Running Mantras

Whenever I train for a race, I pick a word as a training mantra. By the time it’s race day, that word is second nature and serves as a focal point when my mind wanders.

For my first 5K, it was “live.” The joke was that I’d never run one before and the goal was not to win, but to survive.

For my first sprint triathlon, it was “galvanize.” There was a great Chemical Brothers/Q-Tip song by the same name in my training mix, and I knew the word meant “to stimulate somebody or something into great activity.” And God knows, tri training is not second nature. You really do need to be motivated to do it. But it also meant doing something great for myself, my health.

For my first 10K, my training mantra is “push.” It’s a little tongue in cheek, inspired by the fact that although my husband and I completed Lamaze training, after 12 hours of labor, I had an emergency C-section to deliver our daughter. So I never actually pushed. This race is pushing the limits of what I thought I could do – how far or for how much time I could run – and I am pushing myself to get back in shape.