Mental strategies and prep

It's a long long way, 105 miles! I can't get my head around it at the moment and just pray that on the day(s) it will kind of fall into place. Am I going to be strong enough to keep moving forward despite being sleep deprived, feeling sick and sore? Will I be able to cope with the emotional roller coaster that it is inevitably going to be? I remember on the 50 having moments thinking 'this is ridiculous! Why am I putting myself through all this!?' The 100 will be the same only I will be having those thoughts much more frequently and the desire to stop will be strong. What is going to keep me going? I really need to think about what I am going to do to try and get me through the moments that really test me and where I am on the brink of stopping...

1. It's not 105 miles, it's _ miles to the next check point and food stop 

2. Turning any negative mindset into a positive...my legs are so sore, well they're not falling off 😜

3. If I stop I'll have to wait an awfully long time to get back so may as well keep going

4. Count or sing something in my head when the going gets really tough to distract me from the pain. 

And I kind of get stuck. I am trying to visualise myself getting to each checkpoint, and getting to the end. How good it will feel to achieve the goal I've set myself. Just hoping and praying that I make it and that I can enjoy some of it along the way.

Poles and working on positive thinking

I decided I wanted to try out some poles and just be out for a bit with no expectations of time, effort or distance. After all time on my feet is good training anyway. I am struggling to stop looking at strava and play the comparison game where in my mind I always come out short. Others always seem to be doing so much more; time, distance; efforts etc etc. In my heart I know we are all different. We train different, have different strategies, different responsibilities and different expectations. We will all be running our own race and I really really need to start focusing on my own race, from now! And today I was just out with my boys...my besties. The ones that keep me going when feeling really low and help me to keep believing that I have what it takes to run 100 miles!

We made our way from Seathwaite over to Wasdale, the wind doing its best to blow us of the mountainside and the terrain, well I hated it. But armed (or footed) with my Hokas I felt much more at ease knowing that every step wasn't going to be a risk of sharp rocks hurting my feet. It wasn't easy or that fun but I was able to just tell myself that although I'm not running much it's good agility training :) A lot of the terrain was rocky and just difficult to navigate with much speed. I didn't think much to the poles going down that sort of trail. Going up Black Sail I did feel I could have pushed more but took time trying to get used to the poles, and I wasn't focusing on speed. On our last ascent up a scree path between Great and Green Gable they made a considerable difference. I was able to get a good rhythm and ease off the legs a bit, my arms got a bit of a work out for a change! 

So, Hokas I'm pretty convinced I will use at least on the second half of the 100. Poles, I'm undecided but think they could be really helpful to ease off the legs. So long as I don't get fed up with carrying them when I don't want to use them. I think if I can put them in my bag when I want that would be the best option. 

A good day out. Some good ascending and descending with some kit trial too. And I was with my boys in the mountains :) 

Hoka and Scotts review

My feet (along with my stomach, back, glutes and surviving lack of sleep) are my big concern. I know that inevitably my skin will prune, toes will bruise, lose a few toe nails and feel insane pressure in the balls and heels of my feet. But the longer I can delay that process the better! 

So, I tried some HOKAS!!! Speed Mafate 2 to be precise. How did I get on? Am I converted? Well, I started out with numb toes, pain in my arches and felt like going up hill was a million times harder. Although, that could have been because I was tired. Once I managed to sort those issues I absolutely loved being able to run over rocks and terrain that normally kill my feet with very little concern. I think I actually felt a bit more confident. 

On my second day out in the Hokas I seemed to suffer less with the numbness and pain but still felt like uphill running was more difficult. Again, hard to tell if that was due to being a little tired in the legs anyway or if it was the shoes. Still loved them on the rough terrain and do think they'll be great when I've been on my feet for a day or more already.

Onto my Scott Kinabalus. After a month or more waiting for them i was pleased to finally give the a shot. They seem to fit well, a little compression here and there but that is often the case with new shoes for me. I can't make too much of a judgement at the moment as the terrain was quite good but think they could be a good option for the first half.

Decisions, decisions. I just hope I can get it as good as can be expected. My poor old feet! Next trail...poles! :)