Javelina Jundred Or Bust

In just a few hours I leave for Arizona. I get off work at 4 today and then I’m driving over to my sister’s. So my Javelina Jundred Adventure begins soon! :)

Am I excited? Scared? Nervous?

You bet.

Everyone is asking me how I feel and if I’m ready and if I’m thinking “what was I thinking?”.  Honestly, I did have a “what was I thinking?” moment in the shower this morning. ;) But it didn’t last long. Because what I was thinking when I signed up for this is that I have nothing to lose. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? That I don’t finish it, right? When I signed up for Javelina Jundred, I had to ask myself if I was okay with a DNF. And while I’m not okay with it…it would be my first…I decided I could learn to live with it because it meant that I’d tried. That I’d reached for the stars and if I didn’t reach them, I would still be farther than most people who never tried.

But I REALLY want that 100 Mile buckle. Really bad.

I read something recently…I can’t remember where…that said when the going gets tough, you have to have a reason for why you should keep going instead of quitting. I guess my reason to keep going will most likely be pride. I don’t want to fail. I can handle being pulled because I’m sick or because I didn’t make a cutoff. I can’t handle quitting because it was too hard. I am not a quitter. And you don’t know how much I hope that’s true. It’s one of the reasons I signed up for this race…to prove it to myself.

My other reason is a little more fun. I want a tattoo of coyote tracks, either on my shoulder or on my ankle. Like the running set in this pic:

Crazy reason, huh? But I want it and I told myself I couldn’t get it til after I did a 100 miler. So I’m going to do my best to earn it.

I chose Javelina Jundred because it fit my Year of Animal Racing but also because it’s in the desert. I love the desert so I figured it would be a good place to try my first 100. I think the thing I like most about it is that it’s a harsh environment but beauty can be found there as well as creatures…like the coyote…who are tough and enduring. It’s a wild place and full of wonder.

I’m happy when I’m in the desert as you can see from this pic of me at Joshua Tree a few weeks back.

Let’s hope I’m still happy...tired, but happy on Sunday! :)

See you on the other side!

Oops, almost forgot...here's the link if you want to track me at JJ:
www.aravaiparunning.com/ultracast