Monday, February 8, 2010

Quote of the Week

"Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

William James, philosopher

6 comments:

Barbie said...

Wow, I love this quote Vern. And it is so true. Just when you think you cant go on something within just makes you forge forward and when you are finished it is such a sense of awe how your body just just kept going.

Vern said...

Barb, yes-- it's really amazing. The body can adapt to almost any stress you can imagine, as long as it can do so in very small, gradual steps!

The idea of 100-mile ultramarathons just kind of blows my mind, but I guess ultra runners train for it the same way I'm training for 26.2-- in a gradual series of small step changes!

A Plain Observer said...

Beautiful, mind if I use it for my newsletter?

Vern said...

Myriam, the quote is in the public domain, available for everyone's use and inspriration! And I'd be proud for you to use it in your newsletter! Thanks!

Teniah Ashlyn said...

This is a really inspirational quote - thanks for sharing.

Vern said...

Teniah, I found this one particular inspiring! The kind of thought that is good to draw on during a long run when fatigue sets in! And just like the quote, after pushing through that barrier, there is often a second wind on the other side!

This is from the Runner's World Quote of the Day, available by email. They are all at least OK, some are really good, and a few are really inspiring! I save the best ones in a folder to look at again. This one is from several months ago.

Thanks!