I was trying to motivate you all here (myself included).

There is such a thing as a running mantra. What you tell yourself when you are running out of steam when you are running. Be it one mile or an ultra marathon, which is traditionally any distance covered beyond a marathon race (26.2 miles).

So I put it out there in my physician mom group to share their mantras so I can put it here to share. I think so many of them are great for life in general. So here we go:

One day you won’t be able to; today is not that day. What a day to be alive. Fear holds us back, belief propels us forward. I’ll get done sooner if I just keep running. I can do anything for 10 minutes (rinse and repeat). Forward is a pace. Faster than the couch. We do hard things. Slow miles better than no miles. Running is cheaper than therapy. Push. A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot. Just keep running. Pain is temporary, pride is forever. Only positive thoughts. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Enjoy the ride. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. You have all the strength you need. You are lucky your body can do this. Not everyone can do this. Be patient. It is a privilege, appreciate it. Keep breathing. Ignore the fatigue. Just don’t quit. Best effort now. Not all pain is bad. Embrace the suck. Run, run, run. One foot in front of the other. You’ve got this. I get to do this. You feel fine. I will eventually get there. You will not die, keep running. Run the mile you are in.

And my all time favorite from someone who ran the 100 mile ultra-race in Leadville, Colorado:

Right foot, left foot.

You’ve got this. You get to do this. This thing called life.

So much love to all of you. Happy Halloween!