Journey to Kona Day 121: 100 Miles

My coach made a comment to me yesterday that really hit a nerve, in a good way!  He said that completing the 100 mile event earlier this year will change the way my brain perceives distance.  I get it!  Ever since my bike crash in 2009, getting off the bike has always felt great.  Once I'm off the bike, I know that I'll finish.  However, there's still 26 miles left.  Now, 26 miles doesn't really seem like a lot.  Better yet, every increment below 26 miles will seem even smaller.  I can already feel the difference.  Running one mile suddenly seems so small.

I've already got different mental places along the Ironman run course.  I've already run the first six miles a few times.  Piece of cake!  Furthermore, the first four miles is uphill, and once I'm past that, I'll never see that section again during the race.  I've already got the mental concept that 20 miles isn't that far, so when I get to Mile 6, the final twenty won't be daunting whatsoever.  When I put that in the context of doing a 100 miler, it seems even smaller.  I remember getting down to the last 5-6 miles of the Snowdrop Ultra, and because I was walking, it did seem like a long ways, until I put my head down and powered through the last miles.

Pacing will be important on Sunday.  No matter how good I feel at the start of the run (and that could vary from pretty good to pretty bad), I need to remember to just "ease in" to the run.  The first six miles should be done very comfortably.  I know that this feels like, and there will be some challenge to not letting the adrenaline take over and cause me to run too fast.  There should really be no such thing as running too slow in the first 6 miles.  From there, I just need to get into a rhythm and enjoy the day.  A successful Ironman is all about being "in the moment," and that's where I need to be during the entire run.

The Ironman run doesn't really become a race until Mile 20.  I know what those last six miles look like.  I know what they feel like.  I know what the last six miles of a 100 miler looks and feels like.  There's nothing that will happen to me on Sunday that will make those last six miles anywhere near what I felt in the 100 miler.  I've often planned to "push hard" during those last six miles.  I've never really picked up my pace at that point.  In fact, it's usually hard enough to just maintain the pace that I'm at.  What isn't hard to do is put in the effort over those last six miles.

During the last six miles of the 100 miler, I dug deep and put in an effort that would have been worthy of any of my Ironman finishes.  I will do the same on Sunday.  Hopefully, running will be involved.  Those last miles should never feel good.  But they should feel like I'm able to give it "everything I've got!"  Because I know that I can do that.  Because I've done it.