Race Week

In approximately 58 hrs I will begin my first ultramarathon.  I am feeling pretty well.  I've been resting a lot.  Actually, since the marathon on Nov 23rd, I've only gone over 30mi/wk once.  That occurred two weeks ago, and the total was 45mi - my highest to date.  I was feeling undertrained and nervous several weeks ago, but that week gave me a huge mental boost.  I know I am in good shape and am capable of finishing this race.  Barring physical catastrophe, I will finish.  

One factor come race day will be my footwear.  I have been running in Brooks Cascadias since the summer.  They are the only pair of trail shoes I have owned/worn.  I have been pretty satisfied with them and they have given me no problems until recently.  The last several times I have worn the shoes, my feet have developed great hot spots and gotten blistered.  It occurs right on the inside edge of my forefoot.  The big toe gets irritated as well.  I realized quickly that this was not acceptable for this weekend.  My feet would certainly be mincemeat by the finish if I did not act.  After consulting some veterans, I decided to do two things.  (1)  I bought some new insoles - Superfeet Green.  They are pretty thick, pretty firm, and have considerable arch support.  Basically, they are a lot more substantial than the stock insoles.  Good thing?  I think so.  However, the change in insoles might be risky without a substantial break-in period (for my feet that is).  I have been wearing the insoles all week in order to get used to them.  They feel and I think they will work.  (2) I am going to apply a lot of SportSlic junk to my feet, wear a thin synthetic sock and a thin wool sock.  I tried the combo today with the insoles in my trail shoes and it felt fine.  Hopefully things will work out fine.  It will certainly be better than the alternative of running through blisters and burning feet.

I'll head down to Huntsville Friday after eating here.  Mountain Mist 50k, here I come!