Motivating quotes ... again

Triathlon Forum
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i’m new to this forum, and while i know there’ve been a few threads about inspirational/funny quotes about triathlons, i wanted to renew the whole thing. i know, i know, you’re groaning. but if my experience is any indicator, it’s threads like these that get newbie triathletes more comfortable and encouraged before their first race, and that makes it worth it in my book.

my favorite quote is a conversation i had with my uncle during a training ride in vermont. it’s gorgeous up there, especially if you live in the suburbs. he turned to me and said “you don’t get views like these from the basketball court”, to which i replied, “you don’t get views like these from the car, either”

another quote that got me started is from one of my fraternity brothers. during dinner one night, someone was asking me how long i thought it’d take me to do an Oly, and i guessed 3 hours. so this guy made fun of me, saying “you talk a big talk, but there’s no way you could do a race for like 3 hours”… he was right, it only took me 2:45’

so, do you all have any quotes about how great multisport is?

“you don’t get views like this from the basketball court … or from the car”

2

Well…this isn’t a motivating quote, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. I took this from the Letsrun.com message board.

This was said to a runner, by his non-running wife:
“Just once I’d like to go to one of these races and hear someone say ‘I’m ready and I’m going for it and the rest better watch out. Not all the whining excuses done in advance to cover their asses.’”

3

My 5-yr old recently motored up a hill he’d previously been unable to ride up. When asked how he suddenly was able to spin up and over he replied, in that matter-of-fact way kids can have, “I told my legs to keep going.”

4

“If we are to do great things, then we must live as if we are never going to die”

  • The guy on the cot next to me in the med tent at Wildflower '99
    .
5

Not quite for Tri’… William Wallace in Braveheart “Men do not follow titles, they follow courage”

8

I had a car accident in 2000, as it was the apex of the lowest point in my adult sporting life. I was told that I would never be able to compete like I had previously ever again. That was a motivating factor.

But, when I am feeling down and out, a little lazy, and just plain blah, I think of the quote (okay, diatribe) that I tell people all of the time: " Did you get out of bed on your own? Can you feed, dress, and bathe yourself? Can you breathe unassisted? Do you have use of all four limbs? Then get off of your bloody arse and celebrate the fact that you can do these things!!! Ride as if it’s an affirmation for your ability!!! Run like it’s your last run!!! Get in the pool and make love to the water!!! You might not be able to do that tomorrow!!!"

9

"If you believe in yourself, have dedication and pride and never quit, you will be a winner.

The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards"

10

I saw this on a guy’s t-shirt at a race:

Life is Simple: Swim Bike Run Eat Sleep
.

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The quote that keeps me forging ahead in times both good and bad:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly. . .who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Rex Roosevelt

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“Speed hurts. How fast do you want to go?”

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One of my favourite lines from a song:
“I have my fears, my fears do not have me” - Peter Gabriel
.

14

And my alltime favorite inspirational quote, and one that I think applies to just about whatever a man or woman strives to do:

         I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win. Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with with their heads. That's O.K. you've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second. Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, “by the rules - but to win.
And in truth. I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
I don’t say these things because I believe in the “brute” nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he’s exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.”

Of course that is the immortal Vince Lombardi. http://www.successories.com/assets/images/spacer.gif

15

Our club motto back in Brussels: “Take the sport seriously, not yourself”

and another favourite “… and of course I train haad, very haad…” Thomas Hellriegel after his firt IMH.

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I’m trying to find out how I can some bracelets made up like the ones that people wear, WWJD. Except I want one with WIMMF, Will It Make Me Faster, so every thing I do I get reminded of why I’m doing it.

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I collect them and have hundreds. I just updated my list and put them all here: http://ironclm.blogspot.com/

18

My friend makes bracelets like this. She made me three–PASSION, PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE (thanks Vic Plata). Give me a shout and I can put you in touch with her next week. She’s in Penticton right now for a little race on Sunday.

19

He was not a fit, sports-minded person, but what pre-timetrial motivator:

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”

“We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!”

“Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar.”

“I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

"Today we may say aloud before an awe-struck world: “We are still masters of our fate. We are still captain of our souls.”

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour.”

"Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.‘’

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Inspiring Story:

The moment remains a basketball classic: Willis Reed’s courageous hobbling walk through the tunnel at Madison Square Garden and onto the floor for game seven of the 1970 championship series between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Reed had injured his knee in game five, and it appeared that he and the Knicks were finished. Not true. On one leg, Reed played 27 meaningful minutes and scored four points. The Knicks won game seven and the inspirational Reed stood larger than life, a true legend.

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It’s not the Years in your Life, but the Life in your Years.

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Pain is just your body’s version of a love tap.