Belt buckle from my first 60k (37.282 miles) spring of 2016. 

I’m building my mental fuel list (liste) in FRENCH and j’ai besoin de votre aide!

Suz (that’s me) learns French while running 50 miles.  I wish it was that easy.  In reality learning French will take years, but the prize for the 50 miler is a ginormous gold (no not real gold) belt buckle and I want it now!

I love a challenge (who doesn’t) and really try to prepare mentally and physically for all my runs – in order to avoid failure.  I’m not talking about trying your hardest and coming up short.  I’m taking about failing because you’re just not prepared.

We all have that one time – the one time we wish we were better prepared.  My one time time still haunts me.  I’m older (not sure when that happened) and wiser (background laughter) and finally understand preparation is truly the key.  I may still come up short, but I’ll have prepared.

Donc, in preparation for my first 50 miler, I’m making a liste of things to bring.  I’m also making a liste of things to SAY to myself (in French…bien sûr) while running the 50 miles.

The first liste is simple: shoes, socks, extra clothes, water bottles, fuel, headlamp, toilet paper, etc…

The second liste is simple as well, it’s a liste of things to tell myself in FRENCH while running.  Words (mots) to encourage, words to prepare my mind.

Runners know that you can’t wait until your energy reserves are depleted to begin the fueling process – you have to properly fuel your body throughout the run / race.

Same goes for the mental fuel – you have to properly fuel your brain throughout the run / race.

So what’s my game plan?  How am I preparing?

Before race day:  I’m PRAYING!  And building mileage while following my weekly training plan (of course while listening repeatedly to my weekly French lesson).

On race day:  I’ll be PRAYING!  And repeating from the very first step positive thoughts in French as I run the 50 miles.  Maybe I’ll even meet someone from France or someone who speaks French. Oh la  la…I can dream.

Not only will I be reinforcing my French, I’ll also be brain washing myself right into completing the 50 miler (fingers crossed).

What else am I going to do while running 50 miles?  I can’t afford to simply run for 12 to 15 hours, I’ve got a language to learn.  So by thinking and repeating positive thoughts in French good use of my time will be had.  Which, will make for a productive day.  All crazies, please line up ici.

Positive thoughts in French:

– Think positive / Penser postiif

– You can run fifty miles / Tu peux courir cinquante miles

– You are strong / Tu es fortes

– Mind over matter / l’esprit avant tout

– Tomorrow you can sleep (rest) / Demain tu pourra toujours te reposer

– Trust your training / Fait confiance à ta formation

– You are a winner / Tu es gagnante

Call to action:  Please comment with additional positive thoughts in French.  J‘ai besoin de votre aide!

Merci beaucoup et a bientôt.

Suz

Special thanks to my fantastique FRENCH friend who graciously helped me form these positive thoughts in French. Thank you so much for your time.  I’m so jealous of your ability to speak more than one language.  Bisous.