completing 40 minutes in the steam room my sister commented on Strava "how long can one stay in a steam room before one passes out?" lol. My answer "I don't know but I have a feeling I'm getting close!".
Many days I don't "want" to get up at 4AM and go running, or come home after work after working out in gym for 3 hours before work and THEN go run 8 miles. But the satisfaction from doing so is great. In fact the harder it is to get started and the bigger the struggle, the more satisfying it is to overcome the voices in my head that say "yeah, go ahead, take today off, it won't matter!".
Plus, I really love sunrises.... Below are a few pics from my last week of running
Above: Early Sat morning - start of 24 mile long run in Waterton Canyon and into Roxborough State Park
Above: Near Standley lake - my Tuesday early morning 12 mile run
Above: Just another sunrise - never gets old!
Above: My face after a very rough 8 mile run after work - 3 hours at gym that morning left my legs feeling very heavy and I probably shouldn't have eaten chicken wings, fries and ranch dressing before running!