Now a race-week tradition, I started inking race mantras once Jenny (my coach) started talking about them!
Here’s a sharpie version I used in my very first ultra, the Cactus Rose 50 mile with Tejas Trails in October of 2021. I loved having the mantras to reflect on, and really enjoyed the pre race process of marking them in full color too.
But the sharpie did not stay put for fifty miles of a sweaty race.
So by my next race, I’d purchased and started experimenting with a temporary tattoo marker. Here’s a test version I did a few weeks before the 2022 Bandera 100k this past January.
The final body markings that I went with for that race can be viewed on my Instagram in reel form, here. (Sound up for full effect!)
Today’s race-day mantra is in keeping with the last few weeks of my training block, sickness and all:
I even had to lean in a little to the sentiment *while* marking, because I wanted it on my right arm, which is my dominant. Which means that I had to mark it using my left—not my dominant. It mostly turned out okay, even if it was hard to stay steady or make perfectly consistent marks. And though I was feeling like things were a little wonky mid-process, when I step back and view the finished arm, I’m actually kind of proud of my work!
Which is exactly how I expect this evening’s race to go.
It won’t be executed perfectly (they never are!) and I’ll probably have my moments of doubt. But no matter how it feels like it turned out at the finish line, I know that after a little reflection, I’ll be satisfied with my results in the end.
Trust the Process . . .