Tomorrow is the Around The Bay road race 2026 edition.

I’ve picked up my Race Kit: my race bib and shirt. I did my last training run yesterday. I can take it easy until tomorrow morning.

I signed up for the race in September, so there’s been a few months to prepare for it.

Unlike last year, I was late starting my training this year.

But I find myself asking the same question that I always ask before and during the race:

What was I thinking?? Why did I sign up and pay money to subject myself to the torture of running 30 kilometers? (That’s 18.64 miles.)

My friend Vanessa asked if I was excited about the race. Excited? No.

I look forward to the challenge of running the distance.

I hope that I can do as well as last year. Or even run a bit faster. But the main goal is to finish.

This is the 9th time that I will have run this race in the last 23 years.

I know that I can run that distance. But will I be able to? There are a lot of variables that come up on race day. What’s the weather going to be like? How will I be feeling? Will I get a good night’s sleep?

It’s important to get out of your comfort zone periodically. It pushes you to be better.

You don’t have to run 30 kilometers to get out of your comfort zone. Sometimes it’s saying hello to someone. Sometimes it’s sharing a new creative work with someone. There are lots of ways to stretch your comfort levels.

Some things get easier the more you do them. Some things don’t.

Running the Around the Bay is one of those things that doesn’t get easier for me. I’m looking forward to it being finished more than I’m looking forward to doing it.

So, even though I’m not excited about it, I’m glad that I’ll be running the Around the Bay.