Pre-Race Thoughts

My work is done, all that is left now is a gentle 4 miles tomorrow night and then it's time to count down the hours until 1:00am on Saturday 20th June when me and 174 others embark on a 95 mile trot from Milngavie to Fort William on the West Highland Way Race.
Rightly or wrongly, this has become my main focus for the last 12 months. All my training is geared up to this one race. My mind is constantly flicking through mental check lists, logistical options and different completion scenarios. Eve and the kids have had to put up with my anti-social running exploits and I have spent far too much time updating training logs instead of working. As with last year, Race Day accelerates towards you and before you know it, it's here and it's time to deliver the goods.
I could spout forth here about pace schedules, target times, nutritional requirements yadah, yadah, yadah but the thing is; this is a really simple concept. You start running in Milngavie and keep going until you reach Fort William. If you don't stop, you'll succeed, if you do, you wont.
Now I know that there is a bit more to it than that but I've decided that if I get too caught up in obsessing about splits and pace then I'll panic if I don't hit them and if I start to get defeated mentally, the race is over.
Goal number 1 is to finish (safely and in one piece). Last year I ran 24 hours 42 mins and so it would be nice to run under 24 hours this year but we'll see what the day brings. My support crew is the same as last year with Eve and Cameron (wife and Nr. 1 son) doing Milngavie to Rowardennan and then David, Pete, Alistair and Donald (Dad, father-in-law, brother Nr. 1 and brother Nr. 2) from Carmyle Cottage to Fort Bill.
It will doubtless be another emotional and physical rollercoaster with some glorious highs and a few deep troughs but one thing is for certain, if I keep moving forward, I will finish. That may sound obvious and kind of simple but when you've been out there for 15 hours, your legs are completely shot, your feet are in pieces and you're not quite sure which way is up and which is down, moving forward is quite a challenge.
I have written before in this blog about "enjoying the journey" and not focussing on the destination and that is what I hope to do. We are very fortunate to be able to take part in an event like this and so I for one intend to enjoy it.
So my overall race plan goes something like this:

Eat well, drink a little and often, start off slow and be patient. The end will come!
Wish me luck and I'll talk to you on the other side.