The 10 Commandments of Endurance

1. Expect a journey and a battle
2. Focus on the present and set intermediate goals
3. Don't dwell on the negative
4. Transcend the physical
5. Accept your fate
6. Have confidence that you will succeed
7. Know that there will be an end
8. Suffering is okay
9. Be kind to yourself
10. Quitting is not an option

Never put a time limit on success... Success and gains start immediately and continue infinitely—you just get better and better. It is not a light switch; it is a dimmer switch—you just keep getting the light brighter and brighter.

Until I started running, I never understood that the shape, form, weight, strength, and fitness level of my body were the result of the perspiration, not the diet. I viewed my body like wrapping paper. My body hid what was inside so that no one could guess the contents. No one could see what the smoking was doing to my lungs. No one could see what the drinking was doing to my liver. No one could see what the poor food choices were doing to my arteries.

Of course, it's much easier to get thin than to get fit. Getting thinner is simply a matter of denying yourself nourishment for as long as you can. If you reduce your caloric intake enough, your body will begin to devour itself, and in a few weeks or months, you'll be thinner. But you won't be fit. In fact, it's likely that you'll be in worse shape than before you lost weight. Fitness requires perspiration. There's no shortcut around that fact.

My goal for Boston this year was to win and to run under 2:09. If I'd done that and not won, I would have been celebrating like I had won because it's something I'd never done. If you run a personal best, whether it's by 1 second, 10 seconds, 2 minutes, you better celebrate, because they don't come very often.

For us runners, the question of 'why' is pretty moot. Not because it may not be interesting, or important, from a certain point of view, but because we've left the question of the meaning of running behind. After all the questions have been asked, and all the answers given, in spite of the disagreement on essences, physiology, rationales, training strategies, trail running, road racing, i-pod wearing, mid-foot striking, turnover cadences, arm carriages, Jack Daniels, Arthur Lydiard, 20 miles a week or 100, 5k or the 50k, whether it's really the Miles of Trials or the Trial of Miles, after all the words have been spoken and keyboards have been pounded, meanings given and ideologies subverted… After all this, we runners bend down and tighten the laces, open the door, brace for the cold and are renewed...

In recent years I've come to realize that the more of the outdoors I get, the more I want. That alone - that growing appetite for being out in the world - is a debt to running that I can never repay.

We runners are a unique breed. We like chasing dreams. We are kindred spirits in this regard. Whether your dream is running across America, tackling a marathon, or completing your first 5-K, it really doesn't matter. When you distill it all, we don't run for the trophies or the records or the recognition, we run because a rapidly beating heart pumps more life through our veins.

Our ultimate calling is not to arrive at the finish line in a composed state, but rather to stagger in breathlessly, totally annihilated and on the verge of collapse, proudly knowing in our hearts that we have run our race, and it was glorious. Whether you end up with a medal being placed around your neck or an IV line being placed into your arm, the inner bliss is the same. You have waged your war and you have emerged victorious. You are content. If you are never to take another step, you will forever remain satisfied. The job is done.

That is, until the next one. Yeah, every runner knows the feeling.

Most elite marathoners don't talk about poor workouts, they focus on what went well in the workout. If runners, who tend to want perfection 100% of the time, can learn to stay positive while they're pushing through the difficult parts of training, they'll build their confidence and see better performance results. Sometimes, the only way to learn where your personal strengths and limits lie is to make a mistake. How do you know how far you can push yourself until you push yourself just a little too far? That kind of experience helps you find your limits and gain a better understanding of what you can do, both physically and mentally.

Running focuses my mind and allows me to think around a subject. I still need a workshop to make discoveries, but on a run I might think of a new avenue to explore. Another thing I learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you're hurting like crazy. The moment you should accelerate is the moment you're the most tired. I found that to be so in life as well.

One of the first lessons running teaches us about success in athletics and in life is that there is no one else. No one else can do your workouts for you. You alone must do the drills... You cannot hire someone else to do your cross-training when you are battling injury, or pay someone to run a race and get you a new PR. You are truly your own hero in running. It is up to you to have the responsibility and self-discipline to get the job done.

