Last week was a decent training week. Logged a few miles with my tire and on the treadmill/stair climber. Admittedly dragging that damn tire takes a toll on the gluteus and hip flexors. My pack weighs about 10 lbs and the tire is 30 lbs. Pulling it across the dry pavement makes it feel a bit heavier that 30 lbs. My concern is that if pulling the sled is anything like that tire, I'm thinking that I'm going to have a pretty tough slog and finishing 300 miles will not happen.
The good news is that I will not be carrying a 10 lb pack and the sled being pulled across ice/snow should be appreciably easier than that damn tire. I've been mixing up my training between running and hiking. Today I'll most likely get in a 15 mile tire pull hike. I'd like to think that 15 miles of that tire is equivalent to 25+ miles with a sled. Race strategy has yet to be determined, but having 8 days to complete this race will play a major role in the development of it. This race is going to come down to one's ability to bounce back after each stop/rest period. Stretching, recovery, knowing when to push and when to pull back is going to be the determining factor.
Gear update....I'm waiting on 1 critical item and that is my Northern Outfitters Arctic Parka Liner, rated to -60F. I spoke to the customer service department this past week and the liner was backordered but expected to be delivered before January 30, 2013. Unfortunately most of the gear that I've purchased I will not be able to test before arriving in Whitehorse due to the warm climate here in middle TN. The most important piece of my gear is my Goretex trail running shoes by Brooks. I've logged well over 100 miles on them with 2 sets of wool socks, along with my under armor top and bottom. I've also logged miles with foot heat warmers as well to see how they handle in my sneakers, making certain that I do not develop blisters..which so far I have not. I really believe that as long as I manage my perspiration levels while on the course that my gear is going to do its job. A have a few pieces of gear yet to purchase which include my bivvy, sleeping pad, sitting pad, stove and cooking pot. I haven't decided if I'm going to purchase a GPS device yet. I've researched satellite phones and it looks like that I can rent a few of them in Whitehorse on Friday 2/1. Overall in pretty good shape.
At 4 weeks out from today, I've got 1 week left of any meaningful training and then going to go into the recovery mode and focus on core and light strength training. I need to go into this race extremely well rested as 300 miles is a long haul and will require fresh legs, core and mind.
Got a date with my tire.....cheers!
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