14 days to the Canadian 24hr Solo Championships

As I sit watching some early morning coverage of the Tour de France, it's a little over 14 days to the start of the Canadian 24hr Solo Championships in Canmore, Alberta. It's funny how perspective on race duration can change so quickly depending on what you're doing at the moment. Last weekend, I was in the middle of a XC race and suffering the high intensity pain that occurs from start to finish of XC races and was thinking to myself "in a few weeks this won't even make a dent in the duration of a 24 hr race." While today, watching stage 8 of the TDF, I am so happy that I'll only be riding 24 hours. What this tells me about 24hr racing, that I'm sure every 24 hour racer knows, is that success in the race is at least 70% mental, while only 30% physical. This also makes me feel a little better with only 2 weeks to race day, as it's the time in the race preparation when you start to analyze (and maybe doubt a little) what you've done to date to prepare physically. Questions like, "did I build a big enough base in the early season?", "have I worked on my climbing enough?", "have I raced enough to feel comfortable at high speeds?" start cropping up all the time. With the doubts nagging, I think I'm happy about the 70/30 rule. It calms me knowing that I've likely done all I can on the training front and it's time to start preparing mentally. I think that's what today's training ride will now be about. Don't get me wrong, I'll still complete my climbing intervals in the 35 degree heat, but instead of thinking about how I'd rather be on a lounge chair in the shade, I'm going to focusing on the mental space I'll need to be in during the 24hr Nationals. I think I'll even do some visualization- seeing myself cruising the climbs, flowing relaxed in the single track, running through the timing tent to the noise of the cow bells, completing the pit transitions smooth and efficient and most importantly, having a great time riding one of the best 24 hour courses on the planet.