Runners are not elitists in general. They welcome all manner of persons to their sport. But they are elitist in this respect: they see only one way to run, and that is the long way. The long way means putting in the time. It means spending an inordinate amount of your waking hours alone or with other similarly afflicted souls, pounding the pavement. It means coping with a variety of aches and pains and small physical indignities to achieve a greater sense of health and well-being. There is only one way to happiness in running, and that is the long way. There are no shortcuts. Take the long way to happiness in running, and you'll be sure to find it.

To create a training program that helps your running progress, you have to pay close attention to what it is that particularly limits you… Take for example the runners who decide they're held back mostly by their breathing. If they take the cautious approach – 'Oh, I should NEVER get out of breath' – they won't get much of a training effect on their lungs, which is precisely what they need most. They won't learn to cope with being out of breath, nor will they learn how to recover after having been out of breath, which are abilities they'll need if they're going to race well. A runner who trains without getting out of breath won't give his heart much of a workout either. And if his breathing is the first thing that tells him he's working too hard, his legs won't be getting stronger, because they won't be put under any pressure. The result will be that nothing much changes. Next year and the year after, those limiting factors will be just as limiting. And that runner will still be posting the same times he does today.

In Tennessee, a 17-year-old named Seth Goldstein is in the middle of a cross-country race when he sees a fellow runner collapse. Goldstein, a lifeguard, stops and takes control of the situation, ultimately saving the runner's life. Then he finishes his own race.

When you think about it, the idea that running might teach you something about life shouldn't be too shocking. In a fairly obvious sense, running is life made small. A run has a beginning and an end. There are obstacles to overcome, good days and bad days. You pass some people and get passed by others. There are tests and challenges, disappointments and achievements, days you feel you have nothing left to give and other days when you feel you can go forever… Running for me is a special activity. It brings value to my life while at the same time it teaches me how to value it…. Running makes me a better person. Running, for me, is transformative. I have learned self-discipline and patience from running. I have also learned how to compete with grace, and how to face hardships with optimism.

Running has made being depressed impossible. If I'm going through something emotional and just go outside for a run, you can rest assured I'll come back with clarity.

For some messed-up reason, our athletic egos still feel that we only get faster as we pedal harder, run quicker and swim stronger. It's athlete psychology—all of our confidence is built around the times that we actually destroy our bodies. But it's only the rest afterward that makes our bodies stronger.

Because of this psychological dichotomy, when and how long to rest is the hardest decision to make as an athlete. It takes a level of confidence above even the level necessary to push your body to the limit. You don't get the endorphin release, the feeling of accomplishment, and the external and internal praise and satisfaction. All you get are feelings of losing your edge, getting out of shape and nervous anticipation.

So the next time you need to rest, whether it be for a mid-season break, post-big race, or just an easy day or two between training blocks, remember that it takes confidence to rest. Remember that it is just insecurity and a lack of endorphin release that makes you feel like you're getting out of shape. Know that when you decide to rest, you're making the right call—the better, smarter decision. Feel good and confident about it. You've done yourself a favor—you have literally just made yourself a better athlete.

Keep a record of your morning pulse. Lie in bed for a few minutes after you awaken and then take your pulse. As your training progresses, it will gradually become slower and after three months or so plateau out. From then on, if you awaken and find a rate of 10 or more beats higher, you have not recovered from your previous day's runs, races or stresses. Take the day or more off until the pulse returns to normal.

None of the steps to reaching our goals are easy. If they were, we wouldn't be interested in doing them. Every single day, we are all given the choice: in training, in nutrition, in racing, even in life decisions- we can cower, or we can conquer. So, what will it be for you? When it is your time to choose: will you cower, or will you conquer?

Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for.

Adopt the 20-minute rule. If you're not sure whether your body is telling you to take a day off or plow ahead, see how you feel after 20 minutes. 'Go out the door always, says coach and 2:13 marathoner Brad Hudson. 'If the pain is worse or the same, take a day off; if it's better and you feel nothing, then do the workout.' Twenty minutes is long enough to shake off inertia that plagues all of us from time to time, but not so long that it will worsen an impending injury.