Amazing effort Zap, it is just extraordinary the distance humans can run, I doubt there are many other animals (maybe I should exclude birds here ;-) ) that could do such a thing. You will have to give us a run down on the psychological training you need to run that kind of distance.
Neil
Neil - No doubt running 100 requires serious mental strength. In fact I would argue that its 70% of what it takes. And for me, it was even more because it leaves questions in your head training the way I train (because almost no one does it) there's so much doubt and the not knowing whether it will translate can eat away your confidence. When everyone around you doubts that you can do 100 miles of challenging course (I couldn't believe this course ranked harder than Leadville) without running long runs and back to backs you have to do some serious mental acrobats to convince yourself you can do it.
My friend, Matt, who paced me kept messaging me weeks before the run asking me if I was running yet and seriously doubted I could pull it off. Mind you, I WAS running, just not long. Mostly 60-90 min speedwork and interval runs on the trails 3 days a week along with my strength training. After pacing me 23 miles on the course he said he had a newfound respect for me, my strength, and my training. He got to see firsthand how it translated. He was wrecked after all the climbing he did with me and was in awe that I had already climbed two peaks that day before he started pacing me and I was still a machine (I was getting a little sleepy, but all my strength was there) and I had three more climbs to do after him.
But it wasn't easy getting to that starting line. I doubted myself so I had to go to the extreme to trick myself into truly believing I could do it. I had to adopt a take no prisoners attitude, tell myself that I was a (these are the words I had to use) "muther f*cking bada$$ athlete" and that more than anybody I DESERVED to be on that starting line. This didn't come easy. I had to use this mantra over and over every day until I started believing it. It was weak at first. I had to find music that helped me focus, I had to stop hanging around people who fed me doubt and worry (sadly I didn't see or talk to my parents for weeks) and I had to stop seeing myself as hobbyist runner and more as a real athlete. I know it sounds extreme, but 100 miles climbing 5 peaks in the Siskiyous is extreme and I had to have a plan.
So when I finally arrived on that starting line I was ultimately relaxed, focused and totally BELIEVED I could do it. In fact, scientifically I figured I had better odds than all those folks doing long slow distance running and back to backs. This helped A LOT. I figured I would be on the starting line with my endocrine system fully charged and in tact (something a lot of those LSD runners had probably worn out to some extent before their taper) and I was starting completely uninjured (although the course's steep downhills would reverse that within the first 40 miles...ugggh), I had more muscle to burn once my body started cannibalizing itself for fuel in the later stages of the race, and I also had a super strong core from strength training which would enable me to carry my hydration pack and maintain a much more upright posture for the duration of the race while other runners were in a leaning and weakened zombie state later on. There are way more other benefits to my strength training that would take forever to write about that probably helped me as well. I'm lucky because as a woman I don't have HUGE muscle mass to weigh me down for long runs like that, but the muscle I do have is efficient at its job for strength and power.
So yeah... psychologically I had to reinvent myself in order to believe I could do it. But, now, I'm beginning to realize maybe its not a trick anymore. Maybe I really AM a "muther f*cking bada$$ athlete." Hahaha! That's totally bonus. Oh and all those doubters can BRING IT ON, because I KNOW it works. I will never doubt my training again.
