Sunday, January 6, 2013

Friends, People, RUNNERS! Give me your mantras!

Have you peeked at my miles completed for 2013? Yeah...that would be a big fat zero. I got completely flattened by a cold. Going to start walking tomorrow so my legs do not get stiff. The BIG race is this coming Saturday. Yup, the Donald Half Marathon. It will be the longest distance race I have ever competed in. Let me clarify though that my competition is myself. I have no grandiose plans to win the race. I have grandiose plans of finishing the race. That will be a fantastic day for me.

I was feeling a little down about this week of non training. Then I thought to myself (ever spiraling down the black hole of self defeating thoughts) what if I can't do it? What if I get there and I just fail? What if the sweeper bus --instead of just picking me up-- runs me over, backs up over me again, and runs me over for a third time while the bus driver screams "Lack of training loser!". Then I thought how silly that was because gas is expensive so running over me once would be enough.

After that I began to think I needed a mantra for this race. I will find it and then write it on my hand. YES! Then when I imagine the tickle from the sweeper flag being tapped upon my shoulder I can just look down, get motivated, and kick it into gear. Then I wondered if you guys had some running mantras that keep you going in a race? Then I thought....well, I think that is a good topic for the blog. Time to share running mantras! Here are some I have discovered that I like.I made the phrases bold where I thought a mantra could be found.


  • "Plan your work and work your plan." Napolean Hill
  •  "Winners make it happen. Losers let it happen." Leonard Lavin
  • "Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it. You can. It’s up to you. Decide to do it and follow through." Porter Freeman
  • "Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." Napoleon Hill
  • "I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. . .. . I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking." Og Mandino.
  •  "Any man’s finest hour -- his greatest fulfilment to all he holds dear -- is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle -- victorious. . . . Leave no regrets on the field." Vince Lombardi

These are just a few. I think I will tweet out (@LookAtMeRunning) more quotes I may run across this week. So if you find yourself in the same head space as I am right now feel free to use, or find, or share your favorite mantra. Until then....




As promised a new song to get you motivated. 

Keep moving forward my friends!
Cristina

P.S. Do you have a mantra you use to see you through a race? Please leave them in the comment section below. You just may be the one who helps a fellow first time half marathoner through the race!

6 comments:

  1. "I don't stop when I'm tired, I stop when I'm done"

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  2. "If it were easy then everyone would do it"
    or
    "Try not. Do or do not, there is no try"
    or
    "Fate loves the fearless"

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    Replies
    1. I absolutely love Yoda. Dressed up as him for Halloween one year when I was a kid. My cousin went as Darth Vader. We made quite the pair and got a ton of candy that year.

      Where did the "Fate loves the fearless" come from?

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  3. "Don't you dare give up."

    Also, I have envisioned a purple school bus (like the Magic School Bus) speeding up to "get" me. It's unnerving.

    Good luck to you!! I'll be there on the 12th too.

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  4. Crystal, Kim, and Anonymous...those are great! Thank you for sharing. I just may write "Don't you dare give up!" on my hand for race day, haha! Good luck everyone!

    ReplyDelete