Mountain Mayhem 24 hour mtb race

Excellent, thanks

Replace 'pumped for' with 'increasingly anxious about' and I'll be set

All of them.

All of them

get out of my kitchen

All of them wouldn't be totally inaccurate though :-/

Expected emotions before a big race. That's good. It means you care about it and will do your best.

I guess much of this will be a challenge of how much food I can get down me

It means you care about it and will do your best.

I've nearly quit several times already

There will be lots of challenges. Fueling right is a big one. How many ultras have I done and how badly did I fuck RATN because of food fail? Set an alarm on Garmin or something and eat/drink when it goes off, even if you don't want to.

Stick it out. It's easy to give up before the start line, don't be that person. Once you've started you'll be enjoying it and when you've finished you'll think "fuck yeah".

Think I've eventually settled into the idea of feeling much worse if I didn't go through with it :-)

Going out and doing rides "Just in case I don't decide to quit"

Start it, then deal with everything one problem at a time. Don't think "shiiiiit I can't ride 24hrs" think "I'll just finish this lap, then I can eat something different" and go do another lap. Rinse, repeat. Small goals. Keep moving forward.

Being a natural pessimist, I think of the riding as something I can either physically plough ( slowly ) on with, or not, depending on poor fuelling, injury, or irreversible mechanical. It's the little details that weigh me down mentally and get my anxiety going. Will I get to the event ok? Will I have all the right clothing, food, lights? Will I get any sleep the night before? etc etc.

Will get a checklist written down, as it's all just floating madly around my head at the moment, which isn't terribly helpful.

Yeah, all that shit does my head in. I've done enough riding to know I can get through anything but if I, say, miss my flight, sleep through my alarm or do dumb shit like forget my knicks, it could scupper the whole thing. (I've also done all these things too).

I have about 10 spreadsheets of packing lists depending on the event. Most are the same but slightly tweaked. Lists are helpful as they mean you shouldn't forget anything (not foolproof if you've assumed your partner has packed something she didn't). The other option is to take everything you have, so you have options. That's easily done if you're driving to the start, not so easy if you're cycling (ie. not taking warm enough kit to RATN).

I'm a big fan of checklists.
lots of actual proper evidence that they greatly reduce your cognitive load and make things work well.
good luck with the prep, see you soon!

All of them wouldn't be totally inaccurate though :-/

C'mon, nobody ever ate just one biscuit. That's why they sell them in packs.

get out of my kitchen

Gets some shortbread next time and maybe I'll leave...

see you soon!

I did tidy up the shed a bit for your visit, but @TvH has messed it all up now...

Gets some shortbread next time and maybe I'll leave...

Want some single malt to go with?

Christmas >>>>>

Beer is fair trade for minor oil stains, right?

Please. Am I too early, or too late, for mince pies?

Am I too early, or too late, for mince pies?

Both

minor oil stains

My hoover is really struggling!

This. So much this.

Also, more generally, I noticed Bullheart had said he'd pit this if he was still around. Maybe nice to have his banner, or pin badges with team LFGSS?

I remember him saying that :-(

Will certainly be one of the things I'll keep in mind while I'm plodding away

This guy's a bit good

253 miles on a singlespeed! Bloody Australians...

https://youtu.be/qZIxw0bwe9Q

Ouch

endurance & ultra marathon racer is attempting a new Guinness book mountain bike record for the most climbing in 24 hours, aiming at more than double-Everesting.