This was one of my favorite quotes while coaching. In fact one of my best runners had it put on our team t-shirts one year. She claimed part of her success was from putting a post-it of this quote on her bathroom mirror.
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’
Muhammad Ali
You may not be training to be a champion, but putting in the effort will make you successful, which is in my eyes a champion.
Any athlete that reached their goals to me was a champion because they put in more effort than anyone else and fought to get where they wanted to be. And if you place your goals correctly, they are attainable but you have to fight to get there.
One of the most memorable cross country meets for me was one where a girl on the team had set her goal for the season to break 30 minutes in a 5K (most girls on the team were running between 18:15 and 25:00). She did it at the 5th meet of the season! She fought super hard to get there but afterwards she was so happy she reached it! I told her we had 5 more meets to go, time to set a new goal. To me, she was/is a champion.
So, don’t quit one day and say you’ll get back the next day. Suffer today, get through it and you’ll put yourself one day closer to your goal.
Day 1: Introduction – You are here 🙂
Day 2: Start Small, Build Slow
Day 3: It Doesn’t Have To Be Boring
Day 4: Stitches
Day 5: Keep a Diary
Day 6: Dangerous Thoughts
Day 7: Week 1 Done – Some Suggestions
Day 8: Treadmill Training – Baby it’s cold (or raining) outside
Day 9: A Motivational Quote for You
Day 10: Distractions
Also, if you want more motivation, you might want to follow my Pin Board ‘Run’!