This is the post where I try to give myself a better attitude about running a marathon tomorrow. I might write these on my arms tonight.
1. “Make your race a playground, not a proving ground.” –Lauren Fleshman
2. “Eventually, you learn the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” –George Sheehan
3. “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
4. “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” – Dean Karnazes
5. “There will come a day when I can no longer run. Today is not that day.” –Unknown
6. “There will be days when I don’t know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have.” –Unknown
7. “The biggest mistake an athlete can make is to be afraid of making one.” –L. Ron Hubbard
8. “Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.” –John Bingham
9. “I have met my hero, and he is me.” -George Sheehan
10. “Nothing is more certain than the defeat of a man who gives up.” –George Sheehan
11. “I always thought of running as just dancing forward.” –Tom Hiddleston
12. “Make each day your masterpiece.” –John Wooden
13. “You must expect great things from yourself before you can do them.” –Michael Jordan
14. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” –Beverly Sills
15. “If you want to win something, run 100 meters…if you want to experience something, run a marathon.” –Emil Zatopek
16. “A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.” –Pre
17. “You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” –Pre
18. “The greatest pleasure in life is doing the things people say we cannot do.” –Walter Bagehot (Me: Even when “people” is yourself.)
19. “Mind is everything: muscle—pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.” –Paavo Nurmi
20. “Good judgment is the result of experience. Experience is the result of bad judgment.” –Mark Twain
21. “Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better.” –Juha Vaatainen
22. “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” –Marilyn vos Savant
23. “The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well.” –Baron de Coubertin
24. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” – Muhammad Ali
25. “Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’” –Peter Maher
26. “Perfect preparation doesn’t exist. Excellent adaptation does.” –Lauren Fleshman
.2: “Moms are awesome.” –my son