Showing posts with label running quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running quotes. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

inspiration in unlikely places

Unless you live under a rock (or don't particularly care for American football), you know that the New England Patriots and their fans have a pretty big day on Sunday. They made it through the divisional game, quite handily, and will face the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship game at 3pm. I'm hoping a friend who has a better TV than my 1994 tube TV will take pity on me and invite me over to watch the game (hint, hint, friends).

Sometimes, I don't care to read articles about upcoming games - I tend to stick to headlines to get the gist but not the full story. But today I was reading an editorial found on boston.com called Obnoxious Sports Fan. He writes specifically about Boston sports, duh, and what team he's writing about depends on the season, duh again. Today I was reading the full column because the title intrigued me: "Once again it's New England against the World." I came across this thought that sums up New Englanders but that also could be applied to many of the runners I've met through the years:

Growing up in Greater Boston, we learned that effort was the first and most necessary ingredient in life. You are never allowed to quit at anything worthwhile until you win or become successful. However that's defined. Nothing comes easy. We were raised not to raise our hopes to unrealistic levels but to never stop believing in ourselves. Eventually, if you did everything right and didn't screw over the next guy [karma is big in these parts], you might be a winner. You also learned how to make money on snow days with some hustle and a quick shovel. 

I love that line: We were raised (or I'd argue for runners - we've learned over time) not to raise our hopes to unrealistic levels but to never stop believing in ourselves. It's so easy to raise our expectations to crazy levels, fail to meet those levels, get discouraged, and eventually give up. But when we set goals/hopes that we know are achievable, we find ourselves meeting them time and again. And we continue setting goals that are more challenging and more intense and we continue to achieve them. 

When I started running, my goal was not a marathon. My goal was a 5K. When I reached that goal, I set out to run a 10K...you get the idea. It was over time and after a number of smaller accomplishments that I set and achieved my goal of a marathon. I never stopped believing in myself and have reached that level 5 times. 

All this to say, if you're just starting out, keep setting smaller goals and keep meeting them! Don't give up trying and believing in yourself. You can do anything you put your mind to. Trust me - if I can, you can. 

Also, GO PATS!!!!!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

odds and ends

A few things have come across my radar that I thought I'd share with you; odds and ends that are running (sometimes loosely) related. Enjoy!

First, a video that accurately depicts the stages of marathon running:


Second, the tumblr that I found this video on: http://whatshouldrunnerscallme.tumblr.com/

Third, about a week ago an editorial post came out in the Wall Street Journal. Some rant from a dude who really, really, really hates those pesky 13.1 and 26.2 stickers.

Then there was the rebuttal from Mark Remy of Runner's World., who we all know as snarky, sarcastic, and - in most cases - spot on! At least one of Mark's articles have made an appearance on A Marathon Journey before.

Friday, October 4, 2013

in my blood

I casually stated to a friend the other day that I was not that competitive. She looked at my like I had four heads. "Yes. You. Are. You're being competitive about *not* being competitive." Well, she had a point. I was absolutely trying to prove that I was less competitive than another of our friends. Touche...

We're not all competitive. Some people couldn't care less about winning, being right, running faster, jumping higher, etc. But, some of us do. Perhaps it's something in our nature or perhaps it's something that we pick up from our parents or friends, a learned behavior. I know exactly where my competitiveness comes from: my mom. And hers comes from her mom. Grandma DeKoning was the sweetest lady - read the Bible every day, made THE BEST cinnamon rolls, always had candy in her pocketbook - but if you got into a game of cards with her, she would size you up and wipe the floor with you. She did not take it easy on anyone when it came to games. Even when she was close to the end of her life, if you took up a game of Skip-Bo with her, she'd get this gleam in her eye and win. Every time. My mom, therefore, is also pretty competitive. She loves to win and has learned how to lose graciously. Right, mom? ;)

So that's where it comes from. It's in my blood. From the time I started running, I had to realize that I would not be able to beat everyone. Ever. But I could beat my time. (And I could pick off a few people in front of me along the way - I haven't lost ALL of my outward competitive drive.) Mostly I realize that if I'm racing anyone, it's myself. It's feeling better, stronger at a distance I've done before. It's running a loop faster than I have before. It's doing the entire Insanity circuit without quitting again!

This mentality is hard to grasp at first. When you've got that drive, you want to go and beat all the other people on the course! But realistically that will not happen. So you've got to focus that energy into bettering yourself. When someone asks, "Did you win?" You can say, "Yeah, I did. I beat my previous time!" or "Yeah, I feel better about this distance than I ever have before!"

It's not about winning and beating everyone else. It's about developing yourself and getting stronger each and every time you head out the door.


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

the mental block

Saturday morning I woke up to an absolutely gorgeous fall day. If you typed "perfect Sept day" into Google, you'd have seen a picture of Saturday. It was supposed to be my final day of Insanity Recovery Week - which let's not fool ourselves, was not as much recovery as I'd have liked.

I could not bring myself to waste the day inside so I swapped the dvd workout for my first official Autumn run. Since it had been 2wks since I'd run at all (and 2mos since I'd run prior to that) I decided on my 4.5mi loop. But as I made my way over to the lake, I realized just how good it felt to be out running. I had missed it! As I got to the pretty side, I decided I might as well shoot for 5mi. By the time I got to the turn to make it 5mi even, I realized I still felt really good so why not shoot for 6, or heck!, even 6.6?! Then I figured, I might as well make one more turn, go up one more hill. I made it nearly 3mi further than I'd originally planned. Total mileage: 7.2mi. I guess I'm ready for the 10K I'll be doing on Oct 14th!

There's one thing that I think prevents us from achieving things we have the physical ability to do: the mental block. We tell ourselves there is no way we could do A, B, or especially C. I told myself that very thing on Saturday morning - before I did what I had to believe that I could.

One thing I have come to know in the past few years: YES, YOU CAN. You can run a 5K, you can do a Tough Mudder, you can get through 2 months of Insanity. So much of having the ability to do something is believing that you can. It takes work, it won't happen overnight. Just remember, "every morning is another chance to change your life."

And if you don't take my word for it, just ask: Meghan, Erika, Ben, Krista, Dawn, Jocelyn, Heidi, Andrew, Sarah, Josh, Karen, Nick, Nate, Karyn, Bonnie, Matt, Sarah, Valerie, Robert, ...need I go on?

Friday, July 5, 2013

truth

I read this little gem of a quote this morning from one of my very favorite professional runners:  
"That's the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is." -- Kara Goucher
There is so much truth in these words!  If I measured my great runs by how well I do at races, I would surely have given up long, long ago.  But what keeps me going is knowing how incredibly blessed I am to be able to, simply, run.  To feel the sun on my face (or sometimes snow, rain, and sleet), to feel the wind at my back (or fiercely pushing me in the face), to effortlessly (or not so sometimes) tick off mile after mile after mile.
Just yesterday, during a particularly brutally hot 4mi race, I was thinking how amazing it is that there is shade, that there is breeze.  That there is cool, clean, crisp water to quench my thirst.  I am blessed!
I can run with friends who help push me, I can run alone with my thoughts and prayers.  I am blessed!
I run along busy roads, down empty trails, along shaded paths.  I am blessed!
Many times I get grumpy thinking how unfair this or that is.  Then I go for a run and things seem to fall back into perspective.  Running absolutely helps me see how wonderful my life is.  Don't take my word, or Kara's word, for it though.  Take a walk, or a run, or get outside and do something active and you just may see the truth in this quote that I see.