Five more nights and I am going to run my first ultra run ever, the Endurance Life Sussex. So, how am I doing? Am I ready?
Yes I am. No I am not. Um, I don’t know. Can you ever be ready to run an ultra?
Only 53 kilometers
Okay, the real ultra runners will probably laugh at me. I mean, I’m going to run 53 kilometers, that’s nothing compared to the 170 kilometers the UTMB runners do, but still…. It’s my first time.
The furthest I’ve run so far is 44,5 kilometers. That means I will have to run 8,5 kilometers more. 8,5 is not that much, but after 44,5 kilometers…. Yet, it gives me the idea I can do it. Okay, the 44,5 kilometers were hard, but I had a bad day. I did 2 long runs in the last couple of weeks of 30 kilometers and they went fine.
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Problems
The problem of Sussex is that I have to climb almost 1.600 meters. That’s going to make it extra hard. Yet, during our training weekend in Spa I climbed more than 1.100 metrers. That went pretty good. So I am confident.
The biggest problem at this moment is my right hamstring. It’s a bit painful. I can run with it. The pain is mostly the day after. It started when I had my double load weekend last week. Yesterday, during our last run, I felt it a bit. This morning when I got out of bed, it was painful. Luckily I still have a couple of days before Sussex. I’m confident it will either go away or diminish.
My right shoulder is still a problem. The frozen shoulder. I had hoped to be in phase 2, in which it is just stiff. I am not. It’s still painful. I wake up every morning around 4 and can’t sleep afterwards. Let’s hope it’s not going to be too bad the nights before the race. I can use some sleep.
Potty training
For the rest I am fine. I started my potty training this morning. Getting out of bed early, doing some yoga to wake-up my intestines, so I can go to the toilet before 8 o’clock. It sounds stupid, but I need that for the race. We will start at 8.30 am. I like to start with empty bowels.
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I am getting nervous though. The closer the race gets, the more nervous I get. Wednesday Sara and I will leave for England. Tomorrow I have a medical test. Just to be sure everything is okay. As I said yesterday, I am getting older. Better safe than sorry.
Thursday we hope to go to Eastbourne, to see the start location and walk the first couple of kilometers of the trail. That way we can get an idea what we’re in for. Friday we will just rest. Read a bit, write a bit. Legs up and be lazy. And then it’s time for the big day. Five more nights….
