Well, here we are … a mere 10 days away from the event and I for one am feeling quite positive. Having done five training hikes was certainly a big gauge and booster for me. They were key in me seeing where I am with my physical conditioning and what combination of gear, food and liquids work best for me.
PHYSICAL CONDITIONING: The most obvious was getting a better understanding of where my physical conditioning was at and how far my body was from being able to do a 100K. Well, it wasn’t great, but it certainly was not dire either. All of the hikes had their grueling sections, but looking purely at my heart rate readings, it looks as if my body has gotten stronger.
In Training #2, to Takao-san and Jimba-san, my heart spent quite a bit of time above the 160bpm (red zone!) … with numerous visits above the 170bpm mark !! Take note of the elevation/slope profile as well.
(Click on charts to view larger formats)
However, by Training #5, to Kumotori-san, with all of it’s own challenges, I barely touched the 160bpm mark. So I have to read some level of conditioning improvement in that.
All that being said, the one unknown for all of us, regardless of how much training we have done, is the simple matter of endurance. We certainly cannot foresee injuries … even though my knee and Paul M’s foot are candidates … the bigger unknown is how our bodies will react (and hold together) as we get into the 60/70/80+ kilometers.
Time will tell .. but I’m feeling positive. And oh, as for my left knee issues, it is doing quite well and I expect a full recovery in time for the event.
GEAR / FOOD / FLUIDS: As mentioned in my previous blogs, the hikes really helped me to fine tune my gear setup and what works best for me … and also, the team was able to build a quality packing checklist. The only thing that I am dreading is wet weather conditions. As I do not plan on leveraging any type of a support mechanism, I simply do not want to be carrying too much gear in my pack. This will remain an unknown until the few days before the event when we can start looking at weather forecasts for Kanagawa (start) and Yamanashi (finish). It better be a dry event !!
Well … see you at the start line !