Friday, December 21, 2012

Running Mantras

A post on Nathan Performance Gear's Facebook page (here) got me thinking about mantras.  It got me thinking, "What do I think about when I run?".  The answer?  I'm not totally sure.  I try to keep my form correct, so I know I remind myself to stay upright (no thudding on the trails or pavement), light & fast steps (wow, I had to respell that...) and to keep control of my breathing.  But none of those are montras.  I started to remember back to the 2011 Labor Pains, my first ultra (I've only done 2, it's not like I'm an expert..yet).  I thought a lot about a little girl I was running for, that I had helped to raise money for CFF in her name.  Thinking about her and everyone's generosity made me smile.  Running for someone truly made that run a great run.  After the shooting death of a local athlete in the line of duty (he was a sheriff), one of his quotes popped up.  It was about how we run (train) because we get to, not because we want to.  During that summer (2011) and after, I started thinking about being able to run and not taking a single run for granted because you never knew which would be your last.  Because, ultimately, one of your runs WILL be your last, and that I am running not only for myself, but for those who can't run for themselves whether because of injury, illness, disability, or death.  I came up with a hybrid of these thoughts and I ended up with this:


Do you have a mantra?  What is it (if you don't mind sharing it)?

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6 comments:

  1. Great mantra! I too chimed in on Nathan's question, and so excited we both got picked! Anyway, my mantra right now is one word.. unbreakable.. I had done a review for Endorphin Warrior, and I selected that for a bracelet. I am not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination, but there is no way I'm not going to finish.. so, my goal and mantra for 2013 is that no race, trail, or distance will break me :-)

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    1. Awesome, jeff! I love EW, too. I have a Relentless dog tag that I've worn pretty much everyday for over a year, now.

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  2. My former high school cross country and track coach was and still is a huge influence on my life. He instilled in me a love and dedication for running. I still live and run by his words, "RunTuff". I prefer not to run with music because I can clear my head from a day of teaching and organize my thoughts for the next day.

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    1. I love Run Tuff! I've never had a running coach, but I did get a lot of inspirational words from my college rugby coach. He definitely helped instill toughness!!
      I'm not a fan of running with music either. My crazy thoughts are enough! I did use to run with it all the time when I first started, but once I started liking running, I stopped using music. I only use it now if I need a song or two when I hit my turn around on long runs.

      I'm a teacher as well- 2nd grade. My drive home is my time to decompress from teaching (40 minutes).

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  3. Although a little silly I do have a mantra. When things get tough I say "To Me and For Me". Simply it means that I've given myself the time to run so it's "To Me" and me only and it's benefitting my health and well-being so it's something I'm giving back to myself, which would be the "For Me" part.

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    1. It's definitely not silly! It's who you are and what helps you get to where you want to be. That makes it POWERFUL! And I like it!

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