Tucked away in my race weekend suitcase between layers of shoes, racing gear, extra safety pins and GUs is a bag of Sharpies. Yes, I said Sharpies. As in more than one. A race-day essential I never leave the house without.

As I arrived in Savannah for the Publix Women’s Savannah Half Marathon this afternoon and unpacked my suitcase, my Sharpies were in their bag, ready to help me trigger my mental strength when the miles get challenging on Saturday. So much of running strong and pushing through discomfort is about what we think and believe. The muscles between our ears often dictate our outcomes far more than the muscles in our glutes and quads. For races that are important to me, I write words and names on my hands and arms with my Sharpies to visibly remind me to dig deep and stay focused on what inspires me.

I will have four things written on my hands and arms tomorrow: two names and two mantras.

Stronger than you think

Everything you need is inside you. (Thanks Sarah for the last-minute inspiration!)

Bella

Gabe

Bella is my daughter’s name (you know her as Baby rUnladylike). Being strong as her mom and remembering the journey I’ve been on with her and my body/running for the past 15 months (and 9 months before that) is incredibly inspiring to me.

But Gabe is a new name.

Gabe Grunewald is a pro runner who runs for Brooks. Through running and training hard and even winning the 3,000 meters at the US Indoor Nationals in 2014, she has also been battling cancer. In 2009 as a senior at the University of Minnesota, she was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma. A long scar across her abdomen from a major surgery in 2016 to treat a recurrence in her liver is a visible reminder that Gabe is stronger than she seems and cabaple of more than she could ever believe.

Earlier this week, she posted this on Instagram. As I found myself complaining about the race day weather forecast, her words stopped me in my tracks. Gabe would love to run in 65 degrees, so bring it on.

As I thought about my goals for tomorrow, I’ve thought a lot about Gabe. She talks about what being brave means to her: continuing to train even when doctors tell her she’ll never be as fast as she was before.

Tomorrow, my goal is to be brave like Gabe. To not hold back. To not worry about the weather and the things out of my control that could be better or different. I want to run with heart and take comfort in all the hard workouts and training runs I’ve done that made me remember I’m stronger than I think. I am stronger than I was before I had my daughter. I am ready. The conditions are not going to be ideal, but for once, I’m going to try to do something brave through them.

My goal is to run as close to 1:37 as I can. I would be very happy with anything under 1:40 and even happier with a personal best below 1:38:27. My coach told me I can do it. I know I can do it. I don’t know if I can do it tomorrwith warmer weather, but I’m going to give it a hell of a shot. I’ll let you know how it goes on the other side of 13.1. Until then, you can follow my race weekend adventures on Instagram. 

Tell me how you are brave.