The winter doldrums

What's Going On?
Probably the worst part of living in the mid-Atlantic is the weather inconsistency. One day it could be bright sunny 50+ degrees and the next it will snowing. The winter here in DC has been just that and as a guy who prefers consistency and regularity of weather, my training as been thrown off.

My typical training has been equal parts running, lifting, and eating. However, with the inconsistent weather patterns my drive to get my mileage in has decreased. As a result, I have been increasing my strength training to compensate for less running. If I do get a run in, it is at least 6 miles and even this maxing at 42 miles a week I am in no means adequately prepared for the 100 miler in April.

I have not thrown in the towel though. I have transferred my registration to the 50 mile version of the same race as I really want to experience the Indiana 100 course and I have previous experience with the 50 mile distance. The race staff have been incredibly understanding and I am grateful that they have allowed me to transfer my registration to the shorter distance.

What's the Point?
So what is the takeaway here? Well, I think the lesson is that we can push ourselves and dream large but when the time comes you have to be able to take stock in how much more you can push yourself. Sure, I could still run the 100 and most likely have finished, but I would not enjoy it nearly as much as if I fully trained for it. On the other hand, with the 50 I have experience and I know my body can hit that distance on the type of training that I have attained so far.

Moral of the story. Take stock in where you are at and if you will have to push 200% then it probably isn't the safest, but when you can probably push 110-120% then it is probably a safe bet. In the end, this is all about me challenging myself physically and mentally and I hope to finish a 100 one day but that day is not today.