Training for a 200 miler

Divide 200: Week 3, Phase 0

Planned mileage: 50/completed mileage 50.44

Planned vert: 6,000ft/completed vert 7,733ft

Week three in the book and things are starting to feel good. Mileage was still pretty comfortable this week, but as the plan gets closer to 60mpw (and never looks back till race day), the body and mind for sure feel like they’re establishing a rhythm.

I’m really glad I did this “Phase 0” build. I took a hard off season this winter, and I am really happy I did. I let myself run intuitively and kept my mileage extremely low, 30-40 miles a week most weeks. The result of that has been a body that feels completely fresh as I enter the build and a brain that is genuinely excited each and every time I step out for a run. It’s so important to have those down windows before big builds to not only keep the wheels on the bus but also to keeping the fire stoked up top, because at the end of the day, I want to love this journey. I get to do this. It should not feel like work.

I’m also forever grateful for the access to terrain I have here. I condensed most my vert into two days in the alpine, and to be able to walk out my front door and less than 30 minutes later be on an epic ridge line is so dope. The winter conditions here are pretty dry right now so I’ve thankfully been able to get into some higher country early in the season and cannot wait for the spring to really rip up high.

I’ve started messing around with gear a little and in particular, am exploring my race day belt option. I’ll have a traditional pack, but will most likely also throw on a waist belt at nights for some extra capacity (mostly for hydration). So far I’ve REALLY enjoyed the UltraSpire Mountain Racing Belt (I have zero affiliation with them, I just genuinely have enjoyed their stuff). It’s got a massive 800mL soft flask which has been sick and the rest of the storage is pretty phenomenal. It’s kind of a pain to get on and off, which is currently my major concern for transitions at the race, but I’m going to keep messing around with it and see if it becomes more intuitive as I use it more.

I listened to an episode of Rogan on my last long day out that focused primarily on the optimization of the mental side of the game for top tier athletes (specifically F1 drivers). The concept of focusing on the process and not the outcome was discussed a lot and it really resonated with me in this current project. The outcome of the final test (race day) will always have variables I cannot control. I can have perfect training blocks, and something can still go wrong on race day and I won’t have much say in it. Defining my expectations of what success means in this endeavor solely around race performance is something I’m pivoting away from. I have my race day goals, but I also want to grow a lot along the way. I want to move my goal posts internally for what I feel my ability to endure is, I want to explore the terrain and landscapes I call home in greater depth, I want to learn and evolve in ways that will make me a better husband, coach and human. I want to show up on race day already having achieved everything I hoped to have achieve, with the outcome of those 200 miles just being a cherry on top.

One more gentle week ahead, just a small bump up to 55 miles and around the same vert before things start getting more significant. But for now, i’ll get back to enjoying my day off, which is already an ability I’ve improved in this process.

Onward, Always.