THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!!

I think I have passed the nervous stage now and am at the EXCITED stage! It is official I picked up my race packet tonight in Paducah. My official race number is 337. I get to wear what they call a bib with it's own special timer in it. The funniest part about my packet was my label on the outside said I wore a "WS" which would be a woman's small.....I told them not since about 4th grade and my age was "31".....I told them that would make me a pretty young grandma and I might like to be "31" again! I believe I ended their day in a very humerus way and definitely was a great way to end already a good day for me.

I have really good feelings about my adventure as a "Future Iron Mom". If tomorrow is anything like today it will be ON tomorrow. I will have my alarm set for 4am. I would like to be there no later than 5:30am and the opening with the National Anthem is at 6:20am with the race beginning at 6:30am. The course closes officially at 10:30am however, my goal is to be done by 9:30am when the awards ceremony starts.

My Walkman is charging and my 80's playlist is ready for the adventure tomorrow. I will have my phone attached to me as well. The funny part being I wasn't going to have it but Paul is insisting on me having it because he wants to be able to check on me....LOL Much to everyone's surprise the one thing I am not taking with me on my adventure is my "camera". Don't fret however I will be turning over the operation rights temporarily to Paul expecting him to get some good pics on my camera.

Let me say THANKS to all my family and friends for all of the positive support I have received in my adventure. I guarantee you I would have not been able to do this on my own! I do have strong thoughts and a very strong will but EVERYONE has their weak moments and I have recently had mine. This is what this race is all about for me is overpowering my weaknesses. I am going to do that tomorrow no matter where or how I finish and I WILL FINISH!

Again my simple goals for tomorrow are:
1) Show up for the race
2) Finish the race
3) Finish the race in 3 hours or less
4) NOT TO BE LAST

"Goals are not only absolutely necesary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive." Robert H. Schuller

"For me, goals are my road map to the life I want. They have helped me accomplish things I once thought were impossible." Catherine Pulsifer, from Wings of Wisdom

"Choosing a goal and sticking to it changes everything." Scott Reed

"You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential." Steve Garvey

"Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan." Paul Meyer

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score." Bill Copeland

I can't wait to see that finish line and to be able to say "I DID IT!"

Most people know that I am straight forward as they come. I encourage people to be that way also. One thing I learned a long time ago was I needed to be myself no matter what others wanted me to be. I have come a LONG way in the last 25 years of trying to live that lesson I learned. One of the ways to do that is to surround yourself with ENCOURAGING people. If you feel yourself trying to be something different take a good look at yourself and figure out why YOU are unhappy with yourself. Once you come to terms with that then others won't try to make you something you are not!

I found this cute wall plaque at a yard sale a couple weeks ago and I believe it says it all. It took to my office to share with my co-workers and my student workers because I believe it states the truth. It goes something like this "In this free world, be what you can be, BE YOURSELF!"

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. ~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~e.e. cummings

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein

With all of that said, I'm headed to bed to TRY and rest and overcome the excitement of my new adventure tomorrow. Remember what I have said and take heart to it.


"We all have ability. The difference is how we use it." ~~Stevie Wonder

"People who have done big things are those who were not afraid to attempt big things, who were not afraid to risk failure in order to gain success." -- B. C. Forbes

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time. Anna Freud (1895 - 1982)

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

Since I am not giving up I will experience success tomorrow in more than one way and failure will pass on by!!