The best way to PUSH through those final hard miles.

It decided to rain today and since I didn’t want to get electrocuted on my outdoor treadmill I headed on over to the apartment gym for some time on the elliptical.  

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Sometimes I like to go through books that I have read in the past and just read through the parts that I highlighted (which turns into almost the entire book because I have a deep love for highlighting things).   I started going through Kristin Armstrong’s book ‘Mile Markers’ again for the 30th time.  

The thing I love about this book is that the principles she talks about in running are things that we can use for every aspect of our lives.  

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I really think that gratitude is the thing that can get us through the toughest times in running.  As soon as we start thinking about all of the great things we have and how grateful we are to be running we are able to push through.  I am 100% sure that when our thoughts are positive we are able to run faster, stronger and for longer.  

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I love this idea of changing our thoughts to ‘I GET TO.’  Next time Brooke has an explosion in her diaper the size of Delaware I will just repeat this over and over again:)

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This was something that really helped me with my running after coming back from my femoral stress fractures.  Sometimes we take running for granted until we are out injured and then when we come back we realize what a privilege it is to run and when the workout/race/miles get tough we are grateful that we GET TO RUN rather than dwelling on how difficult the workout is and how we wish we were just finished.  

I thought all of you healthy food, vegetable lovers would like this analogy:

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So what are a few things that you have been grateful for lately?  Do you try to think about things you are grateful for when you are running?

-I’ll start:

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89 comments

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I know you love that book and refer to it often. How do you feel about the news that Kristin is was complicit of Lance’s doping? Just wondering if it changes your feelings on her writing.

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Honestly I haven’t followed the Lance story so I had no idea Kristin played a part in his doping. I will look into that and then decide!

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I’m interested to hear your thoughts too! I bought her book after hearing how much you loved it. I enjoyed it a lot at the time, but now I feel funny about it! I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt (nothing has really been proved against her, if I understand correctly) and EVERYONE makes mistakes. BUT, if she was condoning doping for multiple years I will think less of her judgement for sure.

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I’ve done a lot of thinking about this over the past week. It does appear that Kristin was involved to some level. It would be hard not to be involved, given the circumstances. But haven’t we all changed our behaviour for a guy we loved? And haven’t we all been grateful for fresh starts and second chances? Kristin is one of my heroines but she is human and we all make mistakes. I’m happy to have a flawed heroine.

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She has a post on Runner’s World about this topic and her stance on it. Makes me think twice about her book also. http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/

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I’m pretty late to the commenting here, but the gentleman (and I say that carefully) who wrote the book had an interview on the Today show a while ago and my husband and I were completely unimpressed. He was…oh my…a sight to be sure. He has to be taken out of the picture in my mind. I just cannot look at him as credible. As for the rest of the “evidence”, I am weary of the entire thing and can only think of their family and want the whole thing to move on. The charity, the kids. Move. on.

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I’ve read up on Lance Armstrong’s case pretty extensively and there is so doubt in my mind that he was doping. The evidence against him is staggeringly large.

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Changing our behaviour for the guy we love doesn’t necessarily mean that we support him while he is violently blackmailing other people and cheating himself, I think. But who am I to judge her and I still like her point of view because I think she has some very valid points there! :-)

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The whole “I get to…” part has me in tears. So much awesome stuff I GET to do. Thanks so much for putting it in that perspective for me :)

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When do I GET to see you?!?

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Just emailed you :)

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What an awesome perspective!! I am in the health care field, so I am grateful that I am healthy enough to run…there are a lot of people that aren’t able to.

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Love this! Such a great reminder for all of us.

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That face could put anyone in a good mood! I would smile all day long!

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What a great perspective! I love the “I get to” mentality!

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How great is that little face?! Love it!

Thanks for this post. I am 27 days (but who’s counting?!) from my first full marathon and I think it’s important I keep this in mind, not only during the race but even through these last few seemingly impossible training runs. I like the idea of gratitude and always feel like I have a better run when I don’t think about the have-to and just think about the power of the accomplishment and the journey itself.

And I also enjoy thinking about the delicious meal I GET TO eat now that I have created such a calorie deficit ;)

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I had a ten mile run scheduled for this weekend and its the longest run I’ve had in a while, so I was really nervous. I somehow got to thinking about my fiancé and how we recently decided to write our own vows. I started thinking of all the ways I’m grateful for him in my life. It took up a good portion of my run and before I knew it I was done!! By far one of the best runs I’ve ever had!!!

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I love that book and I love Kristin! I also loved the chapter about ‘getting to’. I “GET TO’ get up in the night for the third time with my toddler. I ‘get to’ cook him endless meals. I ‘get to’ pick up in-laws up from the airport. All the things that if I couldn’t do so would break my heart. And yes, running is one of them.

Things I’m grateful for today … my naked, potty training little boy with the massive smile. My lovely husband. My in-laws on their delayed aeroplane from the UK. And the fact it’s stopped raining in the Bay Area. And your blog.

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I totally love this perspective, & how I live my life (as best I can) now. I am all about gratitude & recognizing the blessings. It makes tough times SO much easier! Great post.

I am super thankful for my husband. He is freaking amazing.

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Wow, I’m grateful for you posting the cutest pictures of Brooke!
I consider myself very grateful. I’m always thinking about the littlest things like being able to run, how hard my husband works, we are in great health, my dog who never has a bad day or is sad, having a full tank of gas, you know the simple stuff.
Thank you for inspiring me every day!

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I try to practice gratitude daily and I love the idea of incorporating the “I get to” statements. I always taught to pray by starting off with everything I’m thankful for. Some nights, I keep going and going and I’m asleep before I even ask God for what I wanted. Count your blessings instead of sheep! (Anyone else a White Christmas fan?)

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I am grateful for my family! I couldn’t have made it through these last couple of months (wreck & moving cross country) without them.

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I have a nine year old son who is a Type1 Diabetic. He was diagnosed two years ago. I “get to” be his number one caretaker. I am blessed and honered that someone in the heavens above thought me fit to be his mommy and to take on this chronic disease day in and day out. Yes, I think of him often when I run. He is my hero and I am honored that I “get to” be his mommy.

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Kim. Your comment made me tear up a little bit. You are incredible and you are so right about the heavens above choosing you to be his mommy!

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Thank you for this! I am going to use this in every aspect of my life. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately with marathon trainig and work and kids and soccer and Girl Scouts, etc. I need to remember I am lucky to get to be a busy freak! :)

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I always think of all the people that can’t run and it makes run for them. Now that im 6 days away from my marathon and getting Super nervous I think specially about my mom who is diabetic had a triple bypass a year ago and got her toe amputated 5 month ago. I run for her. She is mt motivation. She can’t run but I CAN.

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SIX DAYS AWAY!! I am so excited for you! Your mom has been through so much and yes, thinking about her during your marathon will help you so much!

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Love this!! What a great reminder! thank you!

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This reminds me of my favorite running quote!!
“I run because I can. When I get tired, I remember those who can’t run, what they’d give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them. I know they would do the same for me.”
I literally say this to myself when I’m sprinting/crawling up a hill.

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That is a beautiful quote. I am going to print it out. THANK YOU!

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You’re welcome :)

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I agree. Thanks Alina.

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:)

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love this :)
I ran my second half marathon yesterday (and got a PR!!), and honestly, throughout the whole race, I just kept reminding myself how fortunate I am to be running–I have the ability to do so, the determination and dedication to train that hard and get that far, and every time I thought those things I thanked God and ran stronger.

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The size of Delaware? Seriously – I ‘m in Delaware! lol

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Lovely perspective! I am 4 months pregnant right now and I am so happy that I “get to” keep working out! (even though it is not as easy as it used to be).

I am grateful for my job (I get to stay home and write all day), husband, and my two snuggly shih tzus.

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Awesome post! Just what I needed this week. I “get” to run 20 miles on Saturday for my last “long” run before my first marathon November 18th. It is has been a LONG journey up to this point, and just when I was starting to hit my “running” breaking point you have encouraged me to keep on keepin’ on:) Thank you!

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What a lovely post! Followed by the world’s cutest photo!

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Thanks so much for sharing this, Janae. It really is an amazing mentality to try and maintain, and I’m definitely going to try to keep it in mind the next time I come across something that’s hard or that I don’t enjoy doing.

Hope you’re having a beautiful day!

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Yes. I love this. Thanks for sharing the reminder. If you know my story, you know walking has not come easy, let alone running. So, I am grateful for running. I absolutely love the quote above shared by

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I totally do the “I GET TO” trick to make me stop whining and appreciate my runs. There are soooo many people that can’t for so many reasons and I try to remind myself how LUCKY I am to be sweating and huffing and puffing through each step.

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What a great post! I get to, I like that :)

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It’s the simple things in life. Reading this gave me goosebumps because I can be my own worst critic and forget how powerful gratitude can be. I get to run every single morning and get to train my butt off. When I hurt or have a terrible run/race, giving up seems like such an easy thing to do. But if I get to do it, why not simply embrace my ability to do it? ESPECIALLY if deep down I know how passionate I am about the sport.

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Once I did a marathon where I dedicated each mile to a friend. During the mile I prayed for them! It helped me stay positive and really thankful the entire time.

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I love your blog! It makes me laugh and inspires me to keep running everytime I read it :)
I’m very new to running/racing. I had my son this February via emergency c-section and ran my first 5K ever exactly 2 months later. I love the message “I Get To.” Most of the people I train with are accomplished runners and I feel very slow by comparison. And my husband is preparing for his 3rd deployment overseas at the beginning of next year and this will be the first time he is leaving his son behind so there have been some pity party’s around here. But now I will say “I Get To” be married to a wonderful man, who happens to be a soldier and have to go away at times, instead of having a pity party! So thank you for helping me turn bad thinking into positive thinking :) and for being a source of inspiration for keeping up with my training!

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I love this :) I had a “bad” long run yesterday and each mile that I ran seemed like it was the hardest ever! I have the word bad in quotes because it wasn’t reeeeally bad. I learned so much from it…..mainly that some runs will be more difficult than others, but that is ok. Was I excited when it finally ended? You bet. One of the reasons that I love the blogging world is that you can get so much encouragement from other bloggers and other runners. :)
Thank you for sharing!!

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I wish I would have had this for my first half marathon yesterday!!! But now I can remember it for my next one. Thanks for sharing!

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Whoa.
I needed this so bad, thank you. I’m still at the tail end of my femoral stress fracture. Originally it was to be a 6 week recovery and my first mile back went amazingly, I have not felt so well rested in months! The following day when I didn’t run it bothered me, and I have not yet tried running again.
I am grateful for being able to step back even though it kills me, for my swim team, for being in medical school, for my fave blog ever [that would be this one were that not implied :) ], and for great runs to come.
Thank you thank you thank you!

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My 30 year old neighbor is currently undergoing chemo for breast cancer. She has 3 young kids, 8,4,& 2. She was a runner before her chemo made it impossible for her to run. When I’m on a particularly hard run, I think of her and how much she would give to be running!

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all these serious comments, yes amazing. I must diverge and say that your highlighting is impeccable and you must be a robot with that pink marker.

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What an adorable picture of your baby! She could be a baby model!

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I am grateful for my supportive family, my health, my job and so much more. Great post! Very inspiring!!

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Thanks so much for sharing this. I think I need to get that book. I actually do think of what I’m grateful for while running. I think about how lucky I am to have my family and to be able to run.

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After a highly disappointing day, that little face was exactly what I needed :)

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I’m grateful for such amazing friends and family and that I finally have enough friends to have a birthday party!!! Haha only took 2 years in Chicago.

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I love the second highlighted area. Sadly when I am feeling alone or having my own pity party I have to remind myself of all that I should be thankful for and that my life is fulfilled in so many different ways!

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Wow, Janae! This really made my day! This weekend during my long run, I was thinking about how thankful I am to be able to run.. Despite little annoying injuries here and there I have the ability to compete with myself and constantly improve. It’s crazy when you change your perspective from being so “ugh, another 15 miler while I taper for this marathon” to “I am so thankful to be able to taper before crushing this marathon in 2 weeks.” Thanks for opening my eyes even more and providing a few inspirational quotes (which I stole as a facebook status) ,… I should probably get Kristin’s book. Thanks for that!

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I NEEDED this post today! Thank you :)

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Is it possible to have a favorite Brooke photo? If so, this is it.

It’s hard, but I’m grateful for my legs. I feel like every darn week they’re in pain in some way (AT, shin, knee), but they carry me wherever I go and I have legs- 2 of them, in fact, and not everyone can say that. I spend a lot of time thinking about the environment I’m running in, especially if it’s somewhere super beautiful.

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Ok, I need to get her book now …what an inspiring message.
Gratitude, it is such a powerful thing. When I don’t feel like running, I always remind myself how LUCKY I am that I CAN run.

Brooke is such a happy little girl. I can never get enough of her:)

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“I Get To” is going to get post-it noted by my computer at work for those frustrating moments. Thanks for the reminder and great perspective!

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can u imagine reading ‘death by treadmill electrocution’ in the obit?! jk…glad u rocked the indoor workout. :)

that said i’m a firm believe that while injuries SUCK like none other, they are always little boost of running perspective when u come back…u sure don’t take those miles for granted when u’ve been held captive to cross-training for weeks/months!

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This is a GREAT post!!! It really does feel so much easier to be positive when thinking gratefully. Whenever I race I always hit a patch where I am flooded with negative self talk, and it’s so helpful to remember gratitude in order to push through. I was really inspired by Amanda’s gratitude journal that she writes at the end of each of her blog posts (http://www.runtothefinish.com/) and wrote her to ask if I could “steal” her idea and start a gratitude journal on my own blog :) It feels good to think of the things I’m grateful for everyday, even if it’s as simple as how grateful I was for being able to sleep in this morning!
Btw, that pic of Brooke is toooo cute!

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I just had to miss out on my frst full marthon because i got injured a few weeks ago. My whole perspective on running as already changed. I can’t wait until i am healed and can run again, i’m pretty sure i will always be much more grateful for my ability to run after going through this.

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what a great post!

I was actually thinking about this yesterday after I ran the Army 10-miler. Seeing the Wounded Warriors out on the course, who risked their lives for us, was just so awe-inspiring. Whether the soldier was a double leg amputee or had lost an arm, seeing them racing and giving all they have after dealing with such pain just made me realize how grateful I am for the little things. They were such an inspiration and who I ran my race for!

ps, what a precious picture of Brooke! So so adorable :)

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That picture of Brooke is precious! Funny thing: the little picture showing the link of some of your other blog posts has a picture of you making a very similar face (titled “Billy’s Salt Lake City Half Marathon”). Your daughter is going to be so much like you ;)
And I love all these blurbs! They really speak true about running and pushing through some of the uncomfortable parts.

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Brooke’s face is once again priceless. Also, super jealous of your gym setup! Who wouldn’t want to work out overlooking the pool?

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Ahh, she is just so cute! I am thankful for my hard working husband. He’s been putting in a ton of hours in order to finish a project, and sometimes it’s hard on us, but I’m thankful that he has a job to help support us!

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Totally agree, being sidelined for a while definitely makes you appreciate each and every run! I think I’ve had maybe one bad run since I started running post-stress fracture 3 months ago!

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Do you use a ruler when you highlight in your books?

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This book looks amazing! I ran a race this weekend and had so many affirmations of gratitude that really helped me through it (with a PR!). Thanks for sharing this, gratitude is mighty powerful!

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I loved this. This mentality of “I get to” and gratitude while running is what got me emotionally hooked to running in the first place. I love to run out of the cities, on scenic byways or in canyons. Fortunately, we don’t have a shortage of those in Utah! Often my mind is consumed with my gratitude of the amazing world that we live in. Running gives you the opportunity to forget the daily cluster of thoughts and just be in the moment, thinking of each fall colored tree that you run by or each mountain peak in the distance. It is also a time that you can be completely in tune with your body. And what amazing and detailed machines they are! Gratitude for these things can keep me on a mental high for days.

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I more than loved this post and now, I want to go get that book! I thought I was the only one who thought about how much I have and how grateful I am that “I get to” run. I started running 3 months ago (because I no longer wanted to be the “fat girl”) and I have found that running for me, is more than exercise. It’s time to reflect about life, family, and sometimes hard decisions, I love everything about it! I am no way close to comparing myself to you, I have only done two 5K’s in that time, but plan on doing my first half marathon at Disney in February. Thank you for this post! I loved it!

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Love this! I think anyone who has been forced to NOT run, injury-related or not, can appreciate the feeling of being able to run…I know I do!

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wow, she is so expressive with her little face!!
i am looking forward to seeing her funny/cute/goofy/adorable facial expressions as she gets older. too cute!

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Love this post. You should read “One Thousand Gifts (A Dare to live fully right where you are)” by Ann Voskamp. It’s all about this. Such a great book, and a refreshing read – she’s an amazing writer!

http://onethousandgifts.com/

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I became giddy when I saw that you had posted about this book. I read it earlier this year, and absolutely fell in love with it–flying through the pages, and highlighting like crazy :-)

I write a weekly special that I call “Mile Marker Mondays” on my blog. Each week, I write about another of Kristin’s chapter headings, and reflect on how it applies to my life as a runner. Here’a a link to one of my favorite Mile Marker Monday posts:
http://fitbuttfabulous.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/mile-marker-10-freedom/

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Perfect baby. Beautiful sentiments. ’nuff said!

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Yes, I try very hard to think positive and remain grateful. I read The Secret a couple of years ago. Might have to again just to reinforce the message.

You are a very tidy hiliter. My lines are never that straight!

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I’m grateful that I have a job working for awesome people, doing things I like, and also have a super flexible schedule.

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I love that excerpt! For the past couple of years I have kept a single sticky note on my cupboard that simply says, “Be grateful.” Whenever I am tempted to complain or get upset, it helps center me again. I love the idea of building it into a running mantra for those of us to whom it is motivating! Thank you!

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I love this post! It was perfect timing, and I’m definitely going to focus more on the ‘I get to’s’ then I can’t. You are so right about taking running for granted being injured for the past couple months have really made me realize this. Thanks for the uplifting post. I’m definitely thinking about getting that book. Also Brooke is sooo cute!! I love her facial expressions!

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things have been really rough since I became unemployed, I have been trying to pull myself out of my slump (esp in the middle of the night) by reminding myself, that at least I have a warm bed, and V to snuggle with..etc

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I’m grateful you posted this. I really needed this message today and I really think I am going to check out that book.

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I don’t see how anyone can be miserable and be a runner. It’s just not possible.

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I love this gratitude post! It’s exactly what I do when I am pushing hard and want to back off in a race. My 8 yr old was 3 months premature. I am so grateful that he not only has ended up healthy and ok, but he is turning into an amazing runner (brag: 8:08 for a 2k yesterday!). He truly leaves it all on the course, so when I’m tired, I think of everything we have fought through to be where we are with him today, and I think of how hard he works all the time, and I realize how lucky I am to be doing what I’m doing. Love it.

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I’m reading Mile Markers right now and it’s so motivational! It makes me love running more and more with every page :) I’m grateful for health and my family. I love them more than they will ever know.

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I love this! What a great reminder. I try to run thankfully, but I think we all have days where it’s a struggle.

I am grateful for what my body can do – much more than I thought it could. I’m grateful for all the unexpected things running has brought me – new friendships, better self-awareness….and…the blogging community :-)

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Absolutely! I live by my own “be grateful for and focus on what you DO have, and not on what is missing” theory. Life has its ups and downs, and often times we have no control over what happens to us. What we do have control over is what we do with it.

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