Pre-Race Excitement

Slowly but surely, my excitement for Sunday is winning out over my nerves.  I received my pre-race e-mail today from GO! St. Louis, complete with my bib number (#8355!) and packet pick-up instructions, which definitely helped build the excitement.  I signed my mom and Matt up for text alerts of my progress to help them plan their arrival time.  Last year when I did the relay, it was hard to gauge my finish time since I was the last leg of the race, so they waited for awhile at the finish line.  No easy feat with two little guys, that's for sure.  Given that I can better anticipate my finish time this year and they will receive the text alerts, I'm hoping to help them avoid too much wait time at the finish line.

I got an e-mail today from Saucony that had an article that caught my eye.  The article, Race Day is Here 5 Ways to Have the Race of Your Life, was fantastic and when I got to the bottom of the article, I realized it was written by Dimity and Sarah of Another Mother Runner!  I didn't notice the by-line at the top of the article when I started reading it and I forgot that they have a close relationship with Saucony, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover they wrote the article.

I love all 5 of the tips in the article, but I think my favorite tips are the last two.  Engage word power and Hold on tight.  I think both of the tips are going to be very important for me on Sunday.  I always say my running and weight loss mantra is I got this so I will definitely need to repeat this (out loud if necessary) when "my legs feels like tree trunks" because they will feel like that at some point around mile 8 if I have to guess.  I also know that I will need to push hard to get through the last mile or so.  Months of training will culminate in those last steps and I won't want to let go no matter how much my body aches or my brain says I can't.

For those of you who have run distance races before, what are some of your tips for running your best race? Do you have any advice for those last few miles? 

"Respect the training. Honor the commitment. Cherish the results."