Concentrate Solely on the Means

You can't do this for show.

Some people run to garner reactions from others. Marathon training is fundamentally too difficult, time-consuming, and demanding for that motivation to withstand. I might start off a run thinking I look really awesome in my Under Armour or my Livestrong Nike gear, but by the end, I'm going to look like shit. I'm going to be dizzy and a bit delirious, and I'm crazy if I'm searching for spectating eyeballs at that time.

I have to focus while I run. If I'm concerned about the end goal while I'm taking the solitary steps, I either give up early or I'll finish in an uncomfortable hurry. John Steinbeck sums it up best in East of Eden (which happens to be my favorite book of all time)....

"So often, men trip by being in a rush. If one were properly to perform a difficult and subtle act, he should first inspect the end to be achieved and then, once he had accepted the end as desirable, he should forget it completely and concentrate solely on the means. By this method he would not be moved by false action by anxiety or hurry or fear. Very few people learn this."

There ya go.