One Step at a Time

This coming weekend is my first 'official' ultra run. Yes, I have run a few 50km training runs, but this is the real deal. Last night I had a bit of a freak out, okay, maybe I panicked a bit and my eyes might have gone a little glassy and misty. I suddenly realized that I have to be ready, there is no more preparing. Luckily, the voice of reason, in the form of my husband, stepped in. I was prattling on about how far 50 miles is and I wasn't sure if I was ready. He told me that I was as ready as I was going to be at this point. Mostly what he said that stuck with me and is going to be my mantra is that I had decided that I was going to do this so I was going to do it. Sometimes it becomes that simple. I will be out there and at times there will be low points but I chose to be out there and therefore out there I will be. To me this is like a midterm exam. See what material you have mastered and what areas you need to work on for the final exam. (unlike many of my real midterms, I've actually been attending class:)) So, I am heading out onto the trails with the intent of learning as much as I can. I probably won't hand my exam in first, but I will get it done. I will be learning from myself but I also will be looking over the shoulders of the more experienced people out there learning as much as I can from them. If I wasn't a little intimidated then I'd be concerned. It is when we are challenged that we truly rise to the occasion.

I will control what I can while I am out there and I will keep putting one foot in front of the other. Relentless forward motion will get me where I need to be. When the race starts I will choose to take my first step and I will just keep on going one step at a time.

"the longest journey begins with a single step".