One of the topics you will see popping up in running magazines a few times each year is the idea of coming up with some sort of motivational word or phrase to use while you're running. More specifically, it needs to be something that will help push you through that wall when you find yourself worn out and ready to quit. To crack over the head of The Beast when he's breathing down your neck, threatening to put a 50 lb lead boot up your b-hole. Something short, simple, and easy to remember even when you're fuzzy headed and hating the fact that we weren't born with something on our feet to assist our movement, such as flat-proof wheels. And rockets. With lasers.
"So OK," I thought. I'll come up with something. I'm clever enough, sure. And like I said before, I can talk my own ass off anyway, so it's not a huge stretch to be my own motivator. But it certainly wasn't going to be some dorky cliche that you'd find on an elementary school wall poster like "You can do it!" or "Just keep going!" Ugh. Save that crap for the folks who still think tribal or butterfly tattoos make you look cool and edgy. No, I needed something personal. Something that told a story while at the same time giving an obvious nod to running. Typical, Jason. Overthinking damn near everything. Even my high school basketball coach used to sit me down after I'd screw up and tell me, "Jas, you're a smart kid. But you have to stop thinking so much and just play!"
Alright, you probably guessed what I came up with when you saw the title of this post. The short version - Strong-Swift-Soft - is what I usually repeat to myself when I get tired and my feet aren't coming off the ground as high or fast as they should be. I also have it printed on my YikesID bracelet in case looking at it is required. (So far it hasn't been.) "So what does it mean and where did it come from?" I'm glad you asked!
I got it from a few places. First thing, it described my new running form and how I was trying to convert from a heel striker to a midfoot runner. Shorten the stride, bend the knees, land softly and quietly on the forefoot. (I've since switched to more of a midfoot strike.) Save your knees and shins from all that pain you used to get from running any distance over 3 miles. Soft, soft, soft. Be a light and smooth running ninja. And great googly mooly that word - soft - helped me a ton. I can't count how many times in those first few months when I'd get tired and go back to my old CLOMP CLOMP stride, pausing each time to grit my teeth and force myself to pick my freaking heels back up off the ground. And even though that running form is now as natural to me as breathing, I still sometimes have to remind myself that being tired isn't an excuse to be lazy. Also, because of that crappy summer I had last year, I know now that we all fall at some point. But it's not the fall that we need to concern ourselves with. It's how we land that counts.
OK, "strong" and "swift." Well there isn't really anything special behind the former. To attack that next hill, to fight that Texas Panhandle wind, to push yourself just one more agonizing mile you have to be strong and get yourself airborne. See your goal and get ready to jump. And once you're up and out there, you have to fly. Fly swift, fly fast, and be thankful that you're afforded the ability to do so because in a sky full of people only some want to fly. (Isn't that crazy?)
So that's it. Now it's your turn to come up with something. And if it has anything to do with butterflies, I'll hunt you down and slap you.
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