Quotes from Gina Greenlee

Avoid the temptation to force a moment so you won't miss the one with your name on it.

In a life full of work, family, civic responsibilities, commutes and errands, your training runs offer fertile opportunity to lean inward and listen.

Listening to your body does not imply a lack of grit but a willingness to honor true physical limits. Kenyan runners have a reputation for listening to their bodies but certainly do not take it easy on themselves; they are among the world's most gifted and accomplished athletes.

If "Been there, done that" isn't your mantra,then make haste down your "bucket list.

No matter how many strikes are hurled at you, only you decide when you're out.

The study book for life's tests is the whole of our experience. Though we may feel unprepared, tests appear only when we are truly ready to ace them.

Your body provides you with constant feedback that can help improve your running performance while minimizing biomechanical stress. Learn to differentiate between the discomfort of effort and the pain of injury. When you practice listening, you increase competence in persevering through the former and responding with respect and compassion to the latter.

Stay open. You may find your tribe where you least expect it.

Increase the number of adventures you act on and you'll lighten the weight of regret.

There's more to marathon day than running long. Learning how your body reacts to the early alarm, light breakfast and warm-up is key. Minimize surprises come race day. Run long the same time of day as the race.

From the depths of your well, tap your will.

If companionship is a mandate for all of our experiences, then we will miss out on many of life's blessings.

New insights from being present are a gift.

Those who receive the blessing are those who see beyond its disguise.

When we write down our dreams we transform what we imagine into reality.

The idea infusing this book: training for a marathon while remaining connected to our whole self. Mind, Body and Spirit – what animates our lives, uplifts us and stirs our energy – are not fixed, mutually exclusive states. They are organic trajectories expressed as an integrated spiral, their balance a process in which we are not conductor but collaborator.

Endings are the embryos of new beginnings.

Uncertain about an aspect of training? Read, consult others and experiment. In the end, though, listen to the body and the Voice Inside. Instead of dousing it with music, podcasts or talk radio, let the Voice Inside play out and wind past rumination to rich sediment that informs what drives and scares you.

Just like the body responds with sore muscles when we add mileage, the initial discomfort felt when we listen to the Voice Inside reflects growth. The good news: anxiety initially triggered by listening to our inner dialogue is short-term vs. the unnamed, interminable dread that piggybacks suppression. Even better, we can manage it with self-talk, deep breathing (inherent to running), the Tribe and social support.

Once flooded with light, our boogeymen diminish, no longer ogres in our imagination. We welcome internal dialogue for its treasures.

Boredom has a bad rap. Its true character reveals you are deep inside your comfort zone. Boredom is a docent beckoning toward the edges of a labyrinth.

Ten years ago I wondered, "How does one travel around the world? How does one step out of a well-established life to follow the dream?" I've answered those questions. But now new ones emerge.

No matter. I was single, no children, a handful of plants and at 39, young enough to regroup. If I hit ground before I finished building my wings, I would not take anyone with me.

If you don't ask, you don't get. But if you ask and don't get, ask again.