Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory
by Deena Kastor
30 popular highlights from this book
Key Insights & Memorable Quotes
Below are the most popular and impactful highlights and quotes from Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory:
Oh, you're doing it again, I said to myself when I became aware of negativity, being careful not to rebuke myself and therefore wind up being negative about being negative. I told myself: Find a thought that serves you better.
At the core of many of his stories was a distinction between success and excellence. Success was “having”: money, awards, status. Excellence was “being”: living your values, having them guide your daily life. Pursue excellence, Coach would say, and success will follow.
Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate.
I'm alone, but I'm not lonely. I like who I am. I like who I'm becoming.
That’s when I understood there is no such thing as overtraining,” he said, “just underresting.
She was compassionate and empathetic toward everyone around her, including herself.
If you believe you are fragile, the biochemistry of your body unquestionably obeys and manifests it. If you believe you are tough, irrespective of your weight and bone density, your body undeniably mirrors it.
Our life is what our thoughts make it. —MARCUS AURELIUS
Every aspect of a run, from the pain it produced to the weather conditions, offered me a choice: Is this a thought that will slow me down? Or can I find a perspective that will speed me up?
You don't run with your feet- you run with your heart.
I’m alone, but I’m not lonely. I like who I am. I like who I’m becoming. I felt whole and good and content, and lay there letting the feeling soak in. When the water cooled, I grabbed a towel and climbed out of the tub, feeling like I had everything I needed to succeed.
My competitive days had a short window, but I could push my mind and strengthen my positivity for a lifetime. How optimistic could I become? How much richer could I build my life? What joy and potential lay ahead. Pursuing positivity felt infinite, limitless.
What was a 4-mile tempo run or an 8k race after the suffer-fest of 26.2?
The pace was hard from the first mile to the finish and I had to use mental strategies to encourage myself the entire way.
I found the words to encourage myself: Focus on the next mile. Keep going.
A caring gesture to encourage his fading teammates. The camaraderie moved me.
Around the halfway point when the pace required more effort, the internal cheerleader stepped in—the encouraging voice that pushed me in every race. Good job, work this hill. Just focus on the mile you’re in. Drive your arms. Drive. Drive!
With a simple shift in perspective, I had changed the outcome of the summer, and myself. I was stronger, more enduring, flexible, and independent. And I knew now that whatever I needed I had within me.
Sometimes she chose to stay home while Coach traveled, prioritizing her own schedule and needs. Her independence reassured me. Caroline’s ability to balance independence and devotion, though, showed me it could be achieved.
What I needed in the moment was a family vacation.
When I looked at recreational runners, I was amazed at how well they balanced family, careers, and running. Shouldn’t I have it easier since running and my career are one and the same? At a race, I asked a father of twins how he did it. He responded quickly: clear priorities. So I set mine. I decided health and family would come first, and running and career would come second.
My only advantage is having lots of family and friends cheering for me on the course.
I saw perseverance, determination, and fearlessness.
Each day, I noticed Coach sent us off with a positive comment. “It’s a great day to work together toward our goals,” he’d say after we’d gathered for the workout. On a particularly windy day, it would be: “What a great day to challenge and shape our perseverance.” Sometimes his words were simple—“Okay, let’s go”—and it was his upbeat, let’s-get-it-done inflection that set the tone for the workout.
But when we place blame outside ourselves, we give away our power. Only you can control you, so by taking ownership of your role in a situation or outcome, you put yourself in the driver’s seat.
If you believe you are fragile, the biochemistry of your body unquestionably obeys and manifests it.
What the mind sees and thinks, the body feels, and what the body feels, the mind, or at least the subconscious, learns.
Competitors can know your times and places. They can learn and guess at your race tactics. But your inner strength is where you gain a real advantage. And I felt mine growing.
Find a thought that serves you better.
once you develop a mental level of expectation, it stays with you.
