Quotes by Summer Sanders

The first lesson my kids got about the ocean was to respect it. You can never turn your back on the ocean when youre dealing with tides and currents - factors beyond your control. You have to be the CEO of your family on the water. CEO stands for constant eyes on, and its something I never forget.

To be a champion, I think you have to see the big picture. Its not about winning and losing; its about every day hard work and about thriving on a challenge. Its about embracing the pain that youll experience at the end of a race and not being afraid. I think people think too hard and get afraid of a certain challenge.

My healthiest habit is eating a healthy breakfast every morning. I never miss breakfast. As a busy mom, there will be days when Im cruisin along and Ill look at the clock and I havent eaten lunch. And Ill run downstairs, and Ill start shovelin stuff down the pie hole, and Ill think, That was no lunch at all.

I love KIND bars. My favorites are coconut and almond and the dark chocolate and sea salt because staying fueled helps keep me from getting sick or injured. Bananas have also made a great comeback in my life. My kids eat them all the time on the go, which has inspired my go-to pre-run morning meal of peanut butter and banana on toast.

Its not really about the competition. Your biggest challenge in a race is yourself. Youre often racing against time. Youre frequently running everything through your mind. Youre always competing against preconceived ideas. Its not really the person next to you that you worry about.

Growing up, I was a little hippie kid. I went to some good concerts... Amnesty International with Bob Dylan and Tracy Chapman... The best concert I ever went to was this one at the Cow Palace my freshman year in college on New Years Eve. It was Pearl Jam opening for Nirvana opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Quite simply, my diet has and will always be everything in moderation. People look at Olympic athletes and think they must cut out all those things everyone else indulges in, and speaking for myself, I never did.

I never get enough sleep, even when I travel. I wake up in the middle of the night, either with the help of my kids or because my mind is going. I wish I got eight hours a night, but it is more like an interrupted six or seven. The secret is to go to sleep well before midnight.

I love to run, but training can be hard, especially with a family and a crazy travel schedule. I often do sprints with my kids, where they bike and I run along side them so we can race each other for a quarter-mile or shorter repeats.

I love to swim. When I jump in the water, I feel like Im 12 years old again. Its really funny how it does that to me.

I lead by example. My kids know what sweat is. Theyve seen me come home from so many runs and asked, Whats on your skin? How did you get it? And I tell them, Its from exercise! So now my son will come home from a bike ride, take off his helmet and say, Look, Mom. Im sweating! I just worked out!

Thinking about your training should put a smile on your face. As cliche as it sounds, you are worth all the time and energy youve put in. Unleash your emotions with a cheer, or even a signature roar, after a tough workout.

Im not the athlete I was when I was training for the Olympics in 92 or when I was working out every single day. I have to live in moderation: I work out three or four days a week, and I smile while Im working out - I really do enjoy it. I work out with my girlfriends and make it a social competition.

For me, music makes my smile brighter during my workouts. It adds that extra something that motivates me to go further or work harder!

We try to live by the secret of sevens. A friend, who has been married for over 40 years, told us about this magic. Make and keep a date every seven days, take a night away alone, for yourself, every seven weeks, and schedule an adult-only vacation every seven months.