On the eve

So tomorrow morning, I depart for the great wilderness, the barren northern expanse know as the greater Chicago and Milwaukee area. Not quite a wilderness, but in the same way that our frontier forefathers had no idea what awaited over the horizon, I'm headed into truly unmapped territory in regards to my riding.
Every race, spare one, I'll doing in the next two weeks is either 100k or greater (the one "short" evening is 90k, or roughly 6 miles shorter; the longest day is 140k, roughly 24 miles longer, so the scales tip to over 100k in the end).
I've never raced a 100k crit before.
I've raced a, mind you "a" meaning one singular, 40 mile crit before, but never a 65 mile crit. I don't know how I feel about the whole thing. I know that the only difference between 40 miles and 65 miles (other than the obvious: 25 miles) is eating properly throughout the race and conserving your energy a bit more to pace it over the increased distance-these are factors with which every rider will contend. What I don't know, unlike most of my competitors, is how my body is going to react to those extra miles. By the way, that 40 mile crit about killed me (but I've been telling myself it was as much about the course as it was the race-though the race did average 27mph, translating to right about an hour and a half, as opposed to two and a half hours).
If I can get through the first night-and by get through, I just mean finish-I'll be feeling 10 feet tall and bullet proof as Travis Tritt said.
When I talked to Daniel yesterday, he said 100k crits weren't as tough as they sound, they'd start out fast-but not as fast as normal- and then they'd settle into a rhythm for the long mid-section as everyone goes into survival mode, the kick up hard for the finish. Now, given the number of variables involved in racing crits-the course, breaks, the inclinations of the field-it could work out in an entirely different manner.
One thing is for sure: Racing 65 mile crits every night is going to kick my butt into high gear shape and I'll probably return several pounds lighter than I left (maybe the extra couple I'm packing right now are just fuel for the furnace over the longhaul!).
Overall, I think I'm both excited and nervous. I know I have good legs (although they felt like poo today), I have pretty good fitness overall and I have a fair handle on what I'm capable of doing right now. If I can take those factors, mix in a bit of smarts, some good luck and the huevos to take my chances when I see them, I might be able to pull off at least one decent showing.
As my Dad keeps reminding me, it's all a building process.