AR 50 Goals – or Lack Thereof

It’s here, it’s finally here!!  The American River 50 Mile Endurance Run is tomorrow!  I’m very excited and nervous and have been absolutely charming to everybody I’ve seen today.  I feel very prepared for this race, which is something of an anomaly for me, but I’m enjoying the feeling.  The hay is in the barn and tomorrow I get to feed the horses.  Or something like that.  Let’s look over the facts:

• I’ve run (very nearly) the entire course.  New this year is a small 2.2-mile loop that got tacked on because of some other changes.  It’s the only part I haven’t seen and even though it could be straight up a mountainside, I think I’ll be okay.
• The part I am least familiar with is the second half, but I ran it the same direction with UltraIronHubs when I paced his AR 50 two years ago and I ran it the opposite direction later that year at my first 50-miler, the Rock’n River.  So, I’ve totally run this part of the course, just not recently.

Pacing UIH.  I’m smiling because I’m barely a half-marathon into my day, even though he was at Mile 40-ish.

• The part I am most familiar with is the first half, which I’ve been running pretty frequently these last few months.  I feel very, very confident about getting to Mile 30.  So I got that going for me.
• My weekly and monthly mileage have been waaaaaay higher than my previous 50-miler training plan called for, and I feel great.  Strong, powerful and ready to run more.  2013 was the first year in the eight that I’ve been running that I was completely injury-free.  BAM!
• A good portion of my miles these days are run on trails.  Not every day, of course, but about once a week, usually for my long run.  Since my first 50, I’ve run another half dozen or more trail races.  I feel so much more confident about navigating the technical parts.  Not, you know, directional navigation, since I still get lost at almost every race.  Whatever.

So, you might think, what with this list of my awesome prep for this race, that I would have a goal list as long as my arm.  Nope.  Even better than that, I have one singular goal for tomorrow:

Run happy. 

Okay, yes, that does include a few ancillary goals that I think are just implied, but that I will spell out here:

• Don’t drown.
• Start the race and finish the race.
• Keep moving forward.
• Try really, really, really hard not to get lost (though, honestly, this is not a deal-breaker.  I’ve become eerily accustomed to being lost and finding my way back to the race).
• Stay hydrated.
• Don’t fall too much.
• Make friends.
• Smile at the finish line.

I am really looking forward to a long, exhausting and totally awesome day tomorrow.  I hope you will be spending it doing something you love, too!