50 miles of bliss

I have returned from my six month blogging hiatus.  The blog has been transformed, yet again, and will focus on ultra running.  As an aside, I did finish the marathon, as mentioned in my prior post. 

Today, I would like to discuss the feelings and thoughts that I am experiencing as I am preparing for my first 50 mile race, which takes place tomorrow.  While it is natural to be nervous and a little anxious for any race, this one has me a bit on edge.  You see, my endurance is finally good enough where I know I can finish any race at marathon distance or less, even if I do not do too well with nutrition and hydration.  However, 50 miles on the other hand, this is an all day adventure for someone of my experience and speed.  So, if I do not hydrate or eat properly I will likely not finish the race.   This is what I have spent the last week dreaming about.  I suppose it is healthy to obsess so much about something this important because it causes you to prepare more. 

In preparation for tomorrow I have read countless blogs and articles on training and preparing for races 50 miles and beyond.  As you can imagine, the training plans and strategies vary quite a bit, with some plans peaking with a 35 mile long run.  I however, chose to go with what I felt my body could take and what I felt would make my body the most prepared to handle the hours of pounding.  My plan ultimately consisted of running four days a week with back-to-back long runs on the weekend, two days a week I would do P90X for strengthing core muscles, and rest on Friday to be fresh for the Saturday long run.  My longest actual training run was 25 miles, which was followed up with 12 1/2 the following morning, so I covered almost 40 miles in a 24 hour period.  While this seems like a lot of mileage, as of this morning I am still questioning whether this was enough to adequately prepare.  Should I have run further?  I guess we will find out tomorrow.  I presume this is sufficient to complete the race, which is really my only goal for my first 50.  However,  I may have to make some alterations to the plan in order to qualify for Western States in the future.  I guess I better end this post, so I can review the items for my drop bags for 10th time.