Nervous and excited about my next race

It seems like such a long time since I actually raced with a time goal in mind. I haven't been doing any speed work so I'm keeping my goals realistic and also a secret at the same time. In fact, the last race where I went in with a time goal was the Niagara Falls 50KM race in June.

Since then, I've done 4 more races but my goals were to finish strong and I didn't have the added pressure of a time goal.

There's something about the race day experience which seems to bring out the best in me so I'm hoping that happens on the 25th. Knowing that my kids will be there cheering me on at the finish line will give me extra incentive. I know that it will be difficult to duplicate the success I had at this race last year but I still believe that I can meet my own expectations.

Sometimes it's important to challenge ourselves so that we don't become complacent. I still have memories of the last Marathon where I failed to meet my own expectations and at times I think that it has prevented me from trying to achieve my Marathon goal time. At the same time, though, I've re-discovered my love of trail running and I realized that training for a Marathon, with a time goal, and an Ultra Marathon, with my goal being just to finish, are two different animals.

Fear of failure can be just as strong as the fear of success so it's a fine line that I walk with regards to picking my goals. My mind will play tricks on me at times and will try to coax me into training for another Marathon with the goal being to erase the bad memories of Mississauga 2007. Then I remember the fun I have running in the trails and how I want to complete my first 50 Miler before attempting anything else and I realize that I've made the right decision.

As I ran this morning at 5 AM I realized that I seem to have lost some of the speed I had this time last year. It will be interesting to see just how I do next weekend.
I'm hoping to enter that race at my lightest weight possible (155 or lower) with the hope that the lighter weight will translate into a faster time. I guess we'll find out soon right?