I am. I’m going to repeat the words below in my mind and have them written on my arm.  It’s not going to hurt until mile 6 or so. But there will be some doubts that start creeping in sooner. And then I’ll get through half way and I know the feeling that will happen and I know how bad it will hurt when I’m chasing down the last 5 miles. No matter how great or how rough I feel through each piece of this run though, these are my words: 

• Brave

• Strong

• Fighter

• Relax

• Control

These words are simple. But they are going to help get me to the finish line. I have other words, but these are the five I’m choosing to focus on during this particular race. They are going to help me push as hard as I can. Reminding me that I do not need to give up, even when my body tells me it wants to and thinks it needs to.

Different words can be meaningful for different races. For instance, if I was racing a full marathon or a longer distance race, like a half ironman, I would use words more like “consistent” and “calm”… with a few of the words I’m using for this shorter race mixed in as well.