The excitement is growing inside!

With just a few short days until my 50K run/race, I went out for a very nice 9K run today with one of my best friends. I count myself very lucky to not only have friends, but truly amazing friends, and I'm so thankful that most of them are going to be running with me this weekend.

We all have our own personal demons that we must overcome on race day and for me it will be cramping. This is something that I have no control over so I'm trying not to worry about it. I've tried just about everything so far so we'll see if this works for me. There are other elements such as the heat which may effect some of my friends. Because we have no way to plan for these, there is really nothing that we can do about it. With only one more day of running until the race, I will no doubt spend plenty of time reading about cramping and electrolytes, once my last run is completed tomorrow morning. I've yet to have that "perfect" race and I guess that's why I keep running.

Beyond just the running though, the whole day will be one that I'm sure I'll never forget. It starts with the early morning drive up to Niagara Falls (4:45 AM) and will end sometime in the afternoon as we drive home. Along the way, though, there will be memories made that will last a lifetime and that is what will make the day so special for me.

We all have the determination to do whatever we want, whether it's to lose weight or finish a race. Having a belief in yourself is something that you need to discover if you haven't already done so. This belief needs to be so strong that it acts like an armour surrounding you. It should keep all negative thoughts, actions and people away. When things get rough and you start to doubt yourself, you should be able to draw upon the inner strength that we all have to carry you through.

One of my favorite sayings about running marathons, or in this case an ultramarathon, is "If were easy than everyone would do it." What this means is that there WILL be pain/discomfort and maybe even self doubt at some point along the way.
My friends and I will have stories about how certain parts of the race were more challenging than others. In the end, as we look back at our accomplishments, we will turn to each other and say we did it!