Blogging with the enemy

My friend Molly (whose blog I would link to but she hasn't posted in over a year and hasn't started a new blog why molly why? why? WHY? I demand to know) was kind enough to send me the below quotes because she knew I could probably use a mental boost in these, my final weeks of training for the marathon.

And by training for the marathon, I mean stressing for the marathon.

So here you go (oh, and the enemy thing is because they're both Nike ads, and we all know that the boys in Portland are the enemies, yes? Yes, Protect This House I Will, etc. ):

"You pretended the snooze button didn't exist. You dragged your butt out of bed while others slept. While others ate their pancakes you had a feast of protein, glucose and electrolytes. You double-knotted. You left the porch light on and locked the door behind you. You ran 5Ks, 10Ks, 26.2 miles. Some days more, some days less. You rewarded a long run with a short run. And a short run with a long run. Rain tried to slow you. Sun tried to microwave you. Snow made you feel like a warrior. You cramped. You bonked. You paid no mind to comfort. On weekends. On holidays. You made excuses to keep going. Questioned yourself. Played mind games. Put your heart before your knees. Listened to your breathing. Sweat sunscreen into your eyes. Worked on your farmer's tan. You hit the wall. You went through it. You decided to be man about it. You decided to be woman about it. Finished what you started. Proved what you were made of. Just kept putting mile after mile on your internal odometer. For 25 years, you ran. And we ran with you. How much farther will we go? As far as you will."


And #2:

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the nos become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. And you will tell them Yes."