Physical... Check. I'm Still Working on Mental

Yesterday afternoon I spent an hour riding a very familiar route, which I refer to as the "Dirty Bismarck."  The reason I call it the "Dirty Bismarck" is because it is a 14 mile "mostly" dirt loop, which is contained within the perimeter of paved roads that were ridden during the "Morgul Bismarck"; once part of the Coors Classic.

The trail is a combination of dirt roads and hard packed dirt trail, which I'm sure is very different in terms of technical riding from the 24 Hours of Moab course.  However, if you look at the basic numbers of the Dirty Bismark compared to the 24 Hours of Moab; I was pleased to see some similarities in both distance and elevation.

24 Hours of Moab:
Distance: 14.91 Miles
Climbing Dist: 7.85 mi.
Climb Elevation: 1,360 ft.

Dirty Bismarck:
Distance: 14.09 Miles
Climbing Dist: 3.40 Miles
Elevation Gain: 1,123 ft.

I've never ridden the 24 Hour of Moab course so I don't know what to expect other than what I already know about riding in Moab.  I know there will be sand and according to the stats the climbing will be much more gradual than what I am use to riding.

I guess my point is that I'm physically ready for the course.  I will be happy when I get to pre-ride the course on Friday, but by riding the Dirty Bismarck, I'm physically ready to take on a course that is ~15 miles long with 1,360 ft of elevation gain.  In fact, I know I can do that several times in a row if I needed to.  That alone is a big boost to my confidence level going into this event.

So that was yesterday... 

Yesterday was the last day I spent on the bike before the pre-ride on Friday.  I know my body and there is no physical benefit to me riding the next couple days.  In fact, I'm already a bit fatigued and I'm sure my body could use today and tomorrow to recover.  Besides, there is a lot more planning that needs to be done before I pack the car on Friday!

So, in my head I have a checklist:

Physically ready for the event... check
Mentally ready for the event...  To Do

Mentally getting ready for this event will require that I pay attention to the details on the fringe of mountain bike racing as well as the obvious physical requirements.  These fringe details include such things as packing, fixing/maintaining the bike, preparing food/meals, etc.  All these details allow the mind to relax when they are completed and checked off the list.  I started working on those details last night and made some progress. 

Today was a DO NOTHING DAY.  I didn't ride, I didn't work on the bike.  The only thing bike related today was this blog entry.  I needed the break!

So, today was a success!  I DID NOTHING!  Tomorrow it is back to the details and the momentum builds from there until the weekend climax.  I'm looking forward to it.