"Today, define yourself."

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Maybe it's because my schedule dictates that I have to run for hours at a time, or maybe it's because my mind can't stop running even after my body does. One of the biggest, (and possibly most cliche) items I've been thinking about is that the mind really is a powerful thing. Throughout my training for this marathon I've had pretty good luck letting my mind do what it wants to when I run. That has always worked well for me. I don't count my steps or have to say things to convince myself to keep going. Lately, however, I've been having the hardest time letting my mind relax while I'm training. Before I would be thinking about my day, or what I wanted to eat for dinner. Now my mind has been saying things like, "oh my gosh how many miles do I have left" and "there's no humanly way I can get through this run." And the worst part is, my body listens to my messed up thoughts, and then it just stops. My legs have just been shutting down and once I stop it's so hard to start again and get back into a groove. So for the last few days I've been thinking a lot about mantras. I need some quick sayings that will motivate me during the race.
When I trained for this marathon 2 years ago I would always say to myself "Just settle in." It was my way of telling my body to relax and my mind to be patient. I knew there was a long road ahead and that if I wanted to get though it I would just have to stay calm, settle in and get the job done. I still like that saying and sometime it works. Especially when I start panicking after I see a mile marker, knowing how much farther I have to go still.
I've be scouring the Internet trying to find sayings, quotes, mantras, lyrics, etc that I think can keep me going. Some are bit cheesy but most of them I really like. Here are a few samples.
1. "If you run without sacrifice, congratulations, you just jogged."
2. "Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit."
3. "The miracle is not that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
4. "You're body no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the route, the miles and to the cause." (this is definitely one of my favs.)
5. "The road belongs not to the swift, but those who keep running."
6. "You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."
7. (And this is my personal favorite) "Today, define yourself."

There are so many mantras I have found that I really like. I have a 20-mile run coming up this weekend and I fully intend to test a few of these out. Hopefully I won't need to start reciting these things until towards the end, but who knows...sometimes your body feels the weakest during miles 1 and 2. Even when I did a short run the other night, my body was still so tired and sore that I really just wanted to quit. Then, thank goodness, one of my favorite motivating songs came on and pushed me through to the end. It was Foo Fighter "Best of You". When they sing, "I swear I'll never give in, I refuse", something in me just pops and I feel like I could bust out another few miles. Those moments are great! Those moments renew that faith in me that I CAN actually do this. Then all of a sudden I bust though the wall and out the other side. My only problem now is the fear about just how many walls I'll have to break throuhgh on the big day! But then I'll just tell myself - Today, define yourself.