Ya gotta believe

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, and sometimes what you gotta do is believe.

Coach Andy is a Mets fan, through and through, and before one of his NYC marathons he spotted a Tug McGraw booth at the expo.  They were selling random little odds and ends benefiting his brain cancer foundation and Andy picked up a "Ya gotta believe" bracelet.  Apparently this was the rallying cry of the Mets back in the early 70s when they weren't doing so well, McGraw took up the slogan and ran with it, he believed and I guess everyone else started to believe as well and they made it to the World Series (where they lost in game seven to the As).  I would like to note, as a proud Philadelphian, that in the photo on the package Tug is wearing his Phillies uniform and that he was on the team that won the series for Philly in 1980. 

During that marathon Andy would glance down at the bracelet and believe, he believed himself into a Boston-qualifying finish.  Over the years he's given the bracelets to friends in need of a little push and program members who appeared to be struggling.  Every one of those people met their goals, whether it was to qualify for Boston or just finish their first marathon.

I have one of these bracelets now and have adopted this silly little slogan.  I'd had three rough long runs in a row (though Andy said that they really WERE three rough runs so that made me feel better) and was starting to have a lot of doubts.  More often than not lately I'd head out the door already feeling defeated.  I know that, toward, the end of a run, the biggest hurdle is usually mental and here I was starting out already having to overcome that roadblock.  The training is hard enough, no need to be harder on myself than necessary.

So no more whining (okay, maybe a little).  No matter how tired I am at 5AM on a Sunday or 6PM on a Wednesday I will head out the door with my head high and my legs strong and my thoughts positive.  I will believe that I can finish the scheduled run, I will believe that I can finish the marathon, I will believe that I will meet my fundraising goal for AICR.  I have no choice, I gotta believe.