What are you made of?

It's been a long journey to reach this place. What place is that? The mental and physical strength to be able to race. Tomorrow I will race my first marathon in 3 1/2 years. Initially my goal was just to be able to "do" the marathon distance again. Injury upon injury left my confidence shattered. Slowly I built it. One step at a time. One mile after another.

I have not done any speed work. I have done minimal mileage required. I have done what my body has allowed me to do. I have made it through weeks of training injury free. I have listened to my body and my mind. That has made me strong.

Racing doesn't mean I have to beat every other person. And I sure as hell can't beat myself. I have to work as a team - mind and body. I don't need to get a 1st place ribbon. What I need to do is push myself further then I've ever pushed. I WILL find my limit (hopefully not before mile 20!) and break that boundary. I will run win it hurts and I will do so will a SMILE and maybe a little bit of profanity.

• Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
• Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.
• A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
• Promise me you will always remember – You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
• Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second.
• Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion.  You must set yourself on fire. 
• It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top. 
• I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
• Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.·       Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent.
• Celebrate your success and find humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song.· 
• The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings
• People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.
• It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
• Gold that buys health can never be ill spent.
• I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
• Everyone has his burden. What counts is how you carry it.
• Learn how to exhale, the inhale will take care of itself. 
• Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt. 
• I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.
• Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
• Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death.
• I will keep a smile on my face and in my heart even when it hurts today.

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