"Eat Like a Horse, Drink Like a Fish, Run Like a Turtle"

Thanks to Greg M. for that saying that he posted on his blog earlier this week. Perfect. Simplistic, I know, but it's easy to forget to always be eating, always be drinking, and running nice and easy...especially at the beginning. I went ahead and also put it at the top of my reference/motivational card I made and laminated this evening. Below is one side of it that has every aid station, total accumulated mileage, distance to next aid station, and miles to go. The highlighted aid stations are those where I will have drop bags. Those with the letter "W" after them signify water only at those aid stations and maybe a few other minimal things. All other aid stations will have (as reported this week by the race organizers): water, ice, Hammer Heed will be supplied in Heed labeled cups, gels (Hammer raspberry, apple cinnamon, chocolate, tropical, banana, vanilla, orange and/or espresso flavored), Endurolytes, Coke, Mt. Dew, Sprite (no diet supplied), pretzels, crackers, cookies, chips, olives, peanut butter and jelly and turkey sandwiches, fruit (cantaloupe and watermelon), boiled white potatoes, and other assortments of sweet and salty foods. Some stations will have coffee, soup and other assorted food.

On the other side, I gave myself a few reminders for each and every aid station of things not to ever forget. I plan to review this before each station so I can grab what I need and get the heck out of there. In and out as fast as possible is the idea. I also put a picture of my girls...chances are, I'll have to call upon them throughout the weekend.

I also believe that I finally hammered out my fueling plan. I finally got some time to myself tonight while getting my deep tissue massage...when I counted out the miles and how often I would refill my Perpetuem bottle, take Shot Bloks, stage replacement shoes, socks, shirts, etc. In a nutshell:

• (1) Clif Shot Blok every 45 minutes
• Multi-hour bottle of Perpetuem every drop bag (~ every 15 miles)
• Replacement trail shoes if necessary at 50K and 100K aid stations
• Road shoes if necessary at 100K aid station
• BodyGlide lubricant at all drop bags
• Socks pre-filled with SportShield lubricant at 50K and 100K aid stations
• Replacement short sleeve tech tees at 50K and Emma Carlin #2 aid stations
• Long sleeve tech tee at 100K aid station
• Short sleeve tech tee at Highway 12 aid station
• Starbucks DoubleShot at 100K and Highway 12 Aid Stations (77mi/82mi)
• Garmin GPS at 100K aid station
• Petzl Headlamp at Emma Carlin #2
• Princeton Tec main headlamp at 100K aid station
• Petzl e-Lite and North Face waterproof jacket in Nathan pack at all times on back

Below is a picture of many of these items I laid out tonight minus the clothing. Laying on the bottom is the Ziploc 10 gallon bag that I'm using for drop bags. Easy to seal, easy to see through, and a built-in handle to make it easier for me to grab and for the aid station volunteers to handle. A pack of 4 is less than 5 bucks and can be found at Target. On the bottom are several little snack baggies with labels written on them. I'll pre-measure out multi-hour servings of Perpetuem and pick a bag up at each aid station for the next aid station. The idea is to get through the whole bottle and throw in the powder before entering the station so that all has to be done is getting it filled with water. I'll also carry a bottle and refill with Heed at each station. The little spray bottle is bug spray.

Once a race update site goes "live," I will post it here on my blog. That will be my last post before race start on Saturday morning. Until then, I'll probably post an update once I get into town and explore the area and a few key points along the course.

For this week so far, I ran 6 on Sunday, 5 on Monday, rest today and a deep tissue massage this evening, 3 miles tomorrow (Wednesday) very easy then start carbo loading tomorrow afternoon/evening. I'll hit the road for Wisconsin early on Thursday, have a hearty dinner, get a hopefully very long, restful night sleep, explore the area on Friday and pick up my race info, then embark on 100 miles in the Kettle Moraine National Forest at 6am central standard time, 7am EST on Saturday morning. Thanks to many of you who have already sent your well-wishes and support. I will do my best to post a picture of me holding a kettle by weekend's end!

Happy Trails, everyone